Two historic, Pennsylvania-made quilts were presented to the Winters Heritage House Museum and Siebert Genealogy Research Library in Elizabethtown Thursday morning.
The quilts were made by members of the Holsinger family who lived in Blair County. They follow a previous donation of over 15 family quilts, presented by Steve Holsinger, grandson of the late Helen Marie Beery Holsinger.
Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, shows a quilt by his Catharine Blosser Beery named “Star of Bethlehem” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Hollister said the quilt was named Star of Bethlehem. This quilt and another quilt were donated to Winters Heritage House Museum by the Holsinger family Thursday.
Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, talks about quilts by his grandmother inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Holsinger donated 2 quilts to Winters Heritage House Thursday that were made by his grandmother.
Teresa St. Angelo, director of Winters Heritage House, second from left, talks to attendees at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough, where Holsinger family quilts were donated Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
Michele Kozimor, of Mechanicsburg, left, Laurie Williamson, of Elizabethtown, look at a quilt by Corena Gates Holsinger titled “Log Cabin” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The quilt was donated to Winters Heritage House by the Holsinger family in Dec. 2022.
Jo Gratin, third from left, and Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, show a quilt by Helen Berry Holsinger named “French Wreath” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Hollister said the quilt was named “Star of Bethlehem.” This quilt and another quilt were donated to Winters Heritage House Museum by the Holsinger family Thursday.
Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, second from left, talks about quilts by his grandmother Helen Beery Holsinger inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Holsinger donated 2 quilts by his grandmother to Winters Heritage House Thursday that were made by his grandmother.
Teresa St. Angelo, director of Winters Heritage House, talks to attendees at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough, where Holsinger family quilts were donated Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The quilt in the background titled “Log Cabin” was donated in Dec. 2022.
Jo Gratin, left, and Steve Holsinger, grandson of Catharine Blosser Beery, show a quilt by Holsinger’s grandmother named “Star of Bethlehem” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Hollister said the quilt was named Star of Bethlehem. This quilt and another quilt were donated to Winters Heritage House Museum by the Holsinger family Thursday.
This quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger titled “Snowball” is displayed at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. This quilt was donated by the Holsinger family in December 2022.
This pattern is on a quilt by Beery Holsinger and Paul Gates Holsinger named “French Wreath” at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.The Holsinger family donated this and another quilt to Winters Heritage House Thursday.
This pattern is on a quilt by Catharine Blosser Beery named “Bethlehem Start” at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.The Holsinger family donated this and another quilt to Winters Heritage House Thursday.
Ann Holte, of Hummelstown, looks at a quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
Teresa St. Angelo, director of Winters Heritage House,, left, Jo Garvin, center, and Steve Holsinger hold a quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger and Paul Gates Holsinger inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The Holsinger family donated this and another quilt to Winters Heritage House Thursday.
This quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger titled “Red and Peach” is on display inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The quilt was donated to Winters Heritage House by the Holsinger family in Dec. 2022.
Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, shows a quilt by his Catharine Blosser Beery named “Star of Bethlehem” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Hollister said the quilt was named Star of Bethlehem. This quilt and another quilt were donated to Winters Heritage House Museum by the Holsinger family Thursday.
Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, talks about quilts by his grandmother inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Holsinger donated 2 quilts to Winters Heritage House Thursday that were made by his grandmother.
Teresa St. Angelo, director of Winters Heritage House, second from left, talks to attendees at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough, where Holsinger family quilts were donated Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
Michele Kozimor, of Mechanicsburg, left, Laurie Williamson, of Elizabethtown, look at a quilt by Corena Gates Holsinger titled “Log Cabin” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The quilt was donated to Winters Heritage House by the Holsinger family in Dec. 2022.
Jo Gratin, third from left, and Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, show a quilt by Helen Berry Holsinger named “French Wreath” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Hollister said the quilt was named “Star of Bethlehem.” This quilt and another quilt were donated to Winters Heritage House Museum by the Holsinger family Thursday.
Steve Holsinger, grandson of Helen Beery Holsinger, second from left, talks about quilts by his grandmother Helen Beery Holsinger inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Holsinger donated 2 quilts by his grandmother to Winters Heritage House Thursday that were made by his grandmother.
Teresa St. Angelo, director of Winters Heritage House, talks to attendees at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough, where Holsinger family quilts were donated Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The quilt in the background titled “Log Cabin” was donated in Dec. 2022.
Jo Gratin, left, and Steve Holsinger, grandson of Catharine Blosser Beery, show a quilt by Holsinger’s grandmother named “Star of Bethlehem” inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Steve Hollister said the quilt was named Star of Bethlehem. This quilt and another quilt were donated to Winters Heritage House Museum by the Holsinger family Thursday.
This quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger titled “Snowball” is displayed at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. This quilt was donated by the Holsinger family in December 2022.
This pattern is on a quilt by Beery Holsinger and Paul Gates Holsinger named “French Wreath” at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.The Holsinger family donated this and another quilt to Winters Heritage House Thursday.
This pattern is on a quilt by Catharine Blosser Beery named “Bethlehem Start” at Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.The Holsinger family donated this and another quilt to Winters Heritage House Thursday.
Ann Holte, of Hummelstown, looks at a quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
Teresa St. Angelo, director of Winters Heritage House,, left, Jo Garvin, center, and Steve Holsinger hold a quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger and Paul Gates Holsinger inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The Holsinger family donated this and another quilt to Winters Heritage House Thursday.
This quilt by Helen Beery Holsinger titled “Red and Peach” is on display inside Winters Heritage House Museum, 47 E. High St., in Elizabethtown Borough Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. The quilt was donated to Winters Heritage House by the Holsinger family in Dec. 2022.
On Thursday, Holsinger donated two more quilts.
One is a floral wreath mosaic quilt, pieced around 1930-31 by Beery Holsinger and Paul Gates Holsinger. The pieces were quilted around the same time by a group of Williamsburg, Blair County, women, and measures to 96-by-112 inches.
The other is a Star of Bethlehem design, pieced around 1931 by another relative, Catharine Blosser Beery, and quilted in 1977 by the Memorial Church of the Brethren quilting club in Martinsburg. The quilt measures to 79-by-90 inches.
Teresa St. Angelo, director of the Winters Heritage House Museum, says quilting culture is important to the museum. The museum is home to a quilting group, which hosts a quilt show every May featuring historic and modern quilts. She notes that the group’s leader, Jo Garvin, was instrumental in arranging the Holsinger donations.
“Every piece of fabric in a quilt has a story,” St. Angelo said. “Whether it be a story about the first article of clothing the quilter’s child wore, or a pair of pants that became too small, or a story about the quilting group that met every week for two years until the quilt was completed, each and every story is fascinating.”
In addition to her quilting hobby, Beery Holsinger had an impressive career – during a time when women weren’t always encouraged to seek work outside the home. She earned a doctor of medicine degree from Women’s Medical College of Philadelphia in 1926. Beery Holsinger later had general practice specializing in obstetrics and gynecology and was a medical examiner of the Brentwood School District of Allegheny County for 17 years, retiring in 1964.
The Winters Heritage House Museum is located at 47 E. High St. in Elizabethtown. For more information, visit elizabethtownhistory.org.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
