Lititz, My Home Away From Home

A Place to Be and Find Yourself in Others

Have you ever wanted to find a place that was secluded, so removed from your personal life, that you could just relax and be yourself?  That’s what I’ve found in Lititz, PA.

I always liked the town from the moment I first visited it about 10 years ago.  People speak easily there, and the pressures of daily life on the east coast of the United States just doesn’t hold the same weight it does elsewhere.

I visited again last week to participate in the annual Lititz Chocolate Walk that benefits local charities through the local Kiwanis club.  I’ve always been an anonymous visitor before, but this time I wanted to know more about the people, their motivations and personal nature.  My earlier impressions were pleasantly confirmed.

Lititz Park with the artesian well stream in the foreground. In the background are the former Reading railroad train station and Wilbur Chocolate Factory.

Lititz is a 90-minute drive from the grit and hustle of downtown Philadelphia.  The drive itself is enough to relax most people during a sunny autumn day when the green foliage of summer is slowly giving way to the reds, yellows and browns of fall.  When traffic starts to clear beyond the metropolitan exits, the Pennsylvania Turnpike becomes a concrete ribbon of freedom winding its way among the gentle slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.

Before long you find yourself in the former Moravian village of Lititz.  The Moravians preferred a life dedicated to prayer and communal living.  Personal property ownership was accepted, but a lifestyle of generosity was encouraged and revered as elemental spiritual qualities.  While the Moravians no longer have the cultural importance they once had in Lititz, they have palpably left something of greater importance behind - a way of life that’s inviting and kind to everyone. 

At the Wilbur Chocalates factory, I met Kathy Blankenbiller who has the multiple talents of chocolate baker, pastery chef and writer.  The cakes Kathy had on display in the  store were masterpieces of sugar, flour and patience that looked more like sculptures than pastry.  Kathy says it’s both her passion and her way of relaxing after a hard day of making chocolates of incredible variety at Wilbur Chocolates.

Seriously, that really is a cake.

When Kathy isn’t baking or sculpting cake, she’s also a member of the Kiwanis club that runs the Chocolate Walk.  This year the group took in 1,875 visitors with their innovative idea of halloween for generous adults.  Kathy says it’s one of life’s greatest satisfactions to be able to walk into Schreiber Pediatric Center to see the difference their work has made for sick children in need.

I ran into Randy Weit at the Lititz Historical Foundation, and he has found the right niche in life as the foundation’s president.  The genial white-haired man discussed Lititz history with me as if it were a story he was recounting from personal experience, which is not a reference to his age as much as his deep knowledge and personal interest that make his accounts so vivid and memorable.

I’ve been returning to Lititz on the anniversary of my first visit on the winter soltice, December 21, as part of my holiday tradition.  That first day, I found distinctive holiday gifts that would be difficult to find anywhere else, and the variety of shops made it easy to find something for everyone.  Philadelphia area residents can think of it as a South Street with a sense of taste.

I had lunch at the Café Chocolate during that first trip, and I still make a point of sampling the latest treats on a menu of surprising variety and quality.  This time, I made a point of introducing myself to Selina Man, a former resident of Hong Kong and owner of several earlier successful businesses. 

Selina is truly a delightful individual with an engratiating smile and welcoming manner.  When I asked if she was the owner, her reply was, “At Café Chocolate, we always say the customer is the owner.”  With a good-hearted chuckle she added, “So, technically, I am the owned.”  She invited me into her office and proudly showed me a book entitled The Celebrity Experience, Red Carpet Customer Service, written by another intrepid visitor to her cozy bistro, Donna Cutting.  Selina is no stranger to the benefits of treating people well.

Jill Sturgis telling a city boy how to twist a pretzel. I hope I wasn’t too difficult a student.

A short stroll down the street brought me to the Sturgis Pretzel bakery, where I met Jill Sturgis, great-great granddaughter of founder, Julius Sturgis.  The bakery is the home of the first commercially produced pretzel in America, and when you’re in town, be sure to get a freshly baked pretzel there.  The difference will be obvious and delightful. Jill’s daughter now runs Tom Sturgis Pretzels in Reading, PA, and the sample she offered me was an exceptional pretzel that lacked the preservatives and other polysylabic elements found elsewhere.

There are a couple versions of the first pretzel’s history, but Jill shared the correct one with me, and it’s hard to doubt the direct descendant of the inventor.  Pretzels had been made for hundred of years and were quite popular in Civil War era Pennsylvania as well, but they were more like cake products in those days.  One day Julius decided to taste a dried out piece he commonly found while cleaning out the ovens, and he liked it.  He went to his boss with the idea to make it a new product, but like many a great inventor, he was scoffed at.  The undaunted Julius experimented and refined his idea, and the rest is history.  Try to find a pretzel at a standard bakery today.

My final stop before strolling along Lititz Run, a stream at the north side of town fed by an artesian well, was Cherry Acres.  This shop has some of the best constructed furniture I’ve ever seen, and what makes the pieces particularly memorable is thier construction from recovered barn wood with its unique color and texture.  Green living with a touch of class is how I like to think of it.

The exterior of Cherry Acres. A romantic area to bring a woman, by the way.

Although primarily a furniture store, there are plenty of other interesting finds there.  My personal favorites were the decorated sink basins; each stunning works of art that will surely brighten any room they’re in.  But to tell the truth, it was the grilled chocolate sandwiches that brought me in there in the first place.

Tim Whitmyer from Scooter’s Restaurant and Bar is my nominee for the Lititz Chocolate Walk Chef of the Year, if such an award actually exists.  He grilled fresh chocolate between two lightly buttered slices of bread that was delicious in its own right, but he took it to a delightfully decadent pinnacle with a habanero fudge sauce  for dipping.  The combination of spicy hot with silky smooth sweetness is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted.  “Scooter’s” might not sound like a wonderful place to eat, but I’m going there, because what I tasted was fabulous.

Now, I admit to missing many, many attractions that I will make a point of visiting in the future.  I missed the Lititz Watch Company, the Teddy Bear Emporium, The Barking Lamb, Healthy & Hardy, Freeze & Frizz and many more.  But in my defense, there were a record 27 sites to see this year.

I’ve shared my favorite home-away-from-home with you and hope you’ll take the time to visit my new friends whenever you’re within 100 miles or so of the town.  It’s well worth the trip.