The Kidron Community Historical Society NewsletterVolume 30 Summer 2018 Issue 3

August 11, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Sonnenberg Homecoming Adds New ActivitiesThe 2018 Sonnenberg Homecoming will have two added events that will be special (see sidebar schedule). The day will begin with the unveiling and dedication of an Ohio Historical Marker commemorating the Sonnenberg Settlement in 1819. The Kidron Merchants’ Association have formed a committee to plan other events leading up to a celebration in 2019.

Historical Marker DedicationThe previous issue of the Bit O’ Vit detailed the arrival of Swiss Mennonites fleeing overcrowding, poor farming conditions and religious persecution in the Canton Bern area of Switzerland. The State of Ohio History Connection has authorized the Kidron Community Historical Society to place an historic marker to commemorate their arrival in the area of Wayne County centered on Zuercher and Hackett Roads. The settlers named the valley “Sonnenberg” (sun valley) after their homeland and the name is still used today in the area. An anonymous donor has paid for the sign. Panoramic PhotoThe second event that will be unique to this year’s Sonnenberg Homecoming will be a panoramic photograph of everyone present on the soccer practice fields of Central Christian School adjoining Sonnenberg Village. The Kidron Merchants Association is sponsoring a professional photographer to take a panoramic photograph of everyone present at 9:00 am that day for posterity. If you ever lived in Kidron, now live in Kidron or wish you lived in Kidron, we hope you will take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We urge you to invite all of your family and relatives in and out of the area to attend and be a part of what will be an historic photograph commemorating the fact that descendants of the first settlers in 1819 are still here and prospering thanks to their sacrifice in daring to leave their homeland for the unknown area of Wayne County.

Sonnenberg HomecomingAugust 11

8:30 am Historic Sign Dedication 9:00 am Panoramic Photograph 10:00 am Food Vendors Open 10:00 am Buildings Open For Tours 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Live Musical Entertainment in the Welcome Center

Dave Wolf, guitar and piano•

New Sound, bluegrass•

John Schmid, country and folk•

1:00 pm Old-time Baseball Game Smithville Stars vs local team 4:00 pm Activities Conclude

ParkingWe have permission from Central Christian School to not only use their field for the picture, but to use their parking lot for the anticipated large influx of people wishing to be a part of this event. We will have rides available to help anyone who needs transportation from Central’s parking lot to the village. Please take the opportunity to join with your family and friends on this important day.

Join us at 9:00 am on August 11 at Sonnenberg Village for a Kidron community photo. Above: Downtown Kidron photographed in the 1930’s.

Many states and countries represented in the guest register at the Heritage CenterVisitors at the Heritage Center in 2017 came from 34 of the 50 United States and 11 countries. States not represented in the guest register: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. International visitors came from Toronto, Niagara Falls, Petersborough and New Hamburg, Ontario and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Bergen, Pfalz, Leopoldshӧhe, Heidelberg and Berlin, Germany; Rotterdam, Holland; Caesarea, Israel; Iglesias, Italy; Sandnes, Norway; Lima, Peru; Timisoara, Romania; Slovenia, Serbia; Eichberg, Switzerland; and Bedfordshire, Manchester, London and Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom. Would our early Sonnenberg-Kidron ancestors have ever imagined their rural settlement would attract visitors from such far-reaching places?

Everence® MyNeighbor Consider joining others in designating the Kidron Community Historical Society as your Everence® MyNeighbor charitable organization. The new Everence credit card program, MyNeighbor, offers individuals, businesses and congregations the ability to generate donations for their favorite charitable organization each time they use the card. For every purchase, Everence will donate 1.50 percent of the transaction total to your selected Neighbor. To become involved in this unique program, visit www.everence.org/credit-and-debit-cards/myneighbor or talk to someone at the Everence credit union in Kidron.

Members of the Swiss tour group led by Peter Dettwiler sang “dona nobis pacem Domine” (Lord, grant us peace) in the old Sonnenberg Church (now the Welcome Center) at Sonnenberg Village.

