Our dear friend Jackie Mock was kind enough to sit down with us on August 10th, 2016 to share some memories with us.

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She fell in love with the area when her future husband, Walter, brought her here to meet his parents in the early 1950's.  His parents had bought their house in April of 1935.  Today we know it as the "Stone House" sitting on the road

"Stone House Way".

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The house & property have become a local "landmark" thanks to the loving care of Jackie. She has tended the grounds with a deep respect for nature.

 

But when her future in-laws bought it, the house was in disrepair and had no heating system and no plumbing.

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Walter's parents stayed at the American Hotel in town while the house was being made liveable.  They had purchased the house and 66 acres.

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The American Hotel was owned by Allison & Irene Smith.  They became good friends to Walter's parents.

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Back in those days, many roads were not paved.  They were dirt roads that had to be "oiled" each year.

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Jackie recalls the quiet town where you could go for days without seeing anyone.  The General Store at the foot of Fiddletown Road was owned by Ollie Schoenberger (this was before Smiley took it over.  We all loved Smiley's great selection of meats - including his ring baloney that many said secretly included out-of-season venison in it).

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Jackie recalls being a little timid going into the store since its lights were often shut off to save electric.  It was a true General Store in that it sold food, clothing, shoes, equipment, and just about anything you needed.

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Ollie wore a white shirt every day and had elastic "garter belts" on each arm to hold his sleeves up (typical of shop keepers in those days).  German was spoken in the store, but then again, German was spoken throughout the town.

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Jackie's mother-in-law loved to tell a story about the first time she went into the store.   Two old "codgers" were a daily fixture sitting on a bench just inside the door to the left.  When they saw the "young" girl enter they made remarks to each other in German.  Nothing impolite, just noting that someone they didn't know had entered.  They didn't know that she spoke German and understood them.  As she left she said goodbye to them in German, nearly knocking them off their bench.

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Jackie says there were tables in the back filled with clothes and other sale items but nothing had a price on it - instead they had tags with letters - two or three letters each (like LM or AG) and Ollie would look at them and immediately know the price.  And Jackie points out, his prices were always fair.

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Surprisingly, the store did not carry a variety of meats.  Although on weekends you could buy chop meat, ring baloney and cold cuts.

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Walter's parents continued the tradition of renting their fields to local farmers.  Their house had electric - but it was the last house on the road with it.

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I asked Jackie what her first thoughts were of her new town.  She said it was quiet, beautiful and rural - very country.  She loved watching the dairy cows grazing on the rolling hills.  And many folks kept pigs.  But most of all - everyone was "Dutchie" - meaning Pennsylvania Dutch (actually Deutsch).

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There were no supermarkets and the family would have to drive down to Allentown and do shopping at Penn Fruit Supermarket near Route 22.

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Over at Schoenberger's very little cash changed hands - a lot of purchasing was done through bartering.  Walter's dad once remarked that you never knew how Schoenberger's butter would taste because it depended on what produce customers traded (and Ollie then fed to his cows).

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Jackie said that although the local foods were delicious they were new to her - shoo fly pie, ring baloney, salty chip beef and a variety of sausages.

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In the summer, a Mr. Goldfarb would drive into town with an open air truck to sell fruit.  A scale hung on the back of his truck to weigh the fruit.

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Jackie's love for her "adopted" town is demonstrated by the fact that one day her home and 52 acres will comprise the Walter W. Mock Memorial Park.  And it will remain natural, rural and undeveloped so that future generations can enjoy what she has enjoyed for the last 65 years.

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