Day three is done! 19 miles from #readingpa to #lititzpa which included the rails to trails greenway from Ephrata to Lititz… so #postcardperfect I could not adequately absorb its beauty in my memory or camera. The texture of the packed gravel and freshly cut grass was the perfect backdrop to our non stop giggling and cheerfulness. Loved all the benches to cool our feet and stretch! #lindenhall is celebrating their 275th anniversary this year! They were founded in 1746 and the cousin to @salemacademy Felt great to be welcomed into their charming town of #lititz after a long day. #hiking #mysalemjourney
– Frances Cronlund C’98
Day 3 – Journey to Salem! We walked in the circa 1766 footsteps of the 18 girls and women who journeyed from Bethlehem to Salem today. We could feel their presence. We picnicked at Ephrata Cloister, where they visited. And we ended the day in Lititz, where these brave women attended church services and stayed the night in the third floor of Sisters House, as pictured in today’s photo collection. Our Salem alumnae PA lead and hero, Dail Richie, worked with professionals at the Moravian church in Lititz to provide an evening program for us in the Single Brothers’ House. We learned history, sang Moravian hymns with church choir members, and were soothed by the 1765 organ built by Tannenberg- the SAME organ the girls and women sang with in 1766! The church members were enormously kind and generous, even gifting us with local chocolates (the girls and women drank chocolate there!) and small Moravian Stars. The walk was gorgeous. Picnic lunch was local German bologna sandwiches and sliced local red peppers bought at a roadside stand. The pastoral views were endless, the architecture ever interesting, and the people incredibly warm and generous. And, along the way, our team grows closer each day, sharing and supporting and having increasingly interesting and meaningful conversations. Thank you again for today, Dail, and for dinner last night, Lynn!! And thank you, Salem, for 250 years of educating girls and women – for maximizing the impact of these women and for allowing us to recreate their steps!
– Lucy Rose C’76
