Sunday, August 17, 2003

All the rushing around that I do, the hustle and the bustle, the getting and the spending, slows to a halt when I push open the gate of the picket fence that leads into Old Economy Village.

	IF YOU GO Old Economy Village, 14th and Church Streets, Ambridge, PA 15003, 724-266-4500, or visit www.oldeconomyvillage.org. For information on the Herbes de Pittsburgh luncheon fund-raiser, call Barbara Mendicino, 412-373-7818.

My annual visit to Ambridge has always been in the company of women who are members of the Western Pennsylvania unit of the Herb Society of America. I am a great admirer of the ladies of the club, and though I don't know a woolly yarrow from a sweet woodruff, I do love to listen to these women talk the talk.

My most recent visit was a double treat because the local Herb Society was hosting a visit from Cleveland's Western Reserve Herb Society. The first order of business was a gift of welcome. The Pittsburghers offered each person attending her choice of an old-fashioned handkerchief. Imagine the pleasure in being with women whose first and last thoughts are of giving gifts.

The Cleveland society ended the visit with its chairwoman, Shirley Ricketts, giving everyone a copy of its "Herb Garden Guide." The Western Reserve unit of the Herb Society of America maintains a public herb garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Wade Park Oval, University Circle, Cleveland.

With each garden guide came a small bouquet of six different kinds of fragrant lavender, Lavandula 'Twickel Purple' being the one name I remember.

Given by all was the gift of attention as we assembled to watch an introductory video of the Old Economy site, followed by a guided tour of the six-acre village. The 17 buildings, including a small but choice natural history museum -- the Harmonists believed in education for all -- are beautifully maintained.

Herb Society members were delighted by the gardens, of course, and kept calling to one another to come see this or that fine specimen. When there was a question about a rare plant, identification was left to in-house expert Ruth Rouleau, who tends an extensive garden at her Blackberry Pond home in Westmoreland County.

Old Economy, or, as it was written, "Oekonomie," was the third and last home of the Harmony Society, a group from Germany whose creed was based on achieving harmony with God. As a brochure describes it, "The Harmonists developed their simple, pietistic lifestyle based upon that of the early Christian Church."

Among the tenets was celibacy, practiced as a way of purification. This was a puzzle to visitors because it appeared to give the society a limited future.

Our guides, Patricia Leiphart, Ruth Hahn and Lynn Waggoner, helped us to understand that the group anticipated the second coming of Jesus Christ during the lifetime of its leader, George Rapp (1757-1847). After the millennium there would be no need for a congregation.

But the celibacy issue surfaced in 1832, when a self-proclaimed prophet, Count de Leon, led a third of the congregation away from Ambridge to Monaca, also in Beaver County, offering God's blessing but not requiring celibacy.

Though the upwards of 800 industrious Harmonists of Old Economy had achieved remarkable economic success, the loss in membership jeopardized their future. Then, at age 90, Father Rapp died.

Our guide talked of a scene, possibly apocryphal, when Rapp spoke for the last time to those at his bedside. He might think he was dying, he said, except that Christ had yet to appear. To the end, his faith was unshaken.

The Harmonists struggled on, but the society was officially dissolved in 1905. In 1919, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania accepted the property. It became the first historic site of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1949. Present administrator is Mary Ann Landis, who with her staff continues to do research on the history of the community.

For the herbalists, a catered lunch was the next order of business. Homemade desserts followed. Pittsburghers offered visitors a wide choice that included a lemon verbena cake and another made with rose-scented geraniums. Lynne Hakanson's lavender lemonade was available throughout the afternoon.

Approaching the dessert table, guests sampled two homemade condiments: Concord Grape Ketchup and Red Pepper Relish with Fennel Seeds, voting to make and sell the relish at their upcoming Herbes de Pittsburgh luncheon fund-raiser scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Fox Chapel Golf Club. Tickets are $45. Speaking on "The Scented Geraniums" will be Caroline Amidon and Joyce Brobst, former presidents of the Herb Society of America.

It's a pleasure to tour Old Economy and to attend the Herb Society meeting that follows the tour. I never saw the like of these herbalists. When they are not being kind to everyone in sight, they're at work giving their money to worthy causes.

During a short business meeting conducted by Kathryn Giarratani, Pittsburgh Herb Society chairwoman, it was the decision of the majority to give $1,000 to Carnegie Mellon University's Hunt Institute toward the publication of a catalog containing watercolor reproductions of healing plants from the Ida Hrubesky Pemberton (1890-1951) exhibition, Sept. 25 to Feb. 29, 2004.

As a memorial to the late Marie Simpson, an herbalist from Industry, Beaver County, the group agreed to a generous donation to Old Economy for a mutually agreed-upon planting.

And so goes the getting and the giving, a worthy enterprise for these women dedicated, as these are, to the do-good life.

Lynne's Lavender Lemonade

• 1 quart boiling water
  
• 1/2 cup food-quality lavender flower buds, dried, see note
  
• 1 (12 ounces) can frozen lemonade (not pink lemonade)

Remove boiling water from heat. Add lavender buds and steep no longer than 5 minutes. Strain the liquid, allow to cool, and use to make the balance of liquid required by lemonade concentrate. Lemonade will turn a pale rose color. Makes 2 quarts.

Note: Dried lavender buds may be purchased in the bulk section of the East End Food Co-op, Point Breeze.

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