Fairmount Resident Shares Family History
Four years before C.J. Kurtz of Morgantown (affectionately known as "Pop") died in 1999, he had asked his son Paul Kurtz, now a Fairmount resident, to promise to write a book based on his red notebook, which contained details of the family history. Paul spent five years researching the family genealogy and history his father had recorded, but he still was not sure the information would make a good story.
Instead of giving up, Paul took a hard look at who his father was. "Pop's life is like a puzzle, and I am putting the pieces together," said Paul, who began to see purpose in the work as he wrote the narrative. "Pop and Mom (Elsie Kurtz) always put family first," he said, adding that the family story is one of continuing to move forward in unity. "It is a story of overcoming difficulty," he shared.
On March 10, just six days before the Fairmount campus closed to outside visitors, Paul held a book signing where he introduced "Plow, Pulpit, People: We Called Him Pop" to a gathering of about 20 people in the Crest View Gathering Room on the east side of the Fairmount campus.
Paul opened the multimedia presentation with a recording of his uncles singing, "Brothers five still alive, let us tell our story ... as we blend these melodies singing to His glory."
Pop was born in 1901 near Morgantown. He married Elsie in 1923, and they operated a farm in the Elverson and Morgantown area. In 1931, Pop was ordained as a minister at the Conestoga Amish Mennonite Church. In 1972, he was elected vice chairman of Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, where his historical interests flourished. In 1993, he received a certificate of appreciation from the Mennonite Historical Society of Goshen, Ind., for his historical efforts among Amish Mennonites of the Elverson and Morgantown area.
During the presentation, Paul discussed family roots going back to Adam Kurtz, lived in Switzerland but moved his family to Germany in 1671 after becoming an Anabaptist. Paul described the persecution of the Anabaptists in Switzerland, noting that they could not own land, but that the government allowed them to farm wasteland, where the Anabaptists developed techniques that made the land more fertile. Four of Adam's descendants came to America in 1742. "They had accumulated some wealth and were able to buy farms and help other Amish coming over (to America)," noted Paul.
The four brothers were Hans Kurtz, who lived in Womelsdorf; Stephen Kurtz, who settled in Myerstown: Jacob Kurtz, who lived near the location of Oregon Dairy today; and Abraham Kurtz, who lived near the intersection of Peters Road and New Holland Road in New Holland. "Pop's father was Jacob," explained Paul.
Paul recalled that two days before his parents made the final payment on their farm mortgage, they took the children in their 1937 DeSoto to a town in Maryland, where his father conducted a service in a retirement home. After the service while waiting to eat, they heard Franklin Roosevelt on the radio.
"The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor," said Paul. "That changed life."
Paul also shared the story of Christian Esh, who came to be known as C.D. Esh. C.D.'s father and stepmother were killed in a buggy accident on their way to the Lancaster Farmers Market on a Saturday in the late 1890s when C.D. was only 7. The boy went to live with his relatives in the Morgantown area. He later attended Goshen College and medical school. "He became a missionary doctor to India," explained Paul, noting that C.D. worked with lepers and built a hospital in India, returning to the states several times to report on his work and raise awareness and funds for missions in India.
Individuals who have questions about the book may call 717-808-7785 or email psku04@ptd.net.
Fairmount is a nonprofit Life Plan community located at 333 Wheat Ridge Drive, Ephrata. Readers who would like to know more about Fairmount may visit http://www.FairmountHomes.org.
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