00:19 - Hello and welcome.

00:20 - My name is Jim Stout.

00:21 - I am the curator and executive

00:23 - director here at the

00:24 - Berwick Historical Society.

00:26 - We are standing in our

00:27 - headquarters at the David Acres.

00:30 - This house was built

00:31 - by the McBride family sometime,

00:33 - we believe, in the 1840s.

00:36 - It stayed in the McBride family

00:38 - until sometime in the

00:40 - 1950s, and it left the family.

00:43 - The Historical Society

00:45 - purchased this property in 2018,

00:47 - and we have been restoring this

00:48 - property and gearing it

00:50 - up as our headquarters.

00:52 - The past couple of years,

00:53 - we have been working on

00:54 - displays that will showcase

00:55 - the Berwick area.

00:57 - One of the interesting

00:58 - features about this property

01:00 - is the fact that

01:00 - Colonel Clarence

01:01 - Gerhart, Jackson and his

01:02 - wife and two young daughters

01:04 - rented this property

01:05 - while the beautiful Jackson

01:06 - mansion was being constructed.

01:08 - It took two years

01:10 - from 1877 until 1879

01:13 - for the mansion to be completed.

01:15 - The McBride family

01:16 - was kind enough

01:16 - to allow the Jacksons

01:17 - to move into this home

01:19 - so they could be close by the

01:20 - construction of their new home.

01:23 - When the mansion was

01:24 - completed, the Jacksons

01:26 - moved across the street

01:27 - into their palatial new mansion.

01:29 - But they did give

01:30 - thanks to the McBride family

01:32 - who allowed them to stay here.

01:34 - They left behind

01:35 - a beautiful leather

01:37 - bound wine that filled

01:38 - with wine as a thank you.

01:40 - Sadly, the wine is all gone.

01:42 - But we do have the van

01:43 - that was purchased by the last

01:45 - McBride family member,

01:47 - Rachael, in 1956.

01:49 - It was

01:49 - actually purchased

01:50 - by Gerald Kershner,

01:51 - who was the great grandson

01:52 - of the Jacksons coachman.

01:54 - Mr. Kershner was leaving

01:56 - Berwick in 1956 and then moved

01:57 - to sunny California.

01:59 - He took this wine vat with him

02:00 - and it stayed in California

02:02 - until his death in 2016.

02:04 - In 2016,

02:06 - we were able to purchase

02:07 - this wine vat from his estate

02:09 - and bring it back here

02:10 - to the house where it had

02:12 - been given by the Jacksons

02:13 - so many years earlier.

02:15 - We are standing

02:16 - in the formal parlor

02:17 - here in the McBride house.

02:19 - This home is now called

02:20 - the David Sadar course.

02:22 - This home was graciously

02:23 - sponsored by Danielle Stock

02:25 - and her family in memory of her

02:27 - late husband, David, a say doc.

02:30 - This room will feature

02:31 - all kinds of displays

02:32 - featuring prominent

02:33 - citizens of Berwick.

02:35 - The fireplace in this

02:36 - room was installed

02:37 - by Judy Decker, a previous

02:39 - owner of this property.

02:42 - One section

02:42 - of this room has a

02:44 - collection of photographs

02:45 - and ephemera that

02:46 - belonged to the wooden family.

02:49 - We have a portrait of four

02:50 - generations of Wooden's,

02:52 - including Clem.

02:53 - Your Wooden, who

02:55 - was the business partner

02:56 - with Colonel Jackson at the

02:58 - American Car and Foundry,

03:00 - previously known as

03:01 - Jackson and Wooden

03:03 - in the silver cabinet.

03:05 - Over in the corner,

03:06 - we have a collection

03:06 - of beautiful antique

03:08 - sterling silver flatware that

03:09 - belonged to the Wooden's.

03:11 - It was gifted to

03:12 - us by William H.

03:13 - Wooden's granddaughter.

03:17 - One of our prominent citizens

03:18 - here in Berwick was Frederick H.

03:20 - E, and he was president of

03:22 - the American Car and Foundry.

03:24 - Under his presidency, Jackson

03:26 - Wooden Manufacturing Company

03:27 - merged with 19 other companies

03:29 - to become the American Car

03:31 - and Foundry.

