Category: Community

  • Centennial 4th of July in the Reading Eagle

    The July 4th, 1876 Reading Eagle ran a few interesting articles on its front page about Independence Day observations and celebrations. The first article was titled, “A Peep at Reading 100 Years Ago” which described the town at the time of our country’s founding. Reading was already nearly three decades old at the onset of…

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  • History of R.M. Palmer and the Buildings Affected by the Explosion

    4:50 P.M. on Friday, March 24th, 2023 Despite being less than two miles away at the Shillington Farmers Market when the explosion occurred; I felt and heard nothing. It wasn’t until I got home after 5:00 that I found out the way I assume the majority of you did; from social media. Particularly an update…

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  • Wernersville Train Station

    Wernersville’s passenger rail history began in June of 1857 when the Lebanon Valley Railroad initiated service from Reading to Lebanon. Service was extended all the way to Harrisburg the following year when the Lebanon Valley Railroad was bought out by the Philadelphia and Reading Company (later became Reading Railroad).  The first Wernersville train station was…

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  • Sinking Spring Area Historical Society Open House

    The Sinking Spring Area Historical Society will hold an Open House in Heritage Park in Sinking Spring to celebrate the Society’s 45th anniversary on Sunday, September 25 from 1PM to 4PM.  The Society was formed in 1977 from the local Bicentennial Committee.  The museum and buildings in Heritage Park, home of the Society, will be…

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  • Linette Candy Tin – Mystery Monday

    Happy Labor Day! A viewer found my blog and wrote me asking if I wanted this Linette Candy tin and was nice enough to mail it to me. I am unsure of its purpose or exact time of origin. A google search yields that there are plenty of these out circulating, but with quite a…

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  • The Ranch House

    A staple on Penn Avenue in West Lawn for nearly a half century, the owners of the Circle S Ranch House announced on March 30th that they would be closing permanently on April 8th, 2022. The building was built in 1969 as a Schell’s. It replaced the location that was further east down Penn Avenue…

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  • Downtown Reading 1970s

    Five Years

    Hard to believe I launched this site half a decade ago today. As with any milestone it is time to reflect on the past five years of how my content has transformed and grown. There are currently over 7000 of you following along between email subscriptions and social media platforms. This is roughly the digital…

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  • Reading North West Jr. High

    Reading’s North West Jr. High 10th Graders | 1942

    This photo was sent in by reader Katie; found in a home she recently purchased. The photo states the students are the 10th grade class at North West Jr. High school in 1942. Do you recognize anyone in this class photo? At this point any remaining members of this class would be roughly 97-98 years…

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  • Bowl-O-Rama

    Bowl-O-Rama opened its doors in 1957; a dream of its five shareholders who bought the land and built the alley on Perkiomen Avenue in Exeter Township. It was home to local bowling leagues, social events and gatherings over the years. There was a bar and grille in the establishment as well as 40 bowling lanes.…

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  • Berkshire Knitting Mills Cabinet Mystery

    Last week I received an email from a Tara Colton saying she acquired a large cabinet that has “Property of the Berkshire Knitting Mills” stamped on the bottom of it. She is hoping to find out a little more about the cabinet and what it was used for at the knitting mill. She is currently…

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Berks Nostalgia