Reading Fairgrounds & Speedway Plaque Dedication

On Saturday May 21st, 2022, a plaque commemorating the Reading Fairgrounds & Speedway was ceremonially dedicated to the drivers who lost their lives there.

The brainchild of Jeff Hartman, Saturday’s event has been over a decade in the making, with a few bumps along the way. He originally pursued the idea back in 2010, when he approached the PA Historical Marker Commission about placing a marker somewhere on the grounds of the Fairgrounds Square Mall.… Read Full Article

Berks Beryllium Lands on Moon – On this day in 1969

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.

Berks Beryllium
Nov 19th 1969 Reading Eagle

A number of components on the lunar lander Intrepid were made from beryllium supplied by Kawecki-Berylco Industries, Inc.Read Full Article

On this Day – February 21st 1977

Warren St. Bypass

100 Block of Penn Street is Demolished

Buildings along the north side of the 100 block of Penn Street, next to the Penn Street Bridge, are being demolished. The properties are being razed by Fred E. Erb, Pequea, Lancaster County, under a contract with the Reading Redevelopment Authority (RRA). The area is part of the RRA’s Schuykill Urban Renewal Project – Eagle Photos

Power for Wagon Works

Metropolitan Edison Co.Read Full Article

Haunted Fairgrounds Square Mall

The Fairgrounds Square Mall has itself become a ghost. It was just demolished over what will inevitably go down as the infamous Summer of 2020. The mall was on its last leg for years, and it only seemed fitting that it would meet its end in such a year as this one has been. However, if you spent any time working there over the course of its 40 year existence, you may have heard or seen things you couldn’t explain.… Read Full Article

Muhlenberg Township High

Muhlenberg High School
Muhlenberg Township High School pictured in 1939

In 1830, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania enacted a law requiring all municipalities to have separate school districts. Muhlenberg Township became a municipality in 1851. At this time the Muhlenberg School District was officially established with a one-room school called Schlottman School which was located on Kutztown Road.

Muhlenberg Township High School was built in 1924-1925 at the price of nearly $335,000, which would equate to almost $5 million in 2020.… Read Full Article

Berks Nostalgia