LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — Just off Boulevard Avenue in West Cornwall Township is a neighborhood you won’t always hear.
“It’s peace and quiet mostly and in the wintertime it’s golden with the snow, it’s beautiful,” said resident Paul Mefferd.
It’s Quiet Season in Campmeeting.
Ted Martin has owned a cottage there for 20 years and is a member of the Campmeeting Board of Managers.
He describes the practice as ‘unique.’
“Quiet Season lasts from July 15 through Labor Day; quiet hours are in effect all year round so from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. there’s quiet season and on Sundays,” Martin said.
Also known as the ‘special noise abatement rules,’ the season prohibits loud outdoor tools like leaf blowers and power drills along with other electronics.
“There’s a whole list of bylaws and rules and regulations and we pretty much accept it,” Mefferd said.
More than 240 cottages make up the neighborhood.
Quiet Season has been an ongoing practice in Campmeeting for well over 100 years. It started originally for religious reasons, but slowly evolved.
“When people first came here in the 1890s, they came here to pray, they came here for spiritual reasons, and they were a group of people who knew how to respect the lord’s day, knew how to respect why they were here,” Martin said.
The first official rules were written in 1927 by the Campmeeting Board of Managers under the Mount Gretna Campmeeting Association.
At the time, things like pianos and other instruments were prohibited.
Today, electronics like loudspeakers occupy spots on the noise rules.
‘We’re part of a larger West Cornwall Township so we’re part of a municipality as well but we’re also a private association,” Martin said.
Residents can be fined if caught violating the rules, but exceptions are made during emergencies.
The Board of Managers encourages people to hire contractors before Quiet Season, otherwise, work cannot be completed until the season ends.
Neighborhoods, like Chautauqua, practice Quiet Season in their own way.