It all began in the rolling hills of Perry County, Pennsylvania.
Tressler Lutheran Services came into being in 1868 when the Lutheran Church purchased a private
academy and home serving children orphaned during the Civil War.
Over the following decades, the Tressler Orphans Home served hundreds of children annually, growing
into a community known as "Tresslertown" and becoming famous for its boys band, which toured
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and surrounding states.
With enrollment declining in the mid-1950s, the Tressler board of directors made the difficult
decision to close the home. It immediately set about finding other ways to serve children and their
families. Efforts included development of a small group home and adoption services.
In 1970, Tressler and Lutheran Social Services-Central Penn Region realized they could serve more
people by working cooperatively. That alliance formed Tressler Lutheran Services. Over the next
three decades, the agency grew markedly, creating services to aid people of all ages in
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. On January 1, 2000, Tressler Lutheran Services affiliated
with Lutheran Services Northeast to create Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries.
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As part of its 125th anniversary celebration in 1994, Tressler Lutheran Services professionally recorded a march that had been written decades earlier for the home’s boys band (see the image above). You can hear the march by clicking one of the links below:
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