Since Seltzer’s Smokehouse was founded in Palmyra, Pa., 1902, the company has seen many historic events — the Great Depression, two world wars, the birth of the civil rights and women’s rights movements, the Chicago Cubs winning a World Series — but the product that is made today is essentially the same thing that Harvey Seltzer created more than 100 years ago.
While the company is not the oldest maker of Lebanon bologna in the country, it still utilizes the same spice blend that Seltzer developed at the beginning, and it is the only company that still uses wooden smokehouses instead of the modern equivalent. The company is still run by the Seltzer family. When Harvey died in 1945, his son, Jack, took over the business. Jack, now retired, was also a long-time member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Craig Seltzer, Jack’s son, now represents the third generation of leadership of Seltzer’s Smokehouse.