After Nancy vacated the house, Woody Myers moved in, and he remained my neighbor until only recently, when the sale of the property was necessitated by the owner's death. Woody is a native of Manheim and a part of a large and well-known Lutheran family there. Born in the mid 1940's, he remains a bachelor, like myself, and like me, also, he is famous for his eccentricities.

For example, he doesn't own a phone and will not always answer a knock at the door if he is home. He once had a dog, whom he named "Dog", and was the original "owner" of a stray cat which I inherited and who now lives with me under the name of "Mattie. A big softee inside, he doesn't always show his feelings and deep emotions, but everyone knows that he has them and he is probably the most popular adult in town among kids all of whom know him.

His smiling face, chomping on an unlit cigar, and his roly poly physique are well known and missed monuments of the Maytown scene. Woody's passions included Boy Scouting, managing the Donegal Braves sports teams, as a trainer, and helping with the fire company and ambulance corps. Originally the manager of Park City shopping mall, and a resident of Maytown's Village Townhouse Apartments, for many years he has worked at the Elizabethtown Masonic Homes where he is a medical aide. (Joyce, his landlady, also worked there.)

While living at 4 West High Street, he was famous for his innovative decorations of the front porch, his whoopie pies at Halloween, his less than fastidious housekeeping, his gardening and yard work, his listening to opera and classical music outdoors on many a summer night, and his provision of weight lifting/body building equipment for the town's youth, in his back building. He also was a member of the small civic society and tended the town square's planters.

Joyce Embly died in August of 1989, after a long battle with liver cancer. She had, however, one of the most ideal deaths that I have ever witnessed. With her family gathered around her bed at St. Joseph's Hospital, she asked me whether this was what dying was like. To which, I replied, "Now Joyce, you know I can't answer that." And with that, she simply closed her eyes and slipped from one world to the next.

With Joyce's death, the property on West High Street became the sole possession of her surviving husband, Jere, who continued to rent the place to Woody Myers with no substantial changes. When Jere, himself, died a rather rapid death due to emphysema, leukemia, and fluid in the lungs, in August of 2001, it was not clear what would be Woody's fate ... or that of the house.

The estate would be divided among Joyce's 5 children, but Jere's friend would be allowed to live in the Jacob Street house for another decade, and it was not certain whether Woody could remain a tenant or if the High Street house would be sold. Bill had suffered a major stroke during the same period of his step father's death, and he lacked insurance to cover the horrendous bills ... so the brothers and sisters decided to sell as much of the estate as they could and if Woody couldn't or wouldn't buy it, himself, then he'd have no choice but to move.

Woody's family in Manheim wanted him to live near them, so that they could look after their bachelor brother without having to rely upon Pastor Bob's telephone and snooping abilities, and , at this stage in his life, Woody was unwilling to get a mortgage, so as 2001 drew to a close, Woody moved to an apartment in Manheim.

The property has been vacant ever since. Of course, we all know what has happened in these latter days and let me simply end by noting that the Maytown Historical Society with the help of a $15,000 grant from East Donegal Township, purchased the house as a museum site, for $70,000, with settlement occurring early in 2002.

It is a tremendous stretch for our small society, but after 17 years of existence, we felt it necessary to do something bold that would increase our visibility in the community, hopefully attract new members and supporters and workers, and provide a place to store and display our large collection of archives.

We see this as part and parcel of a renewal of the square area, where a private contractor has plans to save and make good use out of the long deteriorating former Washington House Restaurant and Shenk's Store. Hopefully, this history of the future Maytown Museum house will contribute to our understanding of, appreciation for, and commitment to, the heritage that flavors and enables us all who call Maytown, Pennsylvania our home and heart

To be continued, and amplified, and amended, as future research allows and events unfold.