The board of supervisors for one Lebanon County municipality will now call its meetings to order using a gavel that has ties to one of the country’s greatest crusaders for racial equality and justice.
East Hanover Township planning commission chair Tom Ehrhart said he wasn’t aware of the gavel’s existence until going through his grandfather’s suitcase.
His suitcase?
“My parents and my grandparents adopted the philosophy that, as they pass away, they can’t take material things with them. Whatever they can save in a suitcase – they’ll capture their legacy in a suitcase,” said Ehrhart.
“We have a suitcase of my grandparents and my parents, and we’re doing the same thing,” Ehrhart noted about him and his wife.
It was in that suitcase that Ehrhart discovered something remarkable – a gavel apparently crafted from a bed once owned by the Old Commoner himself, Thaddeus Stevens.
Thaddeus Stevens, one of the most prominent and formidable figures in the American Civil War and Reconstruction era, remains a pivotal name in United States history. Born on April 4, 1792, Stevens was an influential Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, serving multiple non-consecutive terms between 1849 and 1868. He lived and practiced in Lancaster.
A vehement abolitionist, Stevens championed the cause of emancipation long before it was popular or politically advantageous to do so, fighting relentlessly for the eradication of slavery. He was also a key architect of the 14th Amendment, which sought to ensure equal protection under the law, and was instrumental in driving the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.
Today, Stevens is often lauded for his unwavering commitment to racial equality and his formidable role in shaping the Reconstruction policies of the United States.
Ehrhart said that based on a handwritten note discovered with the gavel, he believes that his grandfather – Lancaster’s Rev. Charles W. Clodfelter (1875-1960), himself an erstwhile inventor – acquired a bed once owned by Stevens through a Lancaster estate liquidation sale circa 1910-1912.
Ehrhart said he’s tried to pin down the exact date of the sale, but hasn’t been successful yet. However, based on his grandfather’s note, he believes that the Rev. Clodfelter made multiple gavels and bequeathed them upon local municipalities and civic organizations.
He’s not sure how many exactly were made, or which organizations received them, but he does know that by the time it came for his grandfather to pack his suitcase, he had just two artifacts left – one gavel, complete with handle, and one mallet, which still needs a handle.
It’s unknown whether Stevens ever slept in the bed, or when he may have purchased the bed, but it is believed to have been located in his home at 45 S. Queen St. in Lancaster.
The building and remains of its original foundation are today in the process of being developed into the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History & Democracy – Lydia Hamilton Smith being a Black woman who was Steven’s longtime housekeeper, employee, and possibly more.
The insight Ehrhart had upon realizing what he had in his possession would have undoubtedly pleased the Rev. Clodfelter.
“Well, I need to do something with this (the complete gavel), because I can’t take it with me,” Ehrhart recalls thinking.
Ehrhart – himself a graduate of Thaddeus Stevens College and a tenured member of East Hanover Township’s planning commission, as well as its chair for the last three years – said he thought it was only proper that he carry on the tradition and donate the gavel to East Hanover Township.
“I have no idea what inspired to make these or donate them,” said Ehrhart of his grandfather. “You have to read into it I think. He wanted to contribute something to society. He realized there’s some value in Thaddeus Stevens and he wanted that legacy continued in some way.”
Ehrhart said he’s doing the same thing – passing along the legacy of Thaddeus Stevens’ principles.
“Now they have the responsibility to carry on the legacy of Thaddeus Stevens and their deliberations,” said Ehrhart of the gavel, which has already been used to call meetings of the East Hanover Township supervisors to order.
The gavel was officially presented to the Board of Supervisors at a meeting on Monday, May 22.
Ehrhart said that the gift was meant to be a personal gesture amongst his compatriots, but that he thought it might be good for the public to be reminded of the contributions of Thaddeus Stevens.
Ehrhart noted, however, that East Hanover Township didn’t need any reminders of Stevens’ legacy.
“We forget what they fought for,” said Ehrhart. “He’s certainly one of the Founding Fathers that doesn’t get a lot of attention and we should pay our respects to him.”
Ehrhart said that the gavel was just a token of recognition for that.
As for the mallet head found in the suitcase, Ehrhart is trying to keep the family tradition going.” He said he presented his 12-year-old grandson, Finley, with the incomplete gavel, a piece of walnut, and a letter, with an invitation to make the handle together in Ehrhart’s shop on the wood lathe and encouraging him to “lead your life in the spirt of Mr. Stevens’ and your family’s heritage.”
Finley and Tom recently completed the project.
“He’s to carry on the legacy of Thaddeus Steven.”
As we all should.
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