Small museums love their donors, and a big thanks goes out to John Gerber and family for the donation of a large hex sign, jug, and other objects painted by famed Berks County “hexologist” Johnny Ott. Ott spent 19 years reproducing old barn signs of the Pennsylvania Germans, symbols they brought to this country. The sign on the kitchen wainscoting was a design from 1932, John Updike’s birth year. Updike’s maternal grandmother was a strong believer in hex signs and influenced young Updike, who later described them as “witchcraft of a benign sort.”

“Faith is a strong thing,” Ott said. “If a person believes something hard enough, it can become true and the ultimate is to have faith in Almighty God.”

The corner cupboard, donated years ago by Miranda Updike, was used by the Updike family in this house. In his short story “The Black Room” Updike described “the stained pine corner cabinet that held their good china, including the Philadelphia blueware whose broken plates had been one of the costs of the move from Alton.” Miranda recalled that when her father lived in Beverly Farms, Mass., he tried to move this two-piece cupboard by himself. The top section fell on him, breaking all but one pane of glass.

The John Updike Childhood Home, 117 Philadelphia Ave., Shillington, Pa., has a Pennsylvania Historic Marker and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It’s open most Saturdays from 12-2 p.m.