In the summer of 2024, Bill Gable, treasurer of the New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS), was contacted by William Keen of Lancaster. Keen had purchased the back bar and mirror from the Blue Ball Hotel before the edifice was torn down in 1997.

"(Keen's) plan was to use it in a tavern he was hoping to open in Lancaster," explained Gable, who noted that when Keen's plans were not realized, the 17-foot-long cabinet, with an accompanying 10-by-5-foot, 500-pound mirror, sat in a garage for nearly 30 years.

Now, that piece will be part of a special event dedicated to the history of Blue Ball that NHAHS will hold in the Steve Loewen Community Room, 207 E. Main St., New Holland, on Sunday, April 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. "It's a drop-in," said NHAHS board member Ida Gall. Light refreshments will be served. At 3 p.m., a multimedia presentation will be held. The presentation will include photos of the recent relocation and restoration of the back bar, along with other interesting information about Blue Ball, an unincorporated community located in the area surrounding the intersection of Routes 322 and 23 in East Earl Township. Other NHAHS artifacts related to Blue Ball will also be on display.

"We are inviting people to come and share memories and stories about the Blue Ball Hotel and the bar," said Gable. "Some folks have some good stories to tell that might be interesting." Gable added that the stories will be recorded for the NHAHS digital archives. "We certainly aren't going to shut them up until it gets real late," he added with a chuckle. "If people are here having a good time, I will stay until 6 p.m."

Moving Keen's donation to the new community room was no easy feat. "It probably took until January until we were sure we could get it in here," explained Gable.

NHAHS vice chair Wilbur Horning said that the move was a cooperative effort involving the Garden Spot Village (GSV) Wood Shop, MartinCFS, and NHAHS volunteers. "We contacted the Wood Shop before we agreed to accept (the back bar)," noted Horning.

Wood Shop members Lloyd Ziegler, Arthur Johnsen, and Larry Knepper responded. Their first task was to look at the piece where it was located in a garage in Lancaster. In November 2024, the Wood Shop members examined the pieces. "We saw it was in good shape, but it was grimy," noted Johnsen. "It sat in a bar 100 years with soot from a coal furnace and people smoking." Once the Wood Shop members saw that the piece was solid enough to be moved and reconstructed, they reported to NHAHS. "I said, 'Yeah, we can put anything back together,'" recalled Johnsen. The Wood Shop members advised NHAHS on how to restore the lower cabinets, while taking the countertop to GSV, where it was restored with a filler piece added where a cash register cutout had existed. In addition, the Wood Shop members created wall anchors so that the heavy mirror could be hung and added a piece of molding along the bottom where the mirror met the bar.

MartinCFS moved and stored the pieces at a significant discount, helping to fit the two pieces of the back bar through the doors and into the new community room at NHAHS.

Gable has also put together articles detailing Blue Ball history from area newspapers, including the Ephrata Review and The Clarion. He noted that a few mention the turtle soup served at the Blue Ball Hotel.

Also on display in the museum is the blue ball that hung at the hotel. The owner of the hotel, D. Martin Zimmerman, put the ball in storage in a local barn until 2007, when it was sold at auction. Although Horning and others attempted to purchase the ball, it was sold to an antiques dealer. The following week, members of the historical society spoke with a local business owner who noted that his mother always told him, "That ball belongs to the community." Funds were subsequently raised to purchase the ball.

Horning and Gable also recalled details about working for the Blue Ball Bank, which was located in the brick building diagonal to the hotel before moving to Main Street in Blue Ball. "The bank was founded in 1906," noted Horning, who said that Bill Weaver, who served as CEO of the bank for many years, lived on the second floor of the building with his family. "At night, he cleaned the bank. He was the janitor and the cashier. He did everything." Horning recalled that Weaver used a yellow pad to complete bank business ranging from loan applications to employment interviews. "He had a legal pad he used for everything," he stated.

The NHAHS Museum is open each Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no admission fee. Information about NHAHS is also available at https://nhhistorical.com or by searching for "New Holland Area Historical Society" on Facebook or #NHAHS on Instagram.