YORK, Pa. -- The interactive Rutter's Discovery Center for Children opened last Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the York County Historical Society Museum in York, Pa.
York Mayor John Brenner participated along with representatives from the Rutter's companies; the York County Heritage Trust, which operates the museum; and York County schoolchildren.
As a third-generation family business, Rutter's treasures its history and the history of York County, said Scott Hartman, president of Rutter's Farm Stores. The Rutter's Discovery [image-nocss] Center for Children will help educate generations of York County youths about their community's rich past. We're proud to be a part of something so worthwhile.
The Rutter's Discovery Center for Children is on the museum's second floor. The space showcases the period between 1890 and 1910one of great change as America developed into a global power as seen through four categories: school, work, home and leisure. Hartman's grandfather, George Rutter and George's brother Bud, the founders of Rutter Bothers Dairy, were born during this period.
Hands-on artifacts include two desks from a one-room schoolhouse, slates and slate pencils, abacuses, stereoscopes, a crank telephone and a crank washing machine, a rug beater, and a butter churner.
Thanks to the generosity of the Rutter's companies, the Heritage Trust is able to preserve and present to the public this important era in York County's and our nation's history, said Jennifer Hall, curator of collections for the Heritage Trust. We're grateful for this partnership with Rutter's.
Rutter's traces its roots to a nine-generation family farm just north of the city of York. Rutter's Dairy, which began in 1921, and Rutter's Farm Stores, which debuted in 1967, have served generations of customers.
Family-owned and third generation-managed, the Rutter's companies comprise Rutter's Farm Stores, Rutter's Dairy and M&G Realty, a real-estate holding company. The companies employ more than 1,000 people in central Pennsylvania.
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