03:32 - Mr. Eaton built one of

03:33 - Berwick's most beautiful homes,

03:36 - Hillcrest, located on East

03:38 - Front Street in Berwick.

03:41 - We are now in the

03:42 - Berwick History Parlor.

03:44 - One of the greatest features

03:45 - in this room is

03:46 - the original anchor

03:47 - from the steamship

03:48 - the Susquehanna.

03:49 - The Susquehanna was

03:50 - a steamship that allowed

03:52 - passenger service to travel

03:54 - up and down the Susquehanna.

03:57 - In 1826, when it was

03:58 - traveling up the Susquehanna,

04:01 - they were approaching this

04:02 - epic falls, and the captain

04:03 - needed to build up the steam

04:05 - so that the ship could

04:06 - make it through the falls.

04:08 - When they were

04:09 - building up the steam,

04:10 - there was a massive explosion.

04:11 - There were two

04:12 - men who were killed.

04:13 - Most of the survivors were

04:15 - badly burned and injured.

04:18 - They were carried up

04:19 - the hill from the river

04:20 - up to Mulberry Street.

04:22 - They went to the first house,

04:24 - which was a large mansion

04:25 - owned by the Jackson family,

04:26 - not the Jacksons

04:27 - who built the Big Stone

04:28 - Mansion on market Street.

04:30 - This was an earlier family,

04:32 - still related, but

04:33 - an earlier family.

04:35 - Back in the 1820s, the way

04:36 - they would treat burn victims,

04:38 - they would apply

04:39 - tar to the burns.

04:41 - So these men were

04:42 - laid out on the floors

04:43 - and tar was applied

04:45 - to their burns.

04:47 - For many years, the

04:48 - outline of their bodies

04:49 - remained on the floor

04:50 - in that Jackson home.

04:54 - In the 1940s,

04:56 - some young lads were

04:57 - swimming in the Susquehanna

04:59 - about where

05:01 - the old steel

05:01 - bridge was located,

05:03 - and one of them dove

05:04 - down deep into the river

05:06 - and hit their head

05:08 - on this anchor.

05:09 - So he got the

05:10 - help of his buddies

05:12 - and they swam to

05:13 - the bed of the river

05:15 - and carried up the anchor,

05:17 - and they donated it to the

05:18 - Historical Society.

05:20 - That's been in our

05:21 - collection ever since.

05:24 - On the back wall,

05:24 - we have a collection

05:25 - from the Strand Theater,

05:27 - which was a popular theater

05:29 - here in Berwick from the 1930s

05:32 - on through is still the

05:33 - building is still standing.

05:35 - It's now the Berwick

05:36 - Theater for Performing Arts

05:41 - over in the Cabinet.

05:42 - We have some rare pieces.

05:44 - On the top

05:45 - shelf is the original male

05:46 - carrying box that was used here

05:49 - in Berwick to buy the

05:50 - male carriers in the 1700s.

05:53 - It was used from 1770 to 1886

05:56 - to deliver mail from

05:58 - Brier Creek to Berwick.

06:00 - On the lower shelves

06:01 - there, a collection of pottery

06:02 - from the Wearstler and Edwards

06:04 - pottery company, Wearstler.

06:06 - And Edwards pottery

06:07 - was made right here

06:08 - in Berwick between

06:10 - 1875 and 1882.

06:12 - It is very rare because

06:13 - it was only made

06:14 - for those short amount of years.

06:17 - On the

06:17 - top shelf we have a

06:18 - collection of three plates

06:21 - and they are monogrammed

06:22 - with the ACF monogram,

06:24 - which is American

06:25 - car and foundry.

06:26 - These plates were

06:27 - used by William H.

06:28 - Wooden in his private dining car

06:31 - that was made by the

06:32 - American car and foundry.

06:35 - The next shelf down,

06:36 - we have this blue transfer

06:38 - picture that was made right

06:40 - here in Berwick by a miller.

06:42 - It is extremely rare and

06:43 - there's only one known

06:45 - in existence.

06:48 - On third shelf down, we

06:49 - have a picture of William H.

