They say good things come in small packages. Surprising things, too. When Updike house Director of Education Maria Lester opened a package recently, she found a smiling John Updike ornament. On the back of the ornament: “Ho Ho Ho! Casting off of J.U.’s gravestone in Plow Church cemetery.”

It was from Michael Updike, a slate sculptor who carved the marker for his father’s Plow Church cemetery gravesite.

“I know the ornament competition is for children but somehow I couldn’t resist,” Michael wrote. “Hope this isn’t too creepy and gives small children nightmares.”

Unless the little ones have been walking through that cemetery in Plowville, all they’ll see is a smiling face on a tree that suggests it really is the most wonderful time of the year. And from now on, this ornament will be a part of the annual tree-trimming tradition at the Updike house.

Twenty locals visited The John Updike Childhood Home on the first Saturday of limited regular hours (12-2pm), Director of Education Maria Lester reported.

With a Christmas tree in the parlor the feeling was festive, and a half dozen children also stopped by to drop off ornaments they made for the First Annual Ornament Competition. Many of the entries will be displayed on the tree and around the house, with the winner receiving $50 and two runners-up receiving $25 each.

The contest is open to all Berks County students in grades K-5, whether public, private, virtual, or home schooled. Children are to create an ornament for the tree by using one or more of these Updike-related symbols/motifs: centaur, rabbit, books, typewriter, art/palette, church steeple, pigeon, or basketball.

The entries will be judged by Lester and the docents who have volunteered to staff the museum on Saturdays. Entries may also be dropped off at the Updike house this coming Saturday, Dec. 11 during open hours.

Questions? Email JohnUpdikeEducation@gmail.com.

For additional information, contact Director of Education Maria Lester, mlester@albright.edu.

It’s official:  On Friday, Dec. 19, The John Updike Society purchased land that was originally the backyard of the John Updike Childhood Home at 117 Philadelphia Avenue—land that includes an aging structure known among Updike scholars and fans as the family “chicken coop.” The Updike property now runs all the way to Brobst St. and the length of Shilling, which was at one time an alley. Realtor Conrad Vanino, who previously received the society’s Distinguished Service Award, represented the society at closing.

The $90,000 purchase was made possible because of a generous donation from the Robert & Adele Schiff Family Foundation, which had given the society the money to buy the Updike house back in 2012. The land provides for additional parking needed to operate the house as a museum, and lawn that can be used for tented receptions.

Listed among entries in the “Literary Destinations” category, John Updike appears on the Literary America website, which lists the three Pennsylvania locales (Shillington/Olinger, Plowville/Firetown, and Reading/Brewer) associated with him. The website, which promotes the book A Journey Through Literary America, is a good one to browse through and ultimately use as inspiration for literary pilgrimages.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission announced yesterday afternoon that The John Updike Childhood Home was one of 18 new historical markers approved out of 55 nominees. The other high-profile approval was musician Jim Croce’s home.

John Updike, who lived in the house at 117 Philadelphia Avenue until he was 13 (1932-45),  received the 1983 Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award from the governor in a Harrisburg ceremony. Updike wrote often about the house, Shillington, Reading, and the surrounding area, and was honored by presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush in White House ceremonies.

This article from the NBC Philadelphia affiliate gets the county wrong—Shillington is in Berks, not Bucks County—but it’s a fact that soon there will be a state-approved marker placed outside The John Updike Childhood Home. The property is owned by The John Updike Society and will be operated as a museum and literary landmark. A grand opening for the house-museum is scheduled for October 3, 2020. While the restoration is complete, what remains is to decide on which items would make for informative and satisfying displays, and to mouth those permanent exhibits.

Updike’s Pennsylvania-inspired fictions include The Poorhouse Fair, The Centaur, Of the Farm, Pigeon Feathers, Olinger Stories, and the Rabbit tetralogy (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit at Rest). The approval of the historic marker comes near the 10th anniversary of The John Updike Society’s founding in May 2009.

The society’s application for inclusion on the National Historic Register is separate, and is now with the National Park Service, who will make their determination sometime between now and the beginning of May.

See also “John Updike historical marker among 18 approved by state” (Reading Eagle)