The empty stalls tell the story. When parking meters were in use on the 3rd and Washington streets parking lot, this 9:30am scene would have been different, with all the spaces occupied. Today marked the first time the new ticket system, similar to that used at Franklin Plaza, was in use. The higher cost that came with the system apparently drove most of the normal parkers elsewhere, leaving the lot pretty barren.… Read Full Article
On November 14th 1969 the second crewed flight to the moon, known as Apollo 12, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It successfully made contact with the moon on this day, November 19th 1969. When it landed, so did small but significant pieces from Berks County.
A number of components on the lunar lander Intrepid were made from beryllium supplied by Kawecki-Berylco Industries, Inc.… Read Full Article
I had previously written a post about the effect the construction of the bypass had on West Wyomissing. The stories about house-moving intrigued me due to the fact that my mother and her family lived on Girard Avenue at that time and got to witness the spectacle firsthand in the early 70s. Yet there was a part of this story I was not aware of, and its name was Grand Blvd.… Read Full Article
On this day in 1950; the Reading Street Railway Company went on a sudden Bus Strike after negotiations on contracts came up short. This stopped all bus and street-car service in the city of Reading, which as you can imagine caused problems for those who relied on the service.
Some of the conferees in a mediation session at the Tenth Street car barns of the Reading Street Railway Company, which opened shortly before noon, are shown in the top photo.… Read Full Article
An 18th century log cabin owned by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Berger of Allentown, and formerly located in the Blue Marsh Dam project area, has been moved to the rear of the old Lenhartsville Hotel. The Bergers donated the cabin to the Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Culture Society in Lenhartsville. Above, Marvin Werley of Orefield stands on the cabin porch, and below, Mrs.… Read Full Article