Saxonburg Museum has new displays
The Saxonburg Museum, 199 N. Rebecca St., Saxonburg, has a few new displays that evoke the sights and smells of a bygone era.
Fred Cesar, the museum’s volunteer curator, said the new items include a peanut roaster and a popcorn machine that used to be in the G.W. Maurhoff General Store on the borough’s Main Street.
In addition, Carrie Harbison donated a stereoscope that had been in her family for generations. The stereoscope’s two lenses angle the vision of two separate pictures into a single three-dimensional image. It is believed to date back to the 1890s.
The Harbison family, descendants of the Rudert family, had the stereoscope “in this family for a long, long time,” Harbison said.
“Louisa Rudert Seiders was our great-grandmother. It was probably hers, because we had it around the house and didn’t want to throw it away,” she said.
Cesar said, in keeping with the museum’s celebration of John Roebling, a founder of Saxonburg and the inventor of the wire rope used in the construction of suspension bridges, and the Brooklyn Bridge in particular, the museum purchased stereoscope screens featuring views of the Brooklyn Bridge.
“I’m just thrilled to have this,” said Cesar of the stereoscope. He added the device needed a little repair. And the museum spent some time trying to create a display that showed off the stereoscope while keeping visitors from touching it.
The museum also recently received two devices that were once parts of the town’s mercantile history.
The Kingery peanut roaster cart was used at the Maurhoff store beginning in 1910. It roasted the nuts using white gas, which was a highly refined version of gasoline.
Cesar said for years residents would stop by the store to buy a bag of peanuts and then go to the town hall for a movie or a sporting event.
Mary Lou Maurhoff Stuart took the roaster with her when she moved to California.
“She used to roast peanuts on Saturday in the store,” he said.
Stuart sent the peanut roaster as well as another mainstay of the store, a popcorn machine.
Cesar said the Butter-Kist Popcorn Machine dates back to 1914. The Holcomb & Hoke Manufacturing Co. made the popcorn machines between 1914 and 1934.
The popcorn machine is equipped with casters for easy movement. The upper part of the cabinet has glass on four sides, allowing a view of the inner workings of the machine.
The stereoscope, popcorn machine and peanut roaster join the other museum displays, including a schoolroom, a military display, and scenes depicting how people worked and lived — including blacksmiths, farmers, oil well workers, wood workers and storekeepers, as well as displays of automobiles, laundry washing machines, a kitchen, a bedroom and a parlor.
The museum is currently open only for scheduled tours. To schedule a tour, email in advance to SaxonburgMuseum@gmail.com.
