Author: Alexa Freyman
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Happy Mothers Day
Read more: Happy Mothers DayHappy Mothers Day to all the Moms, Grandmoms and Great-Grandmoms out there. I have been blessed to come from a long maternal line of strong women who filled those aforementioned roles for me. This Mothers day is the first without one making it bittersweet. Its been nearly 4 months since my Grandmother died unexpectedly. There…
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May Day Tradition
Read more: May Day TraditionMay Day was a spring celebration tradition amongst public school kids and teenagers during the mid-20th century in Berks. The day would be marked by outside activities, singing, dancing and the crowning of a May Day Queen and court, similar to homecoming today. It seems like May Day peaked as a tradition in the 1940s…
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Reading Brewing Co Closes – On this day 1976
Read more: Reading Brewing Co Closes – On this day 1976On this day in 1976 the Reading Brewing Co. shuttered permanently. Employee’s cited miss-management for the bankruptcy of the company. Management blamed industry giants killed the small-guy brewers like Reading. Maybe a little bit of both are true. All local breweries that were once popular met their demise around this time due to heat from…
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Farview School Fire
Read more: Farview School FireOn February 23rd 1949 Farview Elementary school in Kenhorst was heavily damaged by fire. It was built in the 1930s. The school had a student population of 485 and was part of the greater Cumru Township School system. Aid was offered by neighboring Shillington and Reading school districts. Classes were held in Oakbrook and Millmont…
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New Restaurant Debuts on Penn Square – On this Day
Read more: New Restaurant Debuts on Penn Square – On this DayOn this day in 1969 Reading’s very own space needle restaurant debuts in the center of Penn Square. The restaurant’s tenure was short-lived however, as by April 2nd it disconnected completely and took off for outer space. In 1968 – Redevelopment of downtown Reading returns the city to its, uh, roots.
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Grand Blvd – Wyomissing’s Casualty of the Bypass
Read more: Grand Blvd – Wyomissing’s Casualty of the BypassI had previously written a post about the effect the construction of the bypass had on West Wyomissing. The stories about house-moving intrigued me due to the fact that my mother and her family lived on Girard Avenue at that time and got to witness the spectacle firsthand in the early 70s. Yet there was…
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Santa Photo Mystery Location – From the Family Album
Read more: Santa Photo Mystery Location – From the Family AlbumMy Mother and Aunt are in the process of going through my Grandmother’s possessions and cleaning out her house. They came across these photos of children and their mothers waiting in line to sit on Santa’s lap. My Grandmother is the young woman in the white coat and black hat, holding the hand of my…
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Pensupreme Soda Machine Mystery
Read more: Pensupreme Soda Machine MysteryA reader wrote to me regarding a piece in their possession which was once used by Penn Dairy for trade shows. It is an automated soda fountain with characters which move when plugged in. It still functions and as you can see from the photos below appears to be in impeccable condition. Roughly three feet…
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Woomert’s Store | West Reading
Read more: Woomert’s Store | West ReadingAccording to a 1931 Reading Times article Woomert’s Store was located at Third Avenue and Sunset Road in West Reading and owned by a William H. Woomert. The building is still standing but has been renovated since the above image. From street view you can tell that some of the brickwork has been altered to…
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Zeswitz – 812 Penn Street
Read more: Zeswitz – 812 Penn StreetZeswitz is a music store that most Berks Countians recognize, but some of you may remember when one of the locations was in downtown Reading on the 800 block of Penn Street. Zeswitz was founded in 1923 by Philadelphia native William “Bill” Zeswitz Sr. According to Zeswitz’s website he was, “master luthier and maker of…
