The "The Haunting Image Of Mary Dixon" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with friends at breakfast about the nearby Moravian Church and the buildings that make up the Moravian Church Square in Lititz, Pennsylvania.  

The Lancaster Coin Club featured a commemorative
coin with Linden Hall Chapel on it's face.

One such building at one time served as a hospital during the Revolu- tionary War and was visited by George Washington.  Another small building, the Corpse House, was built to hold the bodies and caskets of those parishioners of the church who died.  The dead were not allowed inside the church proper and thus had to be placed in the Corpse House.  

Exterior of the Mary Dixon Memorial Chapel.

But, the one building that has always been my favorite was the Linden Hall Chapel which was built in 1885.  There are many stories that are told about the chapel, but the one most interesting and haunting is about a young girl whose ghost still seems to wander around the chapel on a daily basis.  Mary Dixon at one time was a student at Linden Hall which happens to be the oldest all-girls school in the country.  Mary was born in 1863 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  At the age of 13 her mother died and her father entered her in Linden Hall.  Six years later the music major returned home to be with her family.  Wasn't long before she fell ill with tuberculosis and died.  Her father, a wealthy businessman, decided to donate the funds to build a memorial chapel to honor his daughter Mary.  

Signage in front of the chapel tells of he history.
Click on images to enlarge.

The $25,000 chapel, completed in 1885 was named the Mary Dixon Memorial Chapel.  It is an example of high Victorian style architecture with a Germanic ambiance.  Seems that Mary is still seen by the girls at the school walking through the chapel as well as the halls of the school.  A few years ago the Vienna Boys Choir presented a concert in Lancaster for the benefit of the Parish Resource Center of Lancaster where my wife worked.  

Carol and I had the chance to usher the boys into the Mary Dixon Memorial Chapel where they were the guests of the Linden Hall girls choir.  The girls sang a few songs for the boys and then the boys did the same for the girls.  The voices echoed throughout the chapel and I'm sure Mary must have been thrilled with the music that was offered that day.  There are other ghosts that seem to inhabit the nooks and crannies around the Moravian Church Square, but perhaps none as interesting as Mary.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Blanche Nevin Comes To Life In Metal" Story

The 2016 Lancaster Red Rose Coin Club Medal

It was an ordinary day.  That time of the year once again when the Lancaster Red Rose Coin Club releases it's commem- orative medal.  The coin club was founded in 1958 and is a very active club with over 200 members.  I was introduced to the club a few years ago by my friend Dale who was the President of the club at the time.  Dale has since moved out of the state and is no longer a member.  This year a bust of Lancaster female sculptor Blanche Nevin is featured on the medal.  Blanche was born in Mercersburg, PA in 1841 and moved to Lancaster when her family moved here in 1855 so her father could become the President of Franklin & Marshall College.  Blanche eventually studied art in Philadelphia, the Royal Art Academy in Venice and at Carrara, Italy and spent much of her adult life writing poetry and creating sculptures.  

The horse drinking fountain

One of her sculptures, that of Revolutionary War General Peter Muhlenberg, stands in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection.  She has other sculptures in prestigious collections throughout the United States.  A few years ago my grandson and I took photos of the two sculptures that she has made for the city of Lancaster, PA.  At the intersection of West Orange Street and Columbia Ave. stands a sculpture of a fountain where horses could stop and drink and on the other end of town in Reservoir Park on East King Street is the "Lion in the Park" sculpture that she did in 1905. The coin club medal is the 51st annual coin produced and I have written about a few other medals in the past.  The medals have been issued in fine silver (60) and in bronze (110).  A set of one in silver and one in bronze goes for $70 while a single bonze medal sells for $17.  

The "Lion in the Park"

I used to collect coins as a child, but as many other hobbies, I lost interest in it.  Often thought what might have happened had I continued my coin collection into my adult life.  But, I haven't lost any sleep worrying about it!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.