Jim Koontz terms his style as "telling history with a smile."
"That can involve letting people in on how catch phrases they've always heard actually came to be," said Koontz, the recently appointed innkeeper at the Compass Inn, an authentically restored 18th-century stagecoach stop on Route 30 in Laughlintown.
The phrase, "I'll be there with bells on" can be traced back to a custom of Conestoga wagoners in the late 1700s and early 1800s to deck their horse fleets out with the brassy ornaments, Koontz said.
Koontz traveled with his wife, Kathy, to Williamsburg, Va., in late March to bone up on entertaining and obscure nuggets from that time period to prepare for the start of the inn's tourist season May 1.
"We did some behind-the-scenes touring there to see how they handle their artifacts, how the docents dress, and how they treat tourists," Koontz said.
In 1999, the Bolivar couple began volunteering as docents at the inn, maintained by the Ligonier Valley Historical Society.
When Virginia Leiner, the society's longtime executive director, retired in December, Koontz was asked to take on the innkeeper role and help longtime society office manager Tina Yandrick.
While greeting random visitors and those arriving in tour buses, Koontz will don the throwback garb of Philip Freeman, who built the inn in 1799, and Robert Armor, who added a stone portion to the building in 1820.
He wears a period-sensitive vest, tie, trousers, knee breeches, buckled shoes -- the works.
"An innkeeper would have been considered a gentleman in those days. It's important to portray that," Koontz said.
During a 40-hour workweek, Koontz also will act as curator, archivist and scheduler for the society's roughly 75 volunteers, and ambassador to the public. Yandrick will help Koontz get his bearings.
"We're interested in building the society's membership, particularly with anyone who would want to become a docent," Koontz said.
Koontz recently completed an online grant-writing course with Westmoreland County Community College to help Yandrick track down funding for future projects.
These include maintaining the inn and eight abandoned grave sites -- including the Keltz Cemetery on Four Mile Run Road in Darlington -- and restoring a Civil War-era iron furnace in New Florence.
Koontz and Yandrick say they are looking forward to May, when nearly every day is booked with student tours.
"We'll both wear many hats here. It's a very interesting job. You never know when you come in what the day's going to bring," Yandrick said.
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