A postcard is a small thing.
A picture on one side. A few handwritten lines on the other. Maybe a stamp tucked into the corner.
But more than a century later, those little pieces of mail can reveal an astonishing amount about the places and people that came before us. That is the idea behind Postcards of the Lititz Area, the latest book from Lititz Historical Foundation President Cory Van Brookhoven.
The oversized, coffee-table-style book contains more than 200 pages and over 500 images, including more than 375 in color. Its coverage extends beyond Lititz Borough into Warwick and Elizabeth townships, offering readers a visual journey through communities, businesses, landmarks, streets, and everyday scenes that have changed dramatically over the decades.
Many of the postcards featured in the book have never before been published. But this is more than simply a collection of old pictures. Van Brookhoven uses the postcards as starting points for telling the stories behind the images, giving readers a better understanding of the people, places, businesses, and events that helped shape the region. The book also explores the history of the known post offices that once served the Lititz area.
For Van Brookhoven, it is familiar territory. Born and raised in Lititz, he describes himself as a third-generation historian and has served as president of the Lititz Historical Foundation since 2013. He has written more than 200 local history stories for area newspapers. Postcards of the Lititz Area is his fifth book.
And tucked among those hundreds of postcard views is one of my favorite kinds of local history stories: an ordinary Lancaster County family suddenly thrust into the spotlight by an extraordinary event.
Meet the Famous Habecker Triplets
On August 4, 1911, Wayne and Maude Habecker welcomed not one baby, but three.
Arthur, Dora, and Wayne Jr. were born at the Habeckers’ rural home about two and a half miles northeast of Lititz. At a time when the birth of triplets was an extraordinary occurrence, word spread quickly.
Before long, the Habecker children were local celebrities.
Hundreds of people reportedly traveled to the family home to see the newborns, many arriving with gifts. The Lititz Record would come to refer to them as “The Famous Habecker Triplets,” and local businesses helped the suddenly much larger family with donated supplies.
The attention must have been welcome, because raising three infants at once presented a considerable challenge.
Their father was working 16-hour days and earning 75 cents per hour at the time of their birth. With three new mouths to feed, the Habeckers soon found an unexpected way to supplement the family income: they turned the public’s fascination with the triplets into a postcard business.
Picture postcards showing Arthur, Dora, and Wayne Jr. were sold through the mail, providing the family with additional income. Wayne Sr. also reportedly took the children to the Landisville Camp Meeting Grounds, where he sold postcards of the famous trio to visitors.
The postcards preserved more than just their images. They captured a moment when three babies from rural Lancaster County had become genuine local attractions.
And their celebrity did not disappear as soon as they learned to walk.
By the age of eight, Arthur, Dora, and Wayne had formed a popular musical act and were performing around the region. Eventually, all three married and raised families of their own, but they remained close throughout their lives.
More than six decades after their unusual arrival, the triplets were still making news.
In August 1974, Arthur, Dora, and Wayne Jr. reunited to celebrate their 63rd birthday. A newspaper feature looked back at the excitement surrounding their birth and the postcards their parents had once sold to help support the family. Even at 63, Arthur and Wayne reportedly saw one another daily, while the brothers visited Dora each weekend.
Dora would outlive her brothers, passing away in July 1981 at the age of 69.
That is precisely what makes Postcards of the Lititz Area so much fun.
A century-old postcard showing three babies sitting for a photograph can become the doorway into a forgotten story about a struggling farm family, hundreds of curious visitors, three unexpected local celebrities, a postcard business, and a trio of siblings who remained part of Lancaster County’s collective memory for decades.
More Than Pretty Pictures
Postcards flourished during an era when communication looked very different from today. For only a few cents, someone could write a quick message, attach a stamp, and send a colorful glimpse of their hometown across Pennsylvania or across the country.
Today, those cards serve another purpose. They freeze moments in time.
Businesses that disappeared decades ago suddenly have storefronts again. Roads return to their earlier appearance. Long-gone hotels, schools, factories, parks, churches, post offices, and neighborhoods reappear exactly as someone saw them generations ago.
And sometimes, sitting quietly inside one of those images is the beginning of a remarkable human story, like that of Arthur, Dora, and Wayne Habecker.
That combination of imagery and storytelling is what makes Van Brookhoven’s new book especially appealing to anyone interested in Lititz and northern Lancaster County history.
How to Get a Copy
Postcards of the Lititz Area is an 8½-by-11-inch, coffee-table-style book containing more than 200 pages and over 500 images. Copies are priced at $27.95 plus tax.
The book is available through Amazon and at the Lititz Historical Foundation gift shop at 145 East Main Street in Lititz. The Foundation’s museum and gift shop are open year-round, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Whether you grew up in Lititz, collect local postcards, enjoy Lancaster County history, or simply like discovering the unusual stories hiding behind familiar places, Postcards of the Lititz Area offers plenty to explore.
And if you happen to spot three familiar little faces staring back at you from one of its postcards, now you know the story of the famous Habecker triplets.
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1887 View of Lititz and Warwick, Lancaster County, Pa. PosterPrice range: $29.99 through $34.99