Peter Dettwiler brings another Swiss tour group to KidronRudolph and Ursula Sonderegger were assigned to hostess Virgene Steffen who invited local Swiss speakers Tilman Neuenschwander, Glen Neuenschwander and Barbara Steiner to join them at a table at Sonnenberg Mennonite Church’s BBQ chicken fundraiser. The table setting included a map of Switzerland and a welcome poster. Til said a German prayer and each shared in Swiss and English conversation. Virginia Shetler, Oren Steiner and Ken Neuenschwander stopped at the table to enter the conversations. After the meal, the group drove to Glen’s farm and to Barb’s home where she accompanied singing “Gott Ist die Liebe” and then played a number on her accordion to which they yodeled. From there they drove to Virgene’s log home for a quick house tour and back to Kidron Heritage Center to rejoin the tour group of 21. Others hosting dinners were J. and Liz Augspurger, Ruth Detweiler, Aaron and Jacqui Hershberger, Al and Mary Hostetler, Beth Jones and Bill and Kay Medford. Leora Gerber coordinated the tour group’s visit in Kidron. Communication was not perfect, but understandable, and all had an enjoyable time together.

Clara Yoder and her four sisters and sister-in-law prepared the meal catered by Yoder Family Veal.

Members Banquet Auction Raises $2KMEMBERS BANQUET TABLE SPONSORS

Eastwood ManufacturingEverence

Farmers National BankG & G Farms

Gerber Feed Service, Inc.Gerber Lumber & Hardware

Gerber Wood ProductsGerber’s Poultry, Inc.

Himes, Slater & Hershberger, LLCHome Appliance Company, Inc.

Hummel GroupK & M Builders

The Kidron Auction, Inc.Kidron Kars, Inc.

Kidron Electric & Mechanical ContractorsLehman’s

L.E. Sommer Kidron, Inc.Logee, Hostetler, Stutzman & Lehman, LLC

P. Graham Dunn, Inc.RES Auction Services | Mast Auctioneers

Schloneger’s Homemade Ice CreamVillage Printing

Weaver Commercial Contractor, Inc.Weaver Custom Homes, Inc.

Weyrauch PharmacyWoodland Mulch

Yoder Family Veal, LLC

Heritage Center Director Dick Wolf welcomed guests to the Members Banquet on April 24 and introduced Phil Schlabach who led the meditation and prayer. Following the meal catered by Yoder Family Veal, 45 volunteers were given potted begonias in appreciation of their service at the Heritage Center. James Mast of RES Auction Services conducted the auction of 15 unique items which brought $2,860 in proceeds.

Heritage CenterVisitors Come from Far and Near to Visit the Kidron Community

UPCOMiNG EVENTSAugust 11 Saturday | 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Sonnenberg Village Homecoming

October 20 SaturdayKidron Beet FestivalSonnenberg Village

..... Quick Reminders .....To receive email reminders of KCHS events, email your request to kidronheritagecenter@hotmail.com and you will added to the Quick Reminder list.

New MembersBill and Janet Burkholder, Orrville OH

Tim and Sandy Detrow, Dalton OHJames Basinger, Pasadena CA

Sonnenberg 1819-2019

KCHS: A LegacyIn historical terms, a legacy is something handed down from one period of time to another period of time. Ideas and objects passed from generation to generation create a family or community legacy. The Kidron Community Historical Society is mandated with the task of preserving the legacies of the Kidron-Sonnenberg community in creating and maintaining a museum and village that will speak of our rich heritage long after we are gone. We invite your involvement by contributing heirlooms and finances to the KCHS for the ongoing collecting, archiving and displaying of these artifacts so future generations may understand who the Kidron-Sonnenberg people were and how they came to settle and thrive in this special place in rural Ohio. Donations can be given in the form of cash, estate gifts, annuities or IRAs, stock and real estate. Check with your financial planner for options specific to your situation.

