Under the direction of Dr. Maria Lester, the inaugural Summer Creative Writing Workshop concluded, after perhaps giving a boost to a new generation of writers who got to spend a week thinking and writing inside the house where a young John Updike said his own “creative eggs were hatched.” Here are some scenes from the week. We’ll all look forward to seeing what these young talents will publish in the future.
David and Linda Stuckert, who owned 117 Philadelphia Avenue before Niemczyk-Hoffman bought the building, visited the house near the end of June, 2026. Now residing in Indianapolis, Ind., the Stuckerts donated a signed book by John Updike, an envelope and note from Niemczyk-Hoffman, nine photographs, and an article written by their son, Matt. Updike visited his old house many times, and was always gracious about signing books. Below is a photo from his visit.
As part of their “One Tank Trips” series, Philadelphia’s ABC Action News 6 featured The John Updike Childhood Home, with director Maria Lester on camera, leading the way. The station posted Bill Hartung’s video story on June 23, 2026. Here’s the link.
Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Updike Childhood Home now has three new media screens that loop in Updike interviews, so people can hear the author’s voice as they enjoy ten rooms of unique exhibits that tell the story not only of one of America’s most important writers of his generation, but of the 1930s and ’40s Shillington he loved.
Here’s the link to the vertical video.
Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Updike Childhood Home museum is pleased to announce that the one-week summer creative writing workshop which will take place at the home at 117 Philadelphia Ave. where a young Updike said his “artistic eggs were hatched,” will be completely free.
The seminar, hosted by John Updike Childhood Home director Dr. Maria Lester. is open to students in grades eight through college. Enrollment is limited to just 20 students, so if you’re interested, don’t wait. The deadline for enrollment is July 1. See below for further details.
John Updike, who died in 2009, would have been 94 today. If he were still alive, it’s safe to say that he would approve of what his beloved childhood home has become under the direction of Dr. Maria Lester and with the help of a dedicated group of docents and volunteers. Updike visited the house at 117 Philadelphia Ave. often as an adult and sometimes lamented that it was allowed to fall into disrepair. Not so now. After his death, The John Updike Society purchased the house, restored it to look as it did when John lived here (1932-45) with his parents and maternal grandparents, and created a museum that is open most Saturdays from 12-2pm.
What Updike would see, if he visited today, is a vibrant place where school field trips explore, classes are taught, creative writing workshops are held, students from his old school district weed the garden and plant and harvest vegetables to donate to food-insecure people, old classmates and Updike lovers make pilgrimages to visit, and every year Christmas is celebrated with an ornament contest.
The museum is full of things that mattered to young and old Updike, from his early Disney books and original artwork from cartoonists that he solicited as a youth to still-life paintings he and first wife Mary painted side by side in Oxford. The .22 rifle he wrote about in “Pigeon Feathers” is even here. Visit and you’ll begin to understand why Shillington meant so much to Updike.
Cheers to you, Mr. Updike!
Updike’s classmates sensed that the “Bard of Plowville” had a very good chance of becoming a famous artist or writer, so they saved scraps of paper, signed photos, and other memorabilia, many of which are displayed at The John Updike Childhood Home, 117 Philadelphia Ave., Shillington, Pa. You can visit and explore two floors of exhibits on most Saturdays from 12-2 p.m.
Email johnupdikeeducation@gmail.com before you travel to make sure the museum, a National Historic Place with a Historic Pennsylvania Marker, will be open. And be sure to let everyone know what items you connected with! Was it the Shillington High School basketball schedule from 1950—Updike’s senior year? Or the .22 rifle he wrote about in “Pigeon Feathers”? The main typewriter he used? His golf scorecards? Or maybe, if you’re looking to measure yourself against a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, his high school transcript showing the grades he received?
On Jan. 24, 2026, The John Updike Childhood Home museum received another one-of-a-kind display item, thanks to the generosity of Gary and Deb Knerr. The Knerrs presented the museum with a hand-drawn map of Shillington, created by Barry Nelson, Shillington H.S. Class of 1950. Nelson was one of Updike’s best friends in high school and remained a close friend throughout their lifetimes.
Updike died in 2009, Nelson in 2011. In high school they worked together on the editorial board of Chatterbox, the school newspaper, According to the content note of the Silcox/Lewis Collection housed at Alvernia University, which contains Nelson’s collection, Nelson taught Updike how to play basketball and baseball. Later, as an adult, Nelson taught English at his old school, renamed Governor Mifflin High School. He also served as historian for Shillington Borough and wrote two books on local history.
The John Updike Childhood Home is owned and operated by The John Updike Society, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to awakening and sustaining interest in Updike and his works. The museum is open most Saturdays from 12-2pm and to groups also by special arrangement.
Maria Lester, director of The John Updike Childhood Home, was honored for “extraordinary work as Education Director and Director” at the only museum dedicated to the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning writer and famous Berks County resident.
Lester, who co-directed the society’s 2014 conference in Reading, Pa., received the award at the Society Cafe during an Updike Society-sponsored reception for The Roth-Updike Conference in Greenwich Village, NYC, on Sunday, October 19, 2025.
In presenting the award, Updike Society president James Plath praised Lester for her initiatives in reaching out to educators, students, book clubs and other community organizations. Plath said he had spent a decade taking the lead in restoring the home to look as it did when young Updike lived there from 1932-45 and worked with Dave Silcox and others to find treasures to display in the museum. “It was my baby, but now it’s yours,” Plath said.
Plath praised Lester’s vision and added, with a smile, that the board actually had voted to honor her for her 10-plus years of service even before they learned that she had applied for and received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Lester has been involved in some capacity with the house ever since it was purchased by nonprofit John Updike Society in 2012 with the goal of establishing it as something Shillington can be proud of, just as Updike was proud of Shillington.
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The John Updike Childhood Home 