06:50 - Wooden

06:51 - and he was on the cover of

06:53 - Time magazine and we just spoke

06:55 - about his china.

06:55 - But William H.

06:57 - Wooden went on to become

06:59 - the Secretary of the Treasury

07:01 - under President

07:03 - Roosevelt's administration.

07:06 - So over in this area, we

07:08 - have a collection of Y's

07:09 - potato chip memorabilia.

07:11 - Why is potato chips

07:12 - actually were invented

07:14 - here in Berwick in 1921?

07:16 - The wife's family owned a

07:17 - delicatessen shop here in town,

07:19 - and they had an

07:20 - overabundance of potatoes

07:22 - not knowing what

07:22 - to do with them.

07:23 - They were taken home,

07:24 - sliced up and after working

07:26 - with different types of cooking

07:28 - oils, Earl V was invented

07:30 - what is known now today

07:32 - as the wise potato chip.

07:33 - They were made in their home

07:35 - on Mulberry Street at

07:36 - his mother's kitchen stove.

07:38 - And after they started

07:40 - developing these chips,

07:42 - what they would do is

07:42 - they would take them around

07:44 - to area mom and pop stores

07:46 - and they'd be sold

07:47 - locally like that.

07:48 - They needed some type of

07:50 - dispenser to

07:51 - dispense their chips.

07:52 - So we have 2

07:53 - to 2 different dispensers

07:54 - here, which are quite rare.

07:56 - The one on the right is one of

07:57 - their earliest prototypes, dates

07:59 - to about 1925,

08:01 - and it has the name, the

08:02 - Wise Delicatessen Company

08:04 - on the front.

08:05 - The way these would work,

08:06 - the kids would ride

08:07 - around on their bikes

08:08 - with sacks of the potato chips,

08:09 - the tops would be removed

08:11 - and they would dump the

08:12 - potato chips down in the top

08:13 - on the counters of these

08:14 - mom and pop stores.

08:16 - When you would

08:16 - purchase the potato chips,

08:17 - they would be scooped

08:18 - out into brown paper

08:19 - bags, typically $0.05 a bag.

08:22 - The one that you see to

08:23 - the left is a little later model

08:25 - circa 1930. Also equally rare

08:29 - above these two are

08:30 - is a photo of the wise

08:32 - potato chip factory.

08:34 - This was about 1925.

08:37 - Sadly, this factory

08:39 - burned in the 1940s.

08:42 - The very top is a very

08:44 - rare ten wise potato chip

08:45 - sign, and that dates

08:47 - to the late twenties.

08:50 - My name is Diane

08:51 - Labor and I am a docent

08:53 - with the Berwick

08:54 - Historical Society.

08:55 - I am standing in front of two

08:57 - homes that Colonel Jackson built

08:59 - along with the mansion and

09:01 - the carriage house in 1879.

09:03 - This home here is

09:05 - the parlor maid's home.

09:07 - We believe that the

09:09 - Jacksons had six or seven

09:11 - women who were parlor

09:13 - maids in their mansion.

09:15 - It would have taken

09:16 - quite a bit of help

09:17 - to keep the mansion

09:19 - looking as beautiful as

09:20 - you had seen it today.

09:23 - The parlor maids were not

09:26 - servants or excuse

09:27 - me, were not slaves.

09:28 - They were servants, they

09:30 - were paid employees and

09:33 - their home was furnished.

09:35 - Quite lovely, as

09:37 - a matter of fact,

09:38 - they would have lived and

09:40 - dined in that home on Sundays,

09:42 - their day off.

09:43 - They could have

09:43 - gentleman callers

09:44 - if they so desired that

09:47 - home is not restored.

09:50 - This home here was

09:51 - the coachman home.

09:53 - His name was Mr. Jacob Connect.

09:56 - And he and his wife

09:57 - Martha and daughters,

10:00 - Zora and Esther,

10:01 - moved here from Alaska.

10:03 - Heck, Jacob was a well-known

10:05 - horseman and Colonel Jackson

10:08 - hired him to be his

10:10 - coachman and horseman here.

10:13 - Mrs. Connect was very excited

10:15 - to be getting out of the back

10:17 - country of NASCAR

10:18 - pack and moving in town

10:20 - to Berwick, Pennsylvania.

