The custom of continuing to thatch farm buildings with rye straw throughout the 19th and into the 20th century was among the most intriguing. This traditional craft was handed down generation-to-generation by the Pennsylvania Dutch and continued here in Berks County and the vicinity long after such ancient roofing methods had been abandoned elsewhere. There still remain a few elder Pennsylvania Dutchmen who remember thatching roofs in their youth, and they also still know how to make a “Fackel.” “Fackel” is the dialect term for the twisted bundle of rye straw that is lashed to the roof lath when thatching. However, back when it was a much more common practice, few, if any, of the local Dutchmen knew the English term for such a bundle: “Yelm.”
Since rye was the tallest of the grain crops, it was used to thatch roofs in both Europe and America. The custom among wise farmers in the Dutch Country of building hay barracks may be why a number of elderly natives remembered thatching and could still recall how to make a rye straw Fackel. In making a good Fackel, it works best to have slightly wet or damp rye straw. After making a number of Fackels, the thatcher tends to have damp pant legs from straddling the bundles of rye straw between the legs as they are twisted into a “Fackel.” Thus, leather knee pants were among the tools of the thatcher’s trade.
A Fackel consists of the amount of straw one can comfortably remove from a sheaf of rye with two hands. The damp handfuls were twisted and tied with six strands of straw and worked best if the thatcher has strong hands. Weather was a major longevity factor in the British Isles, where thatched roofs were traditional, and preferred, and thereby, living roofs of moss and fungus additionally in a very moist climate, were not fire hazards.
The economy of a thatched roof versus a wooden shingle pine roof was about 15 years of casting rain, depending on the ply of the Fackels. Both roofs lasted much longer with regular repairs. When thatching a hay barrack, the starter row of Fackels is put in reverse so the stalky butt end is facing down at the eaves. The second row overlapping on top is placed the normal way with the butt end at the top, providing a two-ply starter row. The closer the roof lathes are to each other, the thicker the ply of the thatch. The rye straw farmers grew needed to be plenty long, and trimming the multi-ply of the Fackels at the eaves could be a challenge.
Consequently, Pennsylvania’s temperate climate and the availability of oak, pine and cedar for shakes made wood the roofing material of preference in America. Today, the surviving Colonial homes and barns in Berks County that were designed for thatched roofs stand out among their counterparts because they retain a very steep roof pitch, more steeply pitched than that of a roof built to accommodate wooden shakes or clay tiles discussed further at a later time. The early 1780s thatched roof barn owned by Coca Cola, just a quarter mile west of the 222 and Route 73 junction in front of Redner’s Market corporate offices, is one if not oldest surviving example, but it is in disrepair.
Richard L.T. Orth is assistant director of the American Folklife Institute in Kutztown.
