Category: 1910s
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Happy Hollow Playground – Wyomissing
Read more: Happy Hollow Playground – WyomissingOn April 10, 1910 a meeting was held in the Borough Hall building at the corner on Penn Avenue and Wyomissing Boulevard. Various speakers spoke about the need for a public recreation area, and it was decided officials would be elected to form a a committee to organize a playground association. On May 16th, 1910…
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The Luden Family & the Ghost of Bon Air
Read more: The Luden Family & the Ghost of Bon AirLast summer I wrote an extensive article on Central Catholic High School as a part of a greater “Defunct Schools of Berks” series. It has been a decade since the merger of Central Catholic and Holy Name into Berks Catholic. So it is time to dive into some tangible research to answer a few of…
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Josiah Dives & the Ghosts of Folly Farm
Read more: Josiah Dives & the Ghosts of Folly FarmJosiah Dives was born in 1851 in Canterbury, England. He started his business career after moving to London at the age of 13 following his Father’s death. When coming to America in 1872, his first residence was Hartford, CT. This is where he met George Pomeroy and John Stewart. Together they came to Reading and…
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Ontelaunee High School
Read more: Ontelaunee High SchoolOntelaunee High was located in Leesport PA, right along Centre Ave or Route 61. The original High School building was built in 1914. An addition was added in 1939. Ontelaunee High’s mascot was the Indian and the colors were red and yellow. Dear Ontelaunee, We are all thy people.Thy name to us means pride and…
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Robesonia High School
Read more: Robesonia High SchoolThe high School was built in 1916 and located at 129 W. Penn Avenue in Robesonia. Its history is one of the more elusive as there is almost no information about it online. If you have anything to contribute to the article, feel free to leave a comment below. In 1955, the boroughs of Wernersville,…
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Bethel High School
Read more: Bethel High SchoolThe Bethel education system served the youth of the township beginning in 1911 on a two-year school program. The first class, numbering just two students, graduated in 1913. They first met in the Bethel Grade School building in a small room with two instructors. In 1923 the high school was changed to a 4-year program.…
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St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High School
Read more: St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High SchoolBefore Holy Name, or even Central Catholic, there was another Catholic High School in the city of Reading. St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High, or more well known as just “Reading Catholic High” was located at 225 South 5th Street in Reading. St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High was founded in 1911 and in 1914, the first…
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Sinking Spring Borough Hall
Read more: Sinking Spring Borough HallThe former Sinking Spring Borough Hall building held stores and a restaurant until the Sinking Spring Bank opened there in 1922, according to Borough of Sinking Spring 100th Anniversary by Paul and Kathy Miller. The borough then bought the building in 1963 from People’s Trust City Bank. The Sinking Spring Borough Hall was dedicated during…
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The Pagoda’s Outbuilding
Read more: The Pagoda’s OutbuildingCompleted in 1908 at a cost of $50,000, this pagoda was intended to be the hotel/restaurant centerpiece of a luxury resort. When plans for the rest of the resort were abandoned, the 7-story wooden building on 10 acres of land was donated to Reading in 1911. It is now part of the Mount Penn Reserve,…
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West Reading High School
Read more: West Reading High SchoolThe West Reading High School building was built in 1914 at the corner of 4th and Franklin Streets. It was the beginning of the secondary education for youth in the Borough of West Reading. It housed 7th-12th grades. In 1923 an addition to the original building was added to accommodate an expanding population. An auditorium,…
