Category: Holiday
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Berkshire Mall Redevelopment Plans Announced
Read more: Berkshire Mall Redevelopment Plans AnnouncedEDIT: This was an April Fools joke – please do not take it seriously… Berkshire Mall owners have announced plans for the redevelopment of most of the mall into mixed use apartment living and a Migrant Welcoming Center. In the developers proposal, the apartments will be a mix of studio and one bedroom units consisting…
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The Shamrock Serenade – Reading’s St. Patrick’s Day Tradition
Read more: The Shamrock Serenade – Reading’s St. Patrick’s Day TraditionIt is Reading’s Saint Patrick’s Day tradition that dates back to a pact made between two men, Tom Hannahoe and Alvah Schaeffer, in 1893 at an Irish bar called The Stars and Stripes Saloon on South 11th Street. Nearly 130 years later this midnight tradition continues at Hannahoe’s grave in St. Peter the Apostle Cemetery,…
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Centennial 4th of July in the Reading Eagle
Read more: Centennial 4th of July in the Reading EagleThe 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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Santa Lands a Helicopter in City Park – On this day in 1955
Read more: Santa Lands a Helicopter in City Park – On this day in 1955Happy Thanksgiving Berks Nostalgiacs! The holiday season is here, so here is a peek back to that time that Santa Claus flew a helicopter and landed it at City Park in Reading. It happened on this day, November 25th, 1955. Two little girls served as a reception committee for Santa Claus after he landed his…
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Reading’s Christmas Balloon Parade – On this day in 1953
Read more: Reading’s Christmas Balloon Parade – On this day in 1953On this day, November 21st, 1953, over 50,000 gathered to watch the first ever Christmas balloon parade make its way down Penn Street in Reading. Public transportation was swamped, and it was reported that adults and children walked from as far as Wyomissing to see the spectacle. The upper photo shows what City Park looked…
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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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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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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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On this Day – Feb 7th 1967 – Blizzard Staggers Berks
Read more: On this Day – Feb 7th 1967 – Blizzard Staggers Berks16 inches of snow dumps on Berks, closing schools across the county. Lets see a movie…
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A 100 Year Review of Berks – Happy New Year 2020!
Read more: A 100 Year Review of Berks – Happy New Year 2020!Happy New Year Berks County! Not only is it a new year but also the beginning of a new decade. As we leave behind the 2010s, let’s look back on the beginning of the last 10 decades, and some of the events that we experienced together as a community during them. The past is important…