Category: Shillington
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John Updike’s Childhood Home
Read more: John Updike’s Childhood HomeOn Saturday September 10th I had the pleasure of visiting John Updike’s childhood home at 117 Philadelphia Avenue in Shillington. John lived here from his birth in 1932 until he was 13 years old. It is widely known that Shillington and the city of Reading were the inspirational foundation behind many of his stories and…
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Wilbur “Lefty” Reeser –
Sports Star to Sporting GoodsRead more: Wilbur “Lefty” Reeser –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…
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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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Pensupreme
Read more: PensupremePensupreme was the trade name of Penn Dairy; which originated in Lancaster County. The dairy had restaurants referred to as “Pensupreme Shoppes” which served food and ice cream. They also branched into “Grocerettes” which were basically convenience stores in various places around eastern PA. The main milk processing plant was in York, PA. In Berks…
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Berks County Almshouse
Read more: Berks County AlmshouseThe Berks County Almshouse was located just outside of Shillington along route 724 or Philadelphia Avenue. The land on which the Almshouse was built in 1824 was owned by Governor Thomas Mifflin. His actual residence, the location of which has been long debated amongst local historians, was rumored to be one of the buildings on…
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Far East Chinese Restaurant
Read more: Far East Chinese RestaurantIn 1920, the very first Chinese cuisine restaurant opened in Berks County at 739 Penn Street in Reading by Chee Yuen Hong and his father Sik Que Hong. Back then it was called the Far East Tea Garden and was ran by various members of the Hong family through the following decades and moves. In…
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Shillington Theatre
Read more: Shillington TheatreThe Shillington Theatre was located at 29 E Lancaster Ave between Liberty and Brobst St. It opened Sept. 3rd, 1949. It was not until the late 1960’s that the Shillington was able to run movies on Sundays due to the local municipality refusing to repeal and continuing to enforce Pennsylvania’s antiquated “blue laws”. Blue Laws…
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On this day – Nov 24th, 1993 – Cumru Township Gas Explosion
Read more: On this day – Nov 24th, 1993 – Cumru Township Gas ExplosionA water pumping station along Old Lancaster Pike in Cumru Township owned by Citizens Utilities Water Co. was destroyed in an explosion Tuesday night, leveling the structure to concrete slabs. The force of the explosion, heard up to five miles away, blew the doors off the building through the containment fence. “Fearing that the blast…
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Kmart – 45 Years in Berks
Read more: Kmart – 45 Years in BerksKmart has been a staple nationwide big box store since the 60s. The company, originally called S. S. Kresge Corporation, dates back to 1899. It wasn’t until 1974 when it broke into the Berks County market, opening a store at the 94,500-square-foot Cumru Township location in Shillington Plaza. According to the Reading Eagle, it featured…
