Head Of Operations Discusses Unique History & Geology Of Hidden Gem In Nature Just Outside Hershey, Pennsylvania
Indian Echo Caverns lies hidden off the highway heading from Harrisburg Airport into a chocolate town which is also home to the Hershey RV Show. Like many parts of the country, what is underneath is what is truly amazing. Manager Of Operations Suzanne Fisher, who has been with the company since she was a teenager, spoke to The Buzz at the cavern site about history, geology and the challenge of maintaining the attraction.
The Buzz: Can you talk about how this place came to be?
Suzanne Fisher: The land that was here...it was 120 acres originally and was owned by a farmer. The land is family. In 1927, the Bieber Family purchased it with thoughts to commercialize. It took them about two years and they opened up for tourists May 16th, 1929. Not a very good year to open a new business. The Great Depression hit in October of that year. They were able to keep this land until the early 30s. Unfortunately they were not able to keep it going. Many other people bought it and tried and couldn't keep it going. Our owner bought it in 1942 and he and his family have been the owners ever since...and now we’re on our 4th Generation.
The Buzz: And it is located along the banks of an interesting river.
SF: This is called the Swatara Creek. Locals call it the Swatty. It continues down about 3 miles and then joins up at the Susquehanna River. It is famous where the two of them joined together because it is right around what is called “TMI” or Three Mile Island which is the nuclear plant which, in 1979, almost had a complete meltdown. It was one of the worst nuclear accidents in the United States. So that is three miles away as the crow flies or the creek flows. You'd never know. Another really neat part of history…just across the creek when the leaves are off the trees…you can see a field [which is the former location of the] village where the Susquehanna Indian Tribe lived. We believe they were the first ones to come over and find and use the caverns....maybe for shelter during the winter or to store their food over the summer because it is always 52 degrees inside. We have a lot of folks [today]...especially Native Americans that come here because they do feel a connection. They say their people lived here for hundreds of years and when they come here, there is just a calm that comes over them. Those of us who have worked here a long time like myself...if I am having the worst day ever and I go in the caverns, I just have a calm that comes over me. It's relaxing. Don't know if it has anything to do with the natives here before us but I think it might be just the nature and the caverns themselves.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the maintenance of the caverns. In the winter months you actually come in and clean the rocks.
SF: If you had a natural cavern with no one going in and out, there would be no work to do. What happens though is when we put in artificial lights and then we bring guests through, there are seeds and spores from outside [that are] attached to them. [these materials] shake loose [and] then you have ferns, grasses, mosses, algae…all that starts growing down here…in the artificial light. They have to be close to a light bulb and it has to be in an area where there is water dripping so it can get minerals and water it needs. We have to wait until [attendance] is very slow. Then we take little toothbrushes and spray bottles and clean it all off. And the reason is if you don’t do that, the plants’ roots will actually start to break down the rocks. We used to be closed all winter from October to March and everything would die off on its own but now we are open year round now so we have to come down and do it. It is weekly and when you think of all these 1700 lights…if a light bulb gets hot and we have a very rainy day and it drips on it? Pop.
The Buzz: The parking lot is interesting as well. Because the first thing you think when you come in is think “Shouldn’t it be paved?” But there is a very good reason it is not.
SF: We have had to fight the government. When we added our larger gift shop, they wanted us to pave the entire parking lot. We had to go in and we argued our point in that if you pave our parking lot, the caverns are directly below it. You could change the water pattern. You could stop the water coming in. The formations will stop growing without that water. Also whatever chemicals are within that paving could actually damage the rock stone here. Luckily we have only had to do minimal maintenance.
The Buzz: Also you have to keep in mind flooding here. You wouldn’t think of hurricanes in Pennsylvania but that has happened.
SF: The worst one on record for us was 1972. Hurricane Agnes. And the water was about to 30-35 feet high inside the large cavern and in other areas [even deeper]. In 1975, Hurricane Eloise came through. We probably had 30 feet of water. And then in 2011…the most recent…Tropical Storm Lee came through and we probably had between 25 or 30 feet of water. What happens in a cavern is not only do you have the water from above soaking down through you have the water table below us rising on up. [Plus] we have a creek out front [which] gets so high that it goes over the banks and adds [even more] water inside.
The Buzz: And there was also a bit of treasure seeking in here…
SF: In 1919 there were some local teenage boys from Hummelstown down here in the caverns exploring. As they walked through the area called the Rainbow Room, they kept catching a glare off of their candles and lanterns. You know boys…they had to figure out what it was. They crawl up this one wall until they reached this little flat spot and they found a little wooden box with all kinds of really cool paintings and carvings on it. They opened it up and they found inside jewelry, moonstones, a glass bottle, a piece of coral…and a smaller wooden box, almost like a small driedel, it had all kinds of carvings on it, and it had a formula for making diamonds on a piece of paper inside – doesn’t work. Also there were 19 coins from as far away, or old I should say, as 1288 Morocco to as recent as 1915 from Turkey. They eventually returned it to us in the late 70s. And it was returned to us by one of the original boys.
The Buzz: Plus a hermit lived here in the 1800s alone for almost 20 years…
SF: [His name was] William Wilson. How William came to be in here was his younger sister Elizabeth was accused of murdering her children which she did not do. He was actually a local sheriff from New Jersey but the blame was put on her. William tried to save her by gathering evidence to prove her innocence but he was about 20 minutes too late. His sister was executed in the town square of Chester Pennsylvania by hanging. William blamed himself. He didn’t want anything to do with his family, friends or society [anymore]…so he wandered around. 1802 is when it is believe he moved in here and he stayed until his death in 1821. 19 years he lived inside. He lived very basic. A fireplace. A table. He was very religious and wrote a lot of poetry. There was a journal found that was later turned into a book called “The Life Of A Pennsylvania Hermit”. He actually would, believe it or not, go out once in a while and work for a local farmer and the farmer gave him oil for his lamps, food, clothing…whatever he needed so he was able to survive down here.
The Buzz: Can you talk about your personal connection to the caverns?
SF: When I was 15 years old, my mother was looking for a part time job for me because she said I needed a job. She saw an ad for a tour guide [here]. I grew up in this area about 15 minutes [away]. She thought “Wow...if I get my daughter being a tour guide, she'll talk all day and when she comes home, she might actually be quiet once!” I came over and did my very first interview. The owner asked me “Why do you think you'd be so great at this job?” And he told me later…this is what sealed the deal…I had said “Well my brother's an artist, my sister's a poet and my mom says my biggest attribute is that I have a big mouth and I talk all the time...so she is really hoping this will tire me out throughout the day.” And the gentleman says I was hired instantly because normally you hear “I'm a people person” and he said for once he actually heard something that made sense. I started when I was 15 years old. I have been here [ever since]. I only left for about 4 years...met my husband here so that is a huge connection for me. We were doing a haunted tour. I was dressed up as Elvira. He didn't know what I looked like...we had a problem [on the tour]...he was one of the security guards...worked for the police department. And my son actually met his wife here and they actually married upstairs. So it has a big connection for me.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Mill Bridge Village Camp Resort, which has a wide variety of activities and attractions including a 1738 Herr's Grist Mill and a 1844 Covered Bridge alive with the sights and sounds of Pennsylvania Dutch yesteryear.