By ANNA GILGOFF

Special to The Press

For the Weisenberg Lowhill Township Historical Society, the third time was the charm.

After being canceled twice, the long-awaited spring basket social invited patrons, shoppers and neighbors to bid on their choice of baskets arranged throughout the rooms of the historic building in Werleys Corner.

By all accounts the event was a success.

“We were a little paired down this year, but it was great,” said Debbi Zvanut, who was welcoming visitors on the porch. “It seemed logical to keep it a little more intimate this time.”

More than 170 unique baskets were offered during 39 hours of safe shopping earlier this month.

“We normally have 350 baskets but we still had a pretty good turnout,” Zvanut said.

The themed baskets were arranged in various rooms on the first floor.

“People were able to drop their tickets and visit,” she continued. “People wanted to be here and talk.”

Between 25 to 30 visitors a day attended the event.

“The community knows us and values what we do, so they donate the baskets,” Gloria Zimmerman said. “We’re very blessed.”

Visitors could also purchase a ticket for a log cabin quilt stitched by Althea Hahn.

“I made the quilt over COVID-19,” she said.

“It took me four- to five months to complete.”

The idea for the quilt came about when her neighbor, who was moving, gifted her the fabric she used to piece the quilt.

Hahn in turn donated the finished quilt to the historical society for the sale.

In the “specials room,” baskets of higher value were especially prized.

“Some of these baskets have a value of over $100,” Zimmerman explained.

Tin signs, note cards, books and local red ware were also featured.

Many of the items in the “specials room” were donated by Karin McIntyre.

“When she closed her Gingerbread House in Trexlertown, she gave me all her leftover gift items,” Ann Wertman said. “It was very nice of her to do that.”

The items were meant for both the historical society’s basket social and the Little Shoppers Village at the Liberty Bell Museum where Wertman also volunteers.

Proceeds from the basket social will largely be applied to maintenance projects.

“There’s a lot of maintenance here,” Zimmerman said. “Besides this house, we have two big garages and other buildings to maintain.”

The idea for the basket social was born 16 years ago when Zimmerman attended a basket social at Ziegel’s Church.

“That’s where we got the idea,” she said.

“I didn’t get involved until the third basket social,” Zvanut said. “Nancy [Handwerk], Gloria [Zimmerman] and I have been managing.”

The basket social was originally scheduled for April 2020 but due to the pandemic it was rescheduled to November.

“That’s when the numbers started going up,” Zvanut said. “So, we canceled and left everything set up since November.”

Zimmerman said the last activity was in February 2020.

“That was the last public event,” she said. “Everything was canceled last year. We couldn’t control the number of people.”

Even the genealogy workshops were put on hold.

“This is our first event since last year,” Zimmerman said. “We want to be responsible, so it’s very controlled.”

“The board has made the decision not to have our fall festivals but tentatively we look forward to another basket social in the fall, hopefully with the numbers improving.”

Going forward, Zimmerman remains optimistic.

“We’re open for new members all the time,” she said. “We’re having a community yard sale on the first Saturday in June, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.”