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  Dieffenbach on Beets, August 10, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Beets!: De Rode-reeva!", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated August 10, 1953. Within, Dieffenbach discusses the various ways to cultivate beets and their subsequent uses thereafter. He also provides anecdotes and superstitions surrounding this vegetable.

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  Dieffenbach on Parsnips, August 3, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Parsnips", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated August 3, 1953. Within, Dieffenbach details how to grow and cultivate parsnips and relates the various uses, sayings and folklore surrounding this vegetable.

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  Dieffenbach on Turnips, July 20th, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Turnips", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated July 20, 1953. Within, Dieffenbach details how turnips are best planted, when to harvest them and explains how turnip-tops can be used in cow-feed. He also recounts superstitions related to turnips.

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  Letter From Helen Moser to Alfred L. Shoemaker, July 8, 1953

  Helen Moser

  A handwritten letter from Helen J. Moser addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated July 8, 1953. Within, Moser mentions a number of topics including a plant she calls "Farsomling Kraut", which was rubbed in the hands to create a pleasant smell at the church meeting house.

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  Dieffenbach On Lettuce, July 6, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript on lettuce compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated July 6, 1953. Within, Dieffenbach writes a personal history of his grandmother's beliefs and techniques used to grow lettuce when he was a child, along with methods he used once he was married with his own garden.

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  Dieffenbach on Endive, June 15, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Endive - "der Ondiffy!", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated June 15, 1953. Within, Dieffenbach details the cultivation methods his family employed as a child to successfully grow endive.

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  Dieffenbach on Beans, May 25, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Beans - De Boona!", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated May 25, 1953. Within, Dieffenbach details various bean cultivation methods, superstitions, recipes, songs and anecdotes about bean consumption - some in Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.

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  Letter From Esther Moser to Alfred L. Shoemaker, March 23, 1953

  Esther Moser

  A handwritten letter from Esther Moser addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated March 23, 1953. Within, Moser writes on a number of subjects including bird and animal sayings, St. Gregory's Day, and recipes for dishes involving ham and dough.

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  Dieffenbach On Dogs: Superstitions and Beliefs, March 9, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Dogs: Superstitions and Beliefs", by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated March 9, 1953. Within, Dieffenbach details a number of folk beliefs and superstitions surrounding dogs, ranging from secret breeding techniques to a tale about a dog trying to save his master from suicide.

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  Letter From Agnes Geiger to Alfred L. Shoemaker, February 17, 1953

  Agnes Geiger

  A handwritten letter from Agnes Geiger addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated February 17, 1953. Within, Geiger writes about various farming chores, including sprinkling ashes and caring for livestock.

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  Our Sturdy Forefathers, Their Health and Longevity: Big Families, January 26, 1953

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated Jan. 26 1953. Within, Dieffenbach records two exceptional cases of large farming families: the Ziegler family with twenty-two children and the Batdorff family with eighteen. Dieffenbach then explains how each locality had a "bully" or someone with super-human strength.

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  Postcard From Morris Reppert to Alfred L. Shoemaker, January 3, 1953

  Morris Reppert

  In a handwritten postcard dated January 3, 1953, Morris Reppert responds to Alfred L. Shoemaker's WEEU radio program request for the Pennsylvania Dutch name for baking soda.

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  Dieffenbach on Bees: Honey and Wax, November 17, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Bees: Honey and Wax", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated November 17, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details the extensive ways in which honey and wax from bees were used in everyday life, ranging from folk medicine to candles, water-proofing and house construction.

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  Dieffenbach on Bees, November 10, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Bees", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated November 3 and November 10, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details the various methods he knows for constructing bee hives and collecting honey.

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  Series of Adam and Eve in Paradise Engravings

  Henry B. Sage, H. W. Villee, Samuel Bauman (1788-1820), and M. Dahlem

  This series of five photographs of woodcut engravings depicts Adam and Eve in Paradise along with the serpent and Tree of Knowledge. The engravings originally accompanied ballad broadsides printed by various firms including Schneider and Meyers, Heinrich B. Sage, Samuel Bauman, M. Dahlem and H. W. Villee. These photograph reproductions were used by Alfred Shoemaker in the production of an article for The Pennsylvania Dutchman and contain his notations on the reverse of the photos.

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  Dieffenbach: Butchering-Time on the Farm, June 20, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Butchering-Time on the Farm", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated June 20, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach provides a detailed account of traditional ways of butchering pigs, ranging from the killing process to the cleaning of entrails for sausage casings.

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  Dieffenbach on Cows, April 26, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten material on cows, compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 26, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details anecdotes from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania on a number of topics including foods harmful to cows, home remedies, cats in relation to cows, stable lore and other subjects.

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  Dieffenbach on Steers: Anecdotes, April 12, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Steers: Anecdotes", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 12, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details a number of anecdotal stories revolving around steers, including a practical joke played on a cattle dealer and an encounter with the devil.

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  Dieffenbach on Steers: Superstitions, April 12, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Steers: Superstitions Relating to", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 12, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details various superstitions surrounding the practice of gelding, including ways to induce proper healing and warnings of death post-surgery.

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  Dieffenbach on Cows, April 11, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten material on cows written by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 11, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details a number of personal anecdotes about cows, including eating habits, selection, birthing complications, and other lore associated with cows.

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  Dieffenbach on Cows, April 1, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Cows", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 1, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details anecdotes from Berks County, Pennsylvania farmers concerning all aspects of cows and raising calves including needed equipment, milking, de-horning, and breeding. It also contains related folklore surrounding the products of cows (veal, beef, butter, cheese, dung) and cures for disease and bewitchment.

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  Dieffenbach on Cows: Addenda, March 24, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Cows: Addenda", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated March 24, 1952. Within Dieffenbach lists a series of anecdotes involving butter churning, farm irrigation, planting seeds and producing and selling hay and dairy products. It also includes a section about the many uses of cow parts after butchering and a list of superstitious beliefs surrounding cows.

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  Dieffenbach on Cabbage, March 21, 1952

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript on cabbage, by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated March 21, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach compiles anecdotes and humorous stories from Berks County and Lebanon County, Pennsylvania on a range of topics related to cabbage including its use as livestock feed, parts of the cabbage, uses for cabbage leaves, uses in cooking, and cabbage seeds.

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  Dieffenbach on Horses: Peculiar Habits and Tastes

  Victor C. Dieffenbach

  Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Horses: Peculiar Habits and Tastes", by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dating from circa 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details some of the eating habits he's seen horses possess, describing stories of horses who eat eggs, cheese, bread and other items.

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  History of the Farm of My Parents, January 1952

  H. Wayne Gruber

  A typed document detailing the history of the family farm, house and surrounding land of H. Wayne Gruber, dating from 1876 to January 1952. Within, Gruber details the history of ownership of the land, the parts and functions of each area of the house (including Pennsylvania Dutch terminology) and the surrounding outbuildings, sheds and barns as well as the fields and orchards. Gruber also describes repair work and expansions to the house and other buildings over the years.