Santa Claus made an appearance at Longswamp Township Park for the second annual Christmas at the Caboose on Dec. 15.
Longswamp Township Historical Society's holiday event featured a tour of its 1941 Reading Company caboose, a holiday photo booth, raffle of quilted items, hot soups and baked items, and holiday gifts and stocking stuffers for sale.
“I enjoyed the homemade soup and baked goods and walking through the caboose seeing Christmas stuff from the past,” said Leann Sacks of Mertztown.
During the event held under Pavilion 2 in the township park, the Historical Society offered a complimentary professional winter holiday backdrop decorated with seasonal props — Christmas trees, snowmen, and sleds — for use in family photos.
“This year, we had as many dogs as children come to visit. Very fun!” society President Marie Maly said in a statement.
Food offerings included a variety of hot beverages and soups plus hot dogs and a wide selection of desserts. Among other items, coffee mugs and candles in glass jars and wooden lids branded with the organization's name and/or logo, along with other items, were available for purchase.
Longswamp Township's “Village” series of booklets (10 in all) were available for purchase. These 32-page booklets tell the story of the township's history by featuring its people, places and things using photos accompanied, most often, with short descriptions, said Maly.
Maly estimates 200 visited throughout the duration of the event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Our events have become popular as a gathering spot for folks to come and grab a bite, have a seat and spend time catching up with friends and local family members,” she said. “The outdoor temperature this year, though, made the event more of a grab-and-go kind of day.”
All proceeds will benefit the historical society.
Sharing Longswamp's history
“The second Annual Christmas at the Caboose event is one of several events sponsored by the Longswamp Township Historical Society intended to engage community members by sharing the area's history and heritage, while also raising funds to fuel our efforts,” Maly said.
The society, active since May 2011, purchased the 1941 Reading Company cupola caboose using donor funds and a small amount of fundraising proceeds from a May 2023 event and relocated to the township park in late June 2023. Historical society members, led by Kathy Jo and John Moll and Eloise (Ellie) Long, raised nearly all of the money to cover the purchase, relocation and installation cost for the caboose in about two months’ time.
A donor plaque dedicated the 1941 Reading Company cupola caboose to its former owner and township resident, the late Terry Schultz.
The 1941 Reading Company caboose will serve as an ancillary display and learning space to a museum and library that will be located in the park.
“Right now, we are using most funds to offset construction costs associated with our in-progress museum and historical library, which we are hoping will be opened to the public sometime this spring,” Maly added. “It (the building) was intentionally designed to mimic the Mertztown Train Station to recognize the importance of the railroad to township residents and businesses, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, i.e., before there were such a thing as cars and trucks.”
The mission of the society is to discover and preserve the history and heritage of Longswamp Township and maintain a museum and noncirculating historical library, she said.
Longswamp Township was formed in 1761, which is 15 years before the country was formed.
“We are already working on a plan to commemorate America250, which will culminate in 2026 and coincide with America's 250th birthday.”
To learn more about the Longswamp Township Historical Society, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/longswamphistory or website at https://www.longswamphistory.org/.