Sonnenberg people slow to be photographedIt was during [the 1860s] that the first known photograph of someone in the community was taken.... Jacob J. Moser had his taken about 1863, six years before he was ordained deacon. Christian Nussbaum, whose picture was taken possibly as early as 1858, was a schoolteacher who taught German school at Sonnenberg (No. 10). He came from Switzerland in 1852. For the next twenty-five years after the Civil War, photographs of Sonnenberg people are rare. Many objected to this innovation. Even well into the 1900’s some few families objected to the use of cameras. A very small minority today [1969] still refuse to pose for photographs.

James O. Lehman, Sonnenberg: A Haven and A Heritage, 1969, page 102-103, The Turbulent Sixties. Photos of Moser and Nussbaum appear on page 103.

Out and AboutThird grade students at Dalton Elementary School asked Dick Wolf why the early Sonnenberg-Kidron settlers came to Ohio and which town existed first, Dalton or Kidron. Wolf told students about the lifestyle of the early immigrants who came to Kidron from Switzerland in 1819 and the 1820s and about the businesses, churches and schools that they and their descendants established.

Gift ShopRecent additions to the Gift Shop include Soul Tending: Journey Into the Heart of Sabbath by Anita Amstutz, Amish Prayers: A Coloring Book by Lynn Sommer, wood items by Thane Wolf, and Sonnenberg-Kidron commemorative key rings. The Gift Shop is open during regular Heritage Center hours, or call the Heritage Center at 330-857-9111 to inquire about orders.

Genealogy LibraryCataloging and shelving hundreds of genealogy books in the new library are progressing at an impressive rate. Computers and a printer along with a conference table and chairs are in place.

Heritage Center Tidbits

CLARIFICATIONPhoto caption, page 3, 2018 spring Bit o’ Vit

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick and Maria (Steffen) Badertscher in front of the old house on the former Deacon Abraham Tschantz farm, circa 1904. The house is preserved in Sonnenberg Village as the Tschantz Cabin. (Sonnenberg: A Haven and A Heritage, page 63)

Allyson Leisy

carefully tends the

raised beds in the

Heritage Garden at

Sonnenberg Village.

Board President ................................................ Wayne LiechtyBoard Vice President .......................................... Steve GerberBoard Treasurer.......................................... Richard NussbaumBoard Secretary ............................................Gloria KaufmannBoard Membership Chairperson .........................Leora Gerber

Individual Annual Member ............................... $15Husband and Wife Annual Member ................ $25Organization Annual Member .......................... $35Individual Life Member .................................... $250Heritage Club Member ...................$1000 or more

Name _____________________________________________________________Address ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________Type of Membership ____________________________ New RenewalMembership Fee $_________ General Donation $____________Would you like a receipt? Yes No Thank you!

Send checks to Kidron Community Historical Society ● Box 234 ● Kidron, OH 44636

NonprofitOrganizationPostage PaidWooster, Ohio

44691Permit No. 228

Kidron Community Historical SocietyP.O. Box 234Kidron, Ohio 44636330-857-9111kidronheritagecenter@hotmail.comwww.kidronhistoricalsociety.org

Address Service Requested

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Kidron-Sonnenberg Heritage Center13153 Emerson Road ● Kidron, Ohio

OPEN APRiL through NOVEMBER ● THURSDAY and SATURDAY ● 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.CLOSED DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY and MARCH

The Heritage Center is closed December through March but welcomes appointments for tours and to visit the museum or Sonnenberg Village. Call and leave a message at 330-857-9111 for information or to schedule an appointment.

The Kidron Community Historical Society of Kidron, Ohio, founded in 1977, operates under the nonprofit charter granted by the State of Ohio. Your tax deductible gifts will help secure the future of the Historical Society and give you a part in preserving the heritage of this unique community.

AdministrationBoard Member .......................................... Maxine HershbergerBoard Member ...................................................... Fritz SprungerHeritage Center Director ...................................... Richard WolfSonnenberg Village Project Director ..........................Ray LeisyBit o’ Vit Editor ...................................................Judie Nussbaum

Kidron Community Historical Society MembershipAnnual memberships are due in January. Memberships expire on December 31.