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Authored by Society president George Meiser IX |
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EIGHT News-Bits of Reading-Berks
interest.... ============================================ 1- Pleasantville Covered Bridge is undergoing restoration. 2- Six volumes of “The Passing Scene” offered for sale. 3- VOTE for Berks County’s official flower, bird, and tree. 4- Volunteers needed at the Society for 3-hour shifts. 5- Inflation calculator available for research or fun purposes--free. 6- Local old-time musicians on the Internet--on Radio Dismuke. 7- Perpetual calendar available for research purposes--free. 8- Clams and oysters with pearls found in Berks County years ago. ============================================ 1- Today’s Reading Eagle shows a photo of the Pleasantville Covered Bridge undergoing restoration. At this juncture, most of the siding and roofing have been removed. As locals know, due to abutment problems and other structural difficulties, the 1850-ish structure has been closed the better part of a decade. Lack of funding was behind the delay. As much of the old wood as can be used will be retained in the rehabilitation/restoration process. ============================================ 2- One of the recipients of this email service has six “Passing Scene” books for sale. He notes: “I would prefer to sell as a set volumes 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 9. Volume three has a dedication inside the cover; other than that they are in excellent shape. The asking price is $ 420.00. I will give your readers a week, and if I can't sell them as a set I will list them on eBay.” If interested, contact Steve Klopp at 610 - 562 - 5439. Or email dancinstv@enter.net ============================================ 3- The Berks 2-5-0 Anniversary Commission is inviting YOU to vote for an official county FLOWER....BIRD.....and TREE. The winners will be announced on New Year’s Eve. The choices are: FLOWERS - Bloodroot, Black-eyed Susan, or Mayapple BIRDS - Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, or Eastern Bluebird TREES - Flowering dogwood, Eastern Red Bud, or Pin Oak To see what the above look like and to cast your ballot, go to: http://www.berks250.com After you vote, you will be informed of the popular choices. ============================================ 4- Due to a rash of recent illnesses and incapacitations, the Historical Society is in immediate need of volunteers in the museum/gift shop....at the front desk....and in the library. Shifts are usually 3 hours and can be once a week, twice a month, or once a month--or on a when-needed (substitute) basis. If you’re interested in research, working at the desk in the library provides a major learning experience and a golden opportunity to see what’s in the collection. By looking for things for others you’ll find a multitude of resources you never knew existed. For questions about the gift/museum shop or front desk, ask for Gloria. For more information about the library (at the desk or file work), ask for Barbara. Phone 610 - 375 - 4375. ============================================ 5- About a year ago we gave the Internet address for an inflation calculator. Since that time we’ve had requests to repeat that address --and there are some 400 new people getting these messages. Accordingly, here it is again: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ It’s fascinating to see the equivalent value of things. The Reading Eagle in 1898 advertised a row-house in the 800 block of Gordon Street in Reading for $995 (including the furnace!). Use the inflation calculator to see what the equivalent value would be in 2001. ============================================ 6- There is a popular, FREE, Internet radio station that plays old- time music (1925 to 1935) 24 hours a day, every day of the year. I made contact with the owner requesting that the Trix Sisters (Helen and Josephine who recorded in the 1920s) and Paul Specht and his dance orchestra be added to the line-up of stars. He agreed provided I supply the station with a CD of each. They were sent yesterday. The Trix Sisters were born and buried in Newmanstown, walking distance from Womelsdorf, and Paul Specht was born and buried in the west end of Sinking Spring. If you’re interested this sort of musical nostalgia, go to..... http://dismuke.org/radio/ ============================================ 7- Phone books used to run a copy of the perpetual calendar year after year--but it seems to have disappeared in recent printings. Researchers well know the research value of a perpetual calendar when trying to find on what day a particular article or photo appeared in the newspaper. Embarrassing as it is to admit, I just learned (or relearned) that I was born on a Saturday! http://people.txucom.net/fpreston/calendar.htm ============================================ 8- Some 20 years ago, when conducting research preparatory to an article for the Reading Eagle on Gouglersville, I interviewed two old-timers sitting on a porch above Moore’s Mill, along the Old Lancaster Pike, a short distance southwest of Gouglersville. During my interview focused on the mill, mention was made of the delicious fresh-water clams they used to dig from the mill pond. The point they made was that the crustaceans they used to gather looked like clams and not muscles. That came as a great surprise to me. They then reported that during a violent storm years ago, the mill- dam broke and was never repaired--and the pond dried up, and that was the end of the Gouglersville-area clams! Recently, two articles have appeared in the Berks & Schuylkill Journal newspaper--in the 1860s-- about oysters being found near the southeastern Berks border, in the proximity of French Creek /Hopewell Furnace. Not only were oysters found, but two had pearls of impressive size and quality. More about this topic will follow in a later News-Bits email. ===================== gmmix ===== end ========= |
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