Category: Culture
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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…
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On this Day – February 21st 1977
Read more: On this Day – February 21st 1977100 Block of Penn Street is Demolished Buildings along the north side of the 100 block of Penn Street, next to the Penn Street Bridge, are being demolished. The properties are being razed by Fred E. Erb, Pequea, Lancaster County, under a contract with the Reading Redevelopment Authority (RRA). The area is part of the…
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Wyomissing Post Office Explodes – On this Day 1979
Read more: Wyomissing Post Office Explodes – On this Day 1979At about 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday February 20th 1979 a gas leak caused the Wyomissing post office to explode. UGI workers were searching for the leak at the time, and luckily no workers were present in the building when the incident occurred. One witness said he had just dropped a letter in the mailbox out…
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Jake’s Sandwich Shop – Mt. Penn – Then & Now
Read more: Jake’s Sandwich Shop – Mt. Penn – Then & NowJake’s was opened in 1946 and sits at 232 Carsonia Avenue in Mt. Penn. It will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The establishment was opened by Jake Meyers at its original location on Perkiomen Avenue. By the 1960s it was located in its current spot on Carsonia. The menu started out with burgers,…
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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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Bowl-O-Rama
Read more: Bowl-O-RamaBowl-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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The Blizzard of 1996 – 25 Years
Read more: The Blizzard of 1996 – 25 YearsA quarter century ago this week we were hit with the biggest blizzard on record for the area. Snow started falling on January 6th 1996 and stopped on the 8th. Parts of Berks County recorded 34 inches of snow, but the raging winds caused major drifts which made the snow pile up to 100 inches…
