A few weeks ago my friend Beth Glick took me on a tour of the Oley Valley, and we ended up stopping by the Keim Homestead near Lobachsville. It was our lucky day, because John Bixler of the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County was there getting the property ready for the Cherry Fair on May 23rd, which is making a comeback this year in celebration of the country’s 250th, after a hiatus since the 1970s. John was kind enough to give us a full tour of the property. The history of the Keim family and 1753-built homestead has been thoroughly documented by the Historic Preservation Trust.
The Cherry Fair began in 1972, brainchild of Richard Shaner, president of the American Folklife Society and teacher at Oley Valley High School. The first fair, which occurred over Memorial Day weekend and drew an estimated 10,000 people, was located at the Lobachsville Commons. Proceeds from the fair went toward restoring the Society’s museum and headquarters.
By the second year the fair was held at the restored Keim Homestead, and grew to include craftsmen showing off early American arts, folk singers, and vendors serving Pennsylvania Dutch and early American foods. At the event’s height in the mid-70s, it attracted 20,000 visitors.
In 1977 the fair was renamed the Lobachsville Folk Festival, but still was sponsored by the American Folklife Society. Unfortunately in April 1980 it was reported that the festival had been postponed indefinitely, citing declining attendance and rising costs. The American Folklife Society gave the Keim Homestead property to the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County. The fair never returned, until now.
This year the Cherry Fair is May 23rd, between 10am-5pm. There is going to be food, games, demonstrations, and live music. You can come see some of the historic buildings. I plan to bring my family, so I hope to see you there.
I haven’t lived in the Reading area since 1980, but my mind applied the appropriate accent when I read “Oley Valley”. The PA Dutch is very strong. 🙂
I went to school with a Shaner (Exeter Township), wonder if it is any relation.
My grandmother was Bessie Keim. All I know is that she was born in the Reading area on June 7, 1899. I’m wondering if there is any way to find out if she was related to these Keims.
It is unfortunate that the guide in this video is still stirring up a lot of mythology with regard to the use of the letter X being a shorthand for the Greek letter Chi, which by implication is a shorthand invocation for Christ’s blessing. There is nothing in the historic record of the Pennsylvania Dutch that supports such a statement. Decorative elements appear in all sorts of material culture items created by traditional PD artisans, which includes iron work. Typically, these decorations were created for the love of design. People just can’t let that go and overthink this things. They make up stories about what they want history to be without ever doing real research.
Richard Shaner was my Local History teacher at OVAH! So glad The Cherry Fair will make a return!