Hey everyone, whether you’re new here, or if you’ve been following this website for a while—I wanted take a moment to properly reintroduce myself and share some news. My name is Alexa.

For years, I’ve been the photographer, researcher, and writer here at Berks Nostalgia.

What started nearly a decade ago as a deep love for local history and unlimited access to newspaper archives has grown into something so much larger. It’s lit the fire of purpose within me – I am now investigative reporting, filling some of the cracks in the cavern formed by the death of traditional local media. And you have noticed.

But as the work has evolved, I’ve realized that the word ‘Nostalgia’ doesn’t quite cover it anymore. Nostalgia looks backward with a bit of fondness. What I do here isn’t just about missing the ‘good old days.’ In fact, the more I learn, the less nostalgic I become. Now it’s about active preservation, uncovering hard truths, and understanding how our past directly shapes our present. So, it’s time for the name of this platform to grow along with my mission. Moving forward, Berks Nostalgia is officially becoming Berksiana.

The name is an ode to the Berksiana Foundation, which was created by local historian Charles Castner for the country’s bicentennial in 1976. The accompanying book(s), which published that same year was self-described as “A treasury of the historical and the whimsical chronicles, legends and anecdotes that have made the City of Reading and Berks County in Pennsylvania.” Since Castner’s death in 1993, the moniker has largely been abandoned. I would like to carry Castner’s torch forward, in my own way, and what better time than a half century after its original founding during America’s semiquincentennial to do so?

Now, what does this actually mean for you? On your end nothing changes. You don’t have to unfollow or find a new page—the handles on my social medias are just changing to @berksiana, and my website is migrating to berksiana.com. If you would like to support what I do; I have merch, paid membership options, and of course, liking commenting and sharing my content is free, and helps tremendously.

The core of what you love is staying exactly the same. You’re still getting the deep dives, the historic visual documentation through my drone’s lens, and the investigative reporting into the architecture and municipal history of Reading and the surrounding areas.

But under Berksiana, I am continuing to expand the lens. I am diving deeper into the lore, the culture, the preservation fights, and the incredible, often gritty history that defines us.

Thank you so much for exploring our local history with me so far. This next chapter is going to be incredible, and I can’t thank you enough for coming along for the ride.