The property that now houses Matthew 25 Thrift Shop, 48 East Main Street, dates back to 1782. The original structure was a limestone, one-story cottage and purchased by Matthias Gottfried Tshudy in 1798 for his new wife Catherine Blickensderfer. Being members of the Moravian community, Matthias and Catherine were joined together by the “lot” system of the church. The names of all eligible young women of Lititz were prayerfully considered by the elders of the church and chosen for a worthy bachelor to be united in matrimony. This union must have been a “perfect match” as the Tshudys celebrated their Golden Anniversary in 1848.
Matthias Tshudy was born in 1771 and became an orphan at the age of 4. He was educated in the Brethren’s House, where he learned the trade of weaving. He became proficient at weaving baskets made of oak splints as well as chip-plaited hats that were in demand with the colonists up and down the east coast. The durability of oak hats for ladies and gentlemen was far superior to any other materials of the day. The men’s hats were in the style of what we know today as “Amish hats.” Ladies’ hats wore woven sunbonnets which were tied with fancy ribbons under the chin.
