FRACKVILLE — The Frackville Museum will reopen for a new season in April, with a new display highlighting ladies hats that were a tradition for women to wear as spring arrived.
Last Friday, museum director Lorraine Stanton, Frackville, provided a preview of the new display, which will open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. April 12. She was briefly assisted by borough Assistant Secretary/Treasurer Gerri Griffin, who was asked by Stanton to model some of the hats.
“We were looking for some kind of event, and we had all these hats,” Stanton said, explaining the origin of the display idea. “We thought, why not put them on display?”
Stanton said the hats were stored in hat boxes, and it became an adventure for the volunteers in finding treasure.
“We had fun unboxing them because we didn’t know what was in there,” Stanton said. “When we saw the hats, we saw how pretty they were and they could be worn today.”
Stanton said the hats were donated for the display by Olga Piaskowski, Cindy Turner, the Esther Evans family and Mary Schott family. Volunteers Kathy Kraft and Edie Schimpf put together the display.
“What’s nice about putting the hats on was that it was a tradition,” Stanton said. “It was a tradition to welcome spring. We all got dressed up and wore hats and gloves to church. In my era, we had Sunday clothes, work and school clothes and play clothes.”
However, in her view, these customs are being lost.
“Years ago, we kept our tradition more than we do now,” Stanton said. “It was more fun because you had something to look forward to. Towns had their own traditions with parades, or going to the Elks in a gown, and people enjoyed that.”
Writing about Easter bonnets, museum volunteer Tina Liem wrote, “Easter bonnets come from European traditions of wearing flowers on a hat to celebrate spring. It was developed over the years into a way of ladies celebrating Easter and of showing off to family and friends as to who had the best bonnet.”
Stanton said society has lost something, with so many things becoming so casual.
“Keeping traditions is nice. If only people would learn something about their family’s unique traditions,” Stanton said. “My daughter is keeping on with some of our traditions.”
For the April 12 opening, guest speaker Cindy (Heine) Turner will speak at 2 p.m. on the history of the St. Joseph Church minstrels.
According to the website, the museum offers residents and history lovers an opportunity to explore the borough’s past. The museum is opened once a month from 1 to 4 p.m., usually on the second Sunday. However, out-of-town visitors can make an appointment by calling either Stanton at 570-874-2814 or Kraft at 570-874-3531.
There is a private collection of files spanning 100 years, along with photographs, memorabilia and artifacts, include many from Frackville’s centennial in 1976.
The museum is in the Frackville Municipal Building, Center and Oak streets.