ROOTS & BRANCHES

For the last half century, the Palatines to America Genealogy Group has been a major force in helping people research their German-speaking ancestors.

The organization’s name stems from the designation of immigrants from the German states by British authorities in colonial times as “Palatines,” whether they actually came from the states known as the Palatinate in English and Pfalz in the German language.

The biennial national conference will be coming to Lancaster County from June 18 to 20, 2026. Next week’s “Roots & Branches” column will take a look at the speakers for this conference (registration opens right after new year)—your columnist will be one of those presenting!—but this week’s writing is a long-overdue ode to the guy who I consider to be the “quintessential 21^st century Pennsylvania Dutchman.”

That guy is Douglas Madenford, and he will perform what he calls his “Ask a PA Dutchman” routine at the Pal Am national conference’s banquet on the evening of June 19 as part of a fun night that includes a PA Dutch-style menu … in other words, it won’t be the typical “rubber chicken and nodding speaker” type of conference banquet.

But back to Madenford.

I first encountered him as a fellow graduate of my daughter’s college, Lock Haven University, and quickly learned that he was graduate of my high school alma mater (and not just any alumnus—he’s a member of its Hall of Fame!).

Soon after that, he was one of the speakers at a Pennsylvania German festival at the old Lebanon Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College and clearly was part of the next generation of people keeping the flame of Pennsylvania German culture and dialect alive.

Catching up with him in the last few years, Madenford has carved out a busy life as a father, husband, and high school teacher (German and AP History) near State College—in addition to hosting shows and podcasts, mostly but not exclusively focused on the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect (he also hosts the podcast “Doug’s Front Porch,” which features guests from a variety of backgrounds).

He’s also been featured in a couple of films inspired by the long-running “Hiwwe wie Driwwe” newspaper written in the PA Dutch dialect (a third film is planned to talk about Madenford’s recent trip to visit Brazilians of German heritage).

But the things I treasure most about Madenford are his Facebook tributes to his ancestors and other relatives, which show him to be the descendant of so many of the “core” Pennsylvania German surnames—ones from Bauer to Mohr to Clauser. They are always insightful about these folks who’ve passed on.

In kibbitzing with Madenford, I asked him about his own surname and got a surprising answer: the Madenfords were actually Holland Dutch, not Germans, but Madenford said his line is traceable to Charlemagne!