Construction of Interstate 80 in Valley Township, not far from the Derr family farm, began around 1963. Until then, the road traveled from the farm on Cameltown Hill Road, passed by the Hagenbugh farm, (which is the present Cloverleaf complex) then led directly to Route 54. That old dirt road also passed by a lovely Victorian home. My husband and I traveled that road daily. Many times I admired this beautiful house with the wraparound porch and remarked to my husband, "I love that house."
Little could I have dreamed then, that the home and barn were part of the farm originally belonging to my great-grandparents, Levi and Melissa (Flick) Beyer. (if you look closely you can see Levi standing in front of the house, while Melissa sits on the porch behind him) Aside from farming, Levi was a businessman having sold meat from his own horse drawn truck. Melissa was a rug weaver.
The church I had attended in those days, St. John's United Church of Christ not far from the home, featured a stained glass window next to the seat where I sat, just a few rows behind the organist, each Sunday. The inscription read: "Levi and Melissa Beyer." In a million years I could not have known that the beautiful window had been given by my own great-grandparents. I hadn't even known I was a Beyer back then!
Years ago the house and barn were razed making room for the Day's Inn. All that remains are the stumps of the pine trees that dotted the farm house frontage.
The stained glass window still remains in the church at Mausdale, Pa.
