Hometown Heritage – S. Clyde Weaver

When it comes to great signature foods, Lancaster County has plenty of delicious goodness to go around. Many of us grew up with, or discovered, food favorites that have informed our childhood and will draw us back in search of the tastes that we’ve come to crave.  Welcome to your Hometown Heritage.

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Sam Clyde and Emma Weaver found joy in serving others and a knack for smoking meats. In 1920, they started smoking meats at their family home and selling them at the Lancaster City Northern Market on North Queen Street, moving to Lancaster Central Market in 1929.

Business was good for over a decade when Clyde and Emma discovered an innovation which would bring the daily sandwich to a new level: Boiled Ham. In a day where dried beef, Lebanon bologna, sweet bologna, and canned corn beef were brought to the market warm and sliced on site as the staple lunch meats, it was no wonder that the new method, which included cooking smoked ham overnight with sugar and spices, changed the game for a ready-to-eat sliced meat.

They also added cheese to their repertoire. Round wooden boxes of 80-pound cheddars from Wisconsin and 200-pound wheels of Swiss Cheese from Ohio would be delivered to the East Petersburg train station where they would be stored next to large barrels of dill pickles in their basement near  the smokehouse.

S. Clyde Weaver continued to grow through the years as they expanded into Lebanon, Rosemont, Upper Darby, Coatesville, and Sharon Hill. The year 1961 brought a new building in East Petersburg which included a retail store to better service their customers. This store still serves as S. Clyde Weaver’s main location. As Weavers is always looking for innovative ways to service their customers, they found an opportunity to work with a dairy co-op in Quebec and purchase exceptional Canadian Cheddar in the 1980’s. This particular cheese was perfect for long-term aging. Weavers ages this cheese to 5, 7, and 10 years. You can find it today (named Super Sharp Canadian Cheddar) in any of their stores. In addition to their quality meats and cheeses, Weavers rounds out their offerings with their own confections to include Lancaster County favorites such as shoo-fly pie and whoopie pies. You’ll also be able to fill your fridge with their staple lunch meats, scrapple, bacon, and new, healthier options such as “nitrate free” turkey lunch meat.

2020 marks 100 years of S. Clyde Weaver serving and supporting Lancaster County and surrounding areas. Today, a lot of the same recipes and smoking methods from the 1920’s are still being used—from hams being hand processed to cookies being rolled, cut, and hand-decorated—S. Clyde Weaver stays true to their 100-year heritage. Though their smoking methods have remained virtually unchanged for a century, their way of doing business hasn’t. Weavers is committed to bringing the best of Lancaster County and the region to your table. You can take advantage of their new, curbside pickup or find their online store where you can have products shipped anywhere in the country so you can send a taste of Lancaster County to your out of state loved ones.

If you ask S. Clyde or Emma if they thought they’d see events such as we are living in today, they’d say, “No but, how can we help?” The third and fourth generation, family owned team at S. Clyde Weaver recognizes a need to respond to the current health issues so that they may better support the Lancaster community and beyond.

You can take advantage of their new, curbside pickup and a wide array of items available for delivery by visiting sclydeweaver.com. Don’t forget to send a taste of  Lancaster County to your out of state loved ones!