One Red Rose: Caspar Wistar's Tulpehocken Gift
Near Reading, Pennsylvania
According to the historical marker, Trinity Reformed Church owes one red rose a year to the descendants of Caspar Wistar of Philadelphia. The reason goes back to seventeen thirty-eight, when Wistar donated land so the congregation could build a permanent home.
The church itself traces its roots even deeper. German Reformed families among the Tulpehocken settlers had already been worshipping together for years before Wistar's gift, and the Reverend John Philip Boehm ministered to them in those early days. That single rose paid each year is not just a quaint custom. It is a living deed, a ceremonial reminder that this land was a gift and that the obligation to remember the giver never expires.
