Arthur Dundore Graeff, Ph.D., (1899-1969) was a lifelong educator and history enthusiast from western Berks County, Pennsylvania, the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Graeff was a scholar and leader in the study of Pennsylvania Dutch culture on the boards of both the Pennsylvania Folklife Society and the Pennsylvania German Society. He helped lead the combination of these groups in the late 1960s and was the president of the combined organization. He was a contemporary of such scholars as Fred Weiser, Don Yoder, Preston Barba, Albert Buffington, and Alfred Shoemaker. Graeff was the author of several books and numerous papers and articles but was best known for his Scholla series of local history in the Reading Times.

Graeff originally published this volume through the Pennsylvania Folklore Society in 1945. Lawrence Knorr, his great grand nephew, has edited this volume and added a new epilogue about the importance of Conrad Weiser to American history. George M. Meiser IX provides his recollections of Arthur Graeff the beloved local historian.