Category: Americana
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Showbiz Pizza Place & Major Magic
Read more: Showbiz Pizza Place & Major MagicShowbiz Pizza Place incorporated in 1980 and entered the Berks County market in 1982. Its location was in Muhlenberg Plaza on the northern Belleview Avenue side. Showbiz Pizza featured an entertaining cast of animatronic characters including Billy Bob Brockali, Looney Bird, Fatz Geronimo and Mitzi Mozzarella. This main stage animatronic show was called “The Rock-afire…
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Memorial Day Weekend – On this Day
Read more: Memorial Day Weekend – On this DayIn 1960, Fleetwood dedicates its new swimming pool In 1960, a drunk driver causes a fatal accident in the parking lot of the Sante Fe Inn Restaurant on route 422 in Exeter Township In 1961, pile in the trunk – its time to see a flick at the Drive-Ins In 1960, Armed Forces Day Parade…
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Centre Park Historic District
Read more: Centre Park Historic DistrictSpring has sprung, everything is coming back to life and in my opinion it is the most wonderful time of year. I went to visit Centre Park Historic District to capture some of what I find to be the most beautiful residential architecture within the city limits. Some of the most prominent mansions on Centre…
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Bertrand H. Farr and his Dream Garden
Read more: Bertrand H. Farr and his Dream GardenForeward Roughly a year ago I was contacted by a man named George Edmonds. He wanted to talk to me about books he wrote revolving around his home town of Wyomissing. George was kind enough to share photos with me as well as send me a copy of one of those books, “Dream Gardener –…
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Wernersville Train Station
Read more: Wernersville Train StationWernersville’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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John Updike’s Childhood Home
Read more: John Updike’s Childhood HomeOn Saturday September 10th I had the pleasure of visiting John Updike’s childhood home at 117 Philadelphia Avenue in Shillington. John lived here from his birth in 1932 until he was 13 years old. It is widely known that Shillington and the city of Reading were the inspirational foundation behind many of his stories and…
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Sinking Spring Area Historical Society Open House
Read more: Sinking Spring Area Historical Society Open HouseThe 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
Read more: Linette Candy Tin – Mystery MondayHappy 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 Deadly Berkshire Knitting Mills Strike – Part 5 – The Conclusion
Read more: The Deadly Berkshire Knitting Mills Strike – Part 5 – The ConclusionWhat a better time to wrap this up than Labor Day weekend? If you haven’t, read the first four parts for context. As the weeks following the general hosiery strike played out, Berks County’s other 21 knitting mills folded one after another into signing agreements with the American Federation of Hosiery Workers. Rosedale plant was…
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The Deadly Berkshire Knitting Mills Strike of 1936 – Part 4
Read more: The Deadly Berkshire Knitting Mills Strike of 1936 – Part 4This is the 4th part in the series. Read parts 1, 2 & 3 for context. Secretary of Labor Report on the Berkshire Conditions Shortly after the deadly first day of picketing, Governor Earle tasked Pennsylvania Labor Secretary Ralph M. Bashore with investigating the strike that was taking place at the Berkshire Knitting Mills. By…
