Although he has never publicly spoken here before, Chris Malone has visited Lititz many times. He comes and goes as he pleases because Lititz is an open town, an open community.

But Lititz hasn't always been that way.

"In closed towns, the church decided what people could and couldn't wear," said Malone, a scholar and a curator at both Historic Trappe and the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia. "Things like what businesses you had were tightly controlled in a closed town. They controlled the rents. They controlled who could stay overnight."

At 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, Malone will discuss the topic "An Establishment of Order and Prosperity: Outside Visitation to Bethlehem and Other Moravian Towns" at the Lititz Public Library, 651 Kissel Hill Road, Lititz. The discussion is being presented by the Lititz Historical Foundation as part of its continuing lecture series.

Malone's talk will last about an hour and is free and open to the public. Interested individuals are requested to register for the event by calling the library at 717-626-2255.

"I'll be talking about how these Moravian-controlled towns often seemed pretty insular, but they absolutely had to have interactions from people outside the town to keep going," said Malone. "Often times these outsiders in Bethlehem and Lititz dictated what they were offering the people in the town. They changed the make-up of the town based on those actions."

"I think the talk will combine elements of both (the scholarly and the informal)," Malone added. "In it, I use personal letters and accounts, which bring it down to a personal level."

More than 30 local history enthusiasts are expected to attend.

"It'll definitely be people who are interested in Lititz history and who are interested in the Moravian people and Bethlehem," said Malone, a native of Allentown who currently resides in Trappe in Montgomery County. "With Lititz and Bethlehem, one was a fully church-controlled town, and the other was a pretty controlled town. One of the big similarities was that both had visitation helpers to see to the needs of and take care of visitors. They helped give an impression of the town. In that time period, sometimes the Moravians were seen with a lot of suspicions."

An expert on the Moravian church and Pennsylvania German history, Malone has publicly spoken on this particular topic eight previous times, mainly to Moravian-themed organizations and Rotary Clubs, in person and virtually.

"I think history is important because the stories and narratives influence our materialist existence," said Malone. "Our everyday life comes from the past. You can sort of help yourself in the future by comparing the past and the present."

Between 1741 and 1845, the Moravian town of Bethlehem experienced a number of developmental changes that caused its community to evolve from a form of closed, church-controlled communalism to a completely open society.

"In almost all of the towns, it happened because of dwindling members," said Malone. "By the 1800s, the number of single (male residents) was almost gone. Most of the towns were completely open by around the 1850s, and they started to sell off properties. It was pressure from the outside to be more open."

"I'd like people to know that Lititz is another important town in the Moravians' natural and global presence in American history," added Malone. "With the Moravians in the 18th century, you can link them to anything. Lititz wasn't just a small town in Lancaster County. It was a stopping point (for travelers)."

For additional information about the Lititz Historical Foundation, go to http://www.lititzhistoricalfoundation.com.