Wilbur “Lefty” Reeser was born on June 28th 1918 in West Lawn to Herbert and Mary Reeser. Judging from Lefty’s senior yearbook excerpt below, he was an all-around athlete during his adolescence. During his senior year at Wilson he led Berks County in boys basketball scoring and also took the Prexies baseball team to the county title serving as their pitcher and captain.… Read Full Article
In 1919 the International League started a baseball team in Reading, PA. Their home field was Lauer’s Park at 3rd & Elm Streets. They were first named the Reading Coal Barons in their first season in 1919 and then the Reading Marines in 1920. In 1921 they became the Reading Aces, a name that lasted twice as long as the previous names; an entire two years.
Lauer’s Park was constructed in 1907 near where Lauer’s Brewery once stood.… Read Full Article
Christman’s Ice Cream was located along the west side of 4th Street (what now is Rt. 61 before the split) in South Hamburg. It was incorporated on May 25th, 1933 by Charles T. Christman. There were two other shareholders listed as well on 1933 business charter; Robert B. De Godt of Reading and Irene Steffy of Sinking Spring.… Read Full Article
Josiah Dives was born in 1851 in Chartham, Kent, 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 founded Dives, Pomeroy, and Stewart Deptartment Store, which later became known as just “Pomeroy’s”. … Read Full Article
I hope you have enjoyed the last several weeks as we have gone on a journey of the high school education system here in Berks County. This idea came to me when I considered that the senior class of 2020 has a less than ideal end to their high school career. Nothing exactly like this happened before, but I considered the feelings of alumni of institutions that no longer existed.… Read Full Article