The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum will host a program titled “The Holidays at Hess’s Department Store” on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 1 p.m. The presentation is funded in partnership with the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.

“No store in America could surpass the magic of a visit to Hess’s Department Store, especially at the holidays,” said Executive Director Joseph Garrera.

Drawing on more than 1,000 vintage photographs, the slide-lecture will re-create the spirit of awe and excitement that once drew national celebrities to Allentown, including Johnny Carson and Rock Hudson.

It is an excitement that continues to invoke awe decades after the store’s closing.

Christmas was a very special time to be entertained at Hess’s.

The store was completely transformed, indoors and outdoors, with festive decorations. Santa was on hand to greet visitors. He kept up with the times, arriving at Hess’s each year by ever more modern and sometimes fanciful means of transportation.

He came by helicopter and by parachute; he even arrived by flying saucer. Once at Hess’s, he settled into Santa’s workshop where he heard the holiday dreams of generations of Lehigh Valley children.

The program begins at 1 p.m. Event admission is free for Lehigh County Historical Society/Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum members, and $10 for adult non-members, and $3 for non-member children. Children 2 and under are free.

About the museum

The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum is a teaching institution that attracts a diverse audience.

Its collections of historical Americana, located primarily at its headquarters, the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, 432 W. Walnut St. in Allentown, include over 35,000 three-dimensional objects, 3 million documents and more than 200,000 vintage photographs.

Regular museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

For more information on the museum, including upcoming events, visit https://www.lehighcountyhistoricalsociety.org.