Last 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 the questions and legends about a spirit haunting the halls of the former Luden’s Bon Air Mansion.… Read Full Article
One hundred years ago today – February 4, 1921, six armed men stormed into the Peoples Trust Company of Wyomissing shortly before noon demanding everyone get on the ground. Three jumped the counter and forced clerks to open the vault by gunpoint. The audacious robbers didn’t even try to obscure their faces and were unmasked for the duration. It would end up being the largest bank heist of the 20th century in Berks.… Read Full Article
There is a dense, dark atmosphere on the windy roads that once led to old sanatoriums that graced the wooded South Mountain below Wernersville. If you have ever driven around up there after nightfall you probably know what I mean. The mountain is rich with history, but the oldest and some of the most frightening surrounds the Grand View Sanatorium.
Grand-View was the oldest health retreat on the mountain, dating back to 1847 when it was founded by Dr.… Read Full Article
If you have ever driven south on Route 10 and crested Green Tree Hill, you may have noticed a quiet old mansion sitting back in the shadows behind the rehab hospital. Maybe you have wondered what the story behind it is.
The mansion was built in 1925 by Isaac Eberly, owner of Oakbrook Hosiery Mill. He was born in a log cabin in Gibraltar in 1880.… Read Full Article
Sinking Spring Speedway was located along Fritztown Road, between Old Fritztown and Montello Roads. It opened in August of 1948 and was a quarter-mile semi-banked dirt racetrack about a half-mile southwest of Sinking Spring. It was ran by Harry D. Weil. They hosted afternoon and night races under lighting over the summer months.
The twice-deffered 1949 Sinking Spring racing inaugural has attracted a field of more than 25 drivers, mostly from Reading and Berks County, and many of the youthful pilots will be making their debut in competitive racing.… Read Full Article