Ontelaunee High School

Ontelaunee High School
Ontelaunee High School
Ontelaunee High School 1954

Ontelaunee 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 love and praise.

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Miracle Mart – 2101 Centre Ave

Miracle Mart

Miracle Mart was a 50,000 square foot department store on Route 61/Centre Ave in North Reading. There is very little information online about Miracle Mart or its origins, besides that there was a more well-documented and unrelated Canadian department store chain by the same name. Looking at aerial photos of the area leads me to believe this location in Reading, Pennsylvania was opened in 1959.… Read Full Article

5th Street – 1971 Then & Now

Below are Aerials shots from 1971, showing what Fifth street highway/Route 61/Kutztown Road looked like just north of the city. A few of the notable  structures are the Reading Fairgrounds, Bellevue Diner, and Gethsemane Cemetery. The Warren Street Bypass was also noticeably not extended past 5th street at the time of this photo. Five years after this photo, the bypass was connected up to Pricetown Road, as it is still today.… Read Full Article

Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium

Municipal Stadium hosted it’s first baseball game in 1951.

Municipal Stadium - 1950s

On March 28, 1945, Reading City Council voted unanimously to purchase 27 acres of ground known as Cathedral Heights at a cost of $64,491 for the purpose of building a municipal stadium. In 1947 the grading of the land began and by 1949 the initial stages of construction could be seen. With a final price tag of $656,674, the stadium was completed on April 15, 1951.

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Berks Nostalgia