10:23 - The home eventually descended

10:25 - through the family

10:26 - and was the last owner

10:28 - was the great grandson

10:31 - of the coachman.

10:33 - Gerald Kershner owned

10:35 - that home and he also owned

10:37 - the parlor maids home.

10:38 - The coachman home

10:39 - is totally restored.

10:41 - Behind the two homes, Mrs.

10:43 - Jackson had her vegetable

10:45 - garden and that is also

10:47 - under restoration.

10:50 - Much to our

10:51 - sadness, in 2016, Mr.

10:53 - Kershner passed

10:56 - away and in 2020,

11:00 - the coachman great

11:01 - granddaughter, Mrs.

11:03 - Penny Slusser, passed away.

11:06 - Jerry, as we so fondly called

11:09 - him, left both of those

11:11 - homes to the Berwick

11:12 - Historical Society and his

11:15 - home, which was the coach.

11:17 - Men's home is totally restored.

11:19 - It is absolutely gorgeous

11:21 - and we are hoping that

11:23 - we will receive sponsors

11:25 - to restore the parlor

11:26 - maids house to its beauty,

11:29 - and eventually they

11:30 - will be featured on tours

11:31 - where the Jackson mansion.

11:35 - So welcome.

11:36 - We are now on the interior

11:37 - of the coachman house.

11:39 - This home was restored

11:40 - by Gerald Kirshner,

11:41 - the great grandson

11:43 - of Jacob Connect, who

11:44 - was the Jacksons coachman.

11:45 - This home was built

11:46 - for Jacob connects and

11:48 - has never left his family.

11:50 - Gerald Kirchner collected

11:51 - many family antiques

11:53 - and has amassed a

11:53 - collection here in this home.

11:55 - He also has the largest

11:57 - collection of original Jackson

11:58 - pieces that came out

11:59 - of the Jackson mansion.

12:01 - In this room, we have a

12:03 - pair of English garden seats

12:04 - that were gifted to his great

12:06 - grandfather, the coachman.

12:08 - After Mrs.

12:09 - Jackson died, they descended

12:10 - down through the family and Mr.

12:12 - Kirshner upon his death

12:15 - in 2016, donated this home,

12:18 - along with the parlor maids

12:19 - home and all of the Jackson

12:21 - original Jackson Antiques to

12:23 - the Berwick Historical Society.

12:25 - You folks are getting

12:26 - a sneak preview

12:27 - of the interior of

12:28 - this home today.

12:29 - It has never been

12:30 - open to the public yet.

12:31 - We are hoping in 2023

12:33 - to open the coachman

12:35 - house for tours as

12:36 - well as the parlor maids.

12:38 - And it'll give

12:39 - guests an opportunity to

12:40 - see how the parlor maids and

12:42 - coachmen lived.

12:46 - So I would like to

12:46 - thank you all for stopping

12:48 - by today at the David A.C.

12:49 - Dark House

12:51 - at this time

12:51 - on behalf of the Berwick

12:53 - Historical Society,

12:54 - we'd like to thank Danielle

12:55 - Haydock and her family

12:56 - for sponsoring the project

12:58 - here at our headquarters.

13:00 - Due to their kind generosity,

13:02 - our history of Berwick

13:04 - will be able to be viewed

13:06 - for many generations.

13:08 - We're planning to have a

13:09 - big grand opening, hopefully

13:10 - September, October of 2022.

13:13 - Hope to see folks stopping by

13:15 - and visiting our headquarters.

13:18 - We can be reached at 5707598020.

13:24 - And after the official opening,

13:26 - our plans are to be open

13:28 - every Tuesday, Wednesday and

13:30 - Saturday from 11:00 until 4:00.

13:34 - We have many records,

13:35 - many genealogy records.

13:38 - Lots of folks stop in

13:40 - to do genealogy,

13:41 - family research.

13:43 - We have many

13:44 - archives here on site.

13:46 - Our website is Berwick

13:47 - Historical Society dot org.

13:51 - Thank you so much

13:52 - for stopping by today

13:53 - and joining us here at the

13:56 - Berwick Historical Society.