Volunteers with the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (HCVHA) will once again present their monthly "foodraisers" for 2025 at Historic Joanna Furnace.

The first event will be a Valentine's lasagna dinner on Thursday, Feb. 13. For the takeout meal, there will be a choice of homemade meat lasagna, cheese lasagna or gluten-free meat lasagna. The dinner will include a pan of lasagna and salad, as well as bread for the non-gluten-free dinners. All the dinners will be sold cold with heating instructions included.

Lasagna dinners will include a homemade chocolate dessert. "We will have chocolate-covered pretzels," said Mark Zerr, HCVHA executive director. "We will also be selling fresh, homemade chocolate-covered strawberries on the day of pickup." Strawberries will also be available on first-come, first-saved basis.

"At each of our foodraisers, we will always have extra food items for sale," Zerr noted. "The Tri-County Library also does a small book sale."

Takeout lasagna meals must be ordered in advance at http://www.haycreek.org. The order deadline is Monday, Feb. 10. Takeout dinners can be picked up between noon and 5 p.m. on Feb. 13.

The HCVHA will also hold a sale of homemade yeast-raised potato fastnachts on Tuesday, March 4. Fastnachts can be purchased by the half or full dozen and can be eaten fresh or can be frozen to eat at a later time.

Fastnachts must be ordered in advance at the aforementioned website. The order deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 25. Orders can be picked up on March 4 between noon and 5 p.m.

"We are doing potato fastnachts, which is a Pennsylvania Dutch German tradition. We use potatoes because it has a nicer flavor," explained Zerr.

Unlike doughnuts, fastnachts do not have holes in most cases. "We cut them in squares," Zerr explained, noting that volunteers will make 300 dozen fastnachts. "We get here early (on March 4) - around 5 a.m. - and everything is laid out. Every batch is pre-measured, so when we show up, the volunteers take the ingredients and mix them. The dough is raised, then we cut the fastnachts. Then they are raised again and fried. That's why we don't have pickup until 12 noon - so we can get the whole process done."

Additional foodraisers will be an Irish shepherd's pie dinner on Tuesday, March 18, and a potpie and chili sale on Thursday, March 27. Details about ordering will be available on the website by Thursday, Feb. 13.

Historic Joanna Furnace, 1250 Furnace Road, Geigertown, is located just off Route 10, 3 miles north of Morgantown. Proceeds from fundraisers and events benefit the HCVHA, a nonprofit organization that owns, maintains and preserves Historic Joanna Furnace, a charcoal iron furnace that was in operation from 1791 to 1898, as well as the Tri-County Heritage Library, which HCVHA acquired in 2021.

Zerr pointed out that those who come to the foodraisers are informed of donations that are needed by the nonprofit organization. For example, scarecrow-making items are needed for the Hay Creek Festival. "It's the time of year when we start collecting long-sleeved, button-down shirts and jeans and fabric remnants for our scarecrow building," he noted. "We also take flea market items that people may want to donate, which we use during our Apple Festival flea market in October."

The Tri-County Heritage Library, 4979 Twin Valley Road, Elverson, is also seeking donations. "For our library, we are looking to collect local genealogies. We are also collecting local artifacts or memorabilia from families for preservation and to display in the library. We want items that have local history to them," Zerr noted. "We are also looking for community cookbooks such as those from local churches. Before all these cookbooks get thrown away, we would be interested in having them donated to our library."

Donations for the library can be dropped off during the foodraisers or during the library's hours of operation on Tuesdays from noon to 5 p.m.

Those with questions about the foodraisers, donating items or upcoming HCVHA activities may email info@haycreek.org or call 610-286-0388.