Easter week, Schuylkill style

What it week it was. First St. Patrick’s Day occurred during one of the earliest Holy Weeks that I can remember. This confused everyone, not knowing whether to get palms or shamrocks.
Then before you knew it, it was St. Joseph’s Day. Why is that day important? Well, it is the day that the Canadian geese return to Schuylkill Haven. We headed over to watch them dive-bomb towards Bubeck Park, formerly known as Stoyer’s Dam, to the sounds of practically every fire whistle in town. The whole town assembled in a carnival-like atmosphere to greet their feathery friends who land and make Schuylkill Haven their home until Burro Day in late September when they take off for the south once again.

After watching the avian wonder of nature, it was back to Pottsville for the egg hunt at Pic-a-Pac Park on South Centre Street where the Recreation Department hid eggs practically everywhere. Take a good look when you drive by, there is still a few under the concrete slags. Luckily the youngsters were handed out shovels, weedwackers, and egg detectors so that most of the eggs could be found before the nightly frost set in. I put a small Canadian goose egg in the exhaust pipe of one abandoned vehicle at the park. I hope some lucky child found it before dark.
If that was not enough, we then drove over on Wednesday to Shenandoah to stand in the long line at Kowalanek’s for the Easter kielbassi. Legend has it that it was served at the Last Supper. I am not quite sure about that though. Take a good look at the de Vinci painting; it is hard to see what is on the table.

Our trip was marred only by a heated discussion between a man and a woman who kept up an argument over correct pronunciation. She said it was kielbassi with a long e ending, while he said it should be pronounced kielbass –a, with a short a sound at the end. The Shenandoah riot police quickly took them away and peace was restored. We got inside and packed our grub in our large the coolers and headed back to Pottsville.

As we had reserved tickets, we headed to the famed Peanut Roll Exhibit at the Historical Society, an exhibit that rivals the Faberge eggs that the Russian Tzars collected and displayed. The peanut rolls have a better taste. You know, Carl Faberge made his jewel- encrusted eggs for the Romanovs but none of them could be eaten. Our Historical Society proudly has on display the greatest collection of Mootz peanut rolls ever assembled. Some of these peanut rolls were actually made for John and Maria Pott and the rest of the Pott dynasty when Pottsville was still but a dream. They are not really rolls, but creamy candy balls. If you want rolls, then you have to go to Capitol Bakery.

This Exhibit at the Historical Society allows a visitor to get up close and personal with this fine array of mouth-watering candies. I have been to many a candy museum, such as Hershey’s and the Bazooka Gum Museum, but neither can compare to this local exhibit. Viewing the Mootz collection of historic peanut rolls up close, from all angles, gives the spectator a way to gain a real appreciation for the particular detail, design, and fastidious workmanship of Mootz. It goes to say that photographs (and Mammy took hundreds) will never capture the subtlety of the glow of each unique peanut roll. With the glitter of every peanut roll, each one seems to have a life of its own. The stuff of which their made – vanilla butter cream, dark chocolate and ground peanut – makes them time capsules of Pottsville’s grand history.

Last photograph: Faberge egg which unlike peanut roll, cannot be eaten

I cannot impress upon you the importance of taking the entire family to see the Mootz Peanut Roll Exhibit. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the elegance of the Mootz family – legendary candymakers to all of the high and mighty within Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Peanut roll wrappers and boxes once handled by legendary County Commissioners, Mayors, Burgesses, and School Directors, and a variety of scallywags are all carefully marked so that you can tell each apart from the other without straining your eyes. Do you know that there is even a half-eaten peanut roll on display which was supposedly left on the bench by the quarterback of the Pottsville Maroons during that championship game? After you promenade in the Easter Parade, why not stop in?