Wednesday Wanderings in the Archives: Our Wandering last week on the Mary Jane Roller Rink was our most popular posting to date. Thank you for sharing your memories with us in the comments! A few were surprised to find that the roller rink had earlier been an inn and restaurant so we thought we’d follow up in this week’s Wandering with a little more of Mary Jane’s history.

As noted in the Gettysburg “Compiler” of April 7, 1923, W.R. Wengert (also seen as Wingert) planned to erect a building at his grove of trees along the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Road for a tea room. The Mary Jane Tea Room, named for his wife, opened up that summer and by the following summer, Wengert had added a dance pavilion and lodging house. For the first few years, the business was only open in the spring and summer, but by the late 1920’s, the Mary Jane Inn was serving chicken and waffles daily from 11 am to 8 pm.

The Mary Jane Inn was a popular spot for card parties, concerts, dances, and wedding receptions. Due to ill health, the Mary Jane Inn was sold to John M. Plasterer and his wife in 1945 who continued the fine tradition of serving the famous chicken and waffle dinners.

In early March of 1948, the Plasterer’s introduced the latest technology to the area when they installed a television set at the Inn and operated it every evening for the enjoyment of their guests. As reported in the “News-Comet”, the set was assembled and erected by a Bethlehem company including a steel tower of 120 feet on the high ground behind the Inn. The television set’s tube was the largest made at the time, which allowed for a 15-inch screen. The cost of the installation was over $2,000.
The Plasterer’s sold the Mary Jane Inn to Ernie Hollabaugh in 1953 and well, if you read last week’s Wandering, you know the rest.
Photo of the Mary Jane Inn, circa 1930’s.