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Posted 06-22-2003 EIGHT News-Bits of Reading-Berks historical interest…. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1- Bynden Wood concert this coming Tuesday at 7 is varied 2- Historian-photographer J. Shalter feted on 90th birthday 3- Magnificent Ben Austrian chick painting to be sold 4- Some obits noted: C. Pennypacker and M. M. Finlay 5- Artist Chris Shearer's Tuckerton tombstone quite unusual 6- Old-time radio ad for a new automobile. Guess its price! 7- A reader recalls the Baumstown race track noted last time 8- A tombstone that says it all….. ============ ============== =============== The Bynden Wood concert for this coming Tuesday at 7 features a wide variety of performers: Robin Lilarose on flute…Robert Kreitz, who will play a piano tribute to George Gershwin…euphoniumist Phillip Eberly…pianist Deborah Pyle…vocalists Sarah Sensenig and Julia Walsh, and flutist Bridget Johnson. The free Bynden Wood concerts are made possible through the joint effort of the South Mt. YMCA and the Reading Musical Foundation, the aforementioned Robert Kreitz, president. Bring a folding chair for yourself, be a sport and plan to give a paper donation, and pray for a nice night. In case of rain, the concert is held at Conrad Weiser H.S. To get to Bynden Wood, drive to Wernersville, and at Hoover Motors (in the center of town) turn southward (from Rdg., turn left), and follow the signs to the summit of South Mt. ============== ============== ================ 2- Late Saturday afternoon, June 21st, about 80 well wishers met at St. Paul's U.C.C. in Amityville for a surprise party that honored Jonathan Shalter, III, of Pricetown Rd., who recently turned 90. Jonathan, who has the vitality of someone 30 years younger, continues to be a vital force in the Berks community. He's been accorded the honor of numerous showings of his photographic art, which generally focus on nature subjects. Recently, he spent some five hours on a ladder waiting for the perfect time to take a bird in its most photogenic stance. The end result is most impressive. Mr. Shalter has given numerous programs at the Historical Society, mostly of old-time Reading and Berks. He and wife Elsie are extraordinary people who are always on the go. Beyond that, they are two of the nicest people around. Recently, Jonathan appeared on a Society BCTV program that paid tribute to the history of Laureldale. ============ =============== =============== 3- Herewith is a particularly attractive chick painting by Berks artist Ben Austrian (1870-1921) that will be sold at auction this coming week. Opening bid is $3,500. If anyone is interested in learning more, do a Ben Austrian search on eBay. Some reading this message will recall his log cabin on Perkiomen Ave. in Mount Penn which, regrettably, was torn down in 1950 to make way for the gas station opposite St. Catharine's R.C. church. ============= ================= =============== 4- Catherine Pennypacker, aged 80, died June 19th in her home on New Holland Rd., Kenhorst. Husband James died in 1971. She was an owner of Pennypacker Auction Center, Kenhorst, from 1946 to 1988, past president of the Woman's Club of Kenhorst, past secretary of the Antique Dealers Assn. of Berks, and a 1940 graduate of Rdg. High School. Among numerous survivors is daughter Catherine "Cathy" Pennypacker-Bibbus, Kenhorst, who has been a good friend to the Historical Society of Berks. Burial is at Gethsemane Cemetery, Laureldale. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Marjorie M. Finlay---a former opera, radio, television, and theatrical performer---died June 17th in Reading Hospital, aged 74. She had lived in Wyomissing with her husband Robert, who died this past April 24th. She had been a member of the Houston Grand Opera Company and spent considerable time performing in Thailand and Singapore. From 1958 to 1964, she was co-host of the Pan- American television show in Puerto Rico. Mrs. Finlay was a member of First Presbyterian, Rdg., where she sang in the choir. She graduated from Lindenwood College, St. Charles, Mo., with a degree in voice. She is survived by two daughters, one being Andrea Finlay-Swist, Wyomissing Hills. ================== ============ ================ 5- Today, on a errand that took us past Church of the Good Shepherd ("Hinnershitz's Church"), at the corner of Route 61 and Tuckerton Rd, at Tuckerton, we decided stop for a few moments to take a photo of Berks artist Christopher High Shearer's tombstone, which is somewhat unusual. Not only does he lie on the church cemetery, right next to the parking lot, one of his biggest paintings hangs proudly inside the sanctuary, right up front! The photo below gives Chris's birth and death dates (1846- 1926) and that of his second wife, Linda (1852-1928). =========== =============== ================ 6- Old-time radio ad for a new Dodge. Quite affordable! http://www.radiocraft.co.uk/dodge_ad.mp3 ================ ================= =========== 7- In the previous News-Bits email, we provided information about a race track at Baumstown, pre-W.W. II, close to the former Baumstown hotel and the road into Birdsboro. Here is a message from Sam Hadley, one of our readers: "Yes, I remember this race track. I lived in Baumstown until 1945. I watched quite a few of the races there. I did not remember the name of the track was Cup Speedway. All I remember is that it was very dusty for the spectators. The track was behind a ramshackle tenement house known as "Strawberry Mansion." A schoolmate of mine at Baumstown School lived there." Your editor recalls the ruins of the "mansion," somewhat opposite the now-abandoned Baumstown School, latterly used as a flag factory. Supposedly, Dr. Baum, whose residence was the former Baumstown hotel, used "Strawberry Mansion" for an office and hospital. A phone call to Mae Evans, a former colleague, revealed that when she taught at the Baumstown School in 1951, the old mansion was no longer inhabited as the roof was off and the walls were beginning to crumble. In any event, the bottom line seems to be that the race track was between the eastbound and westbound lanes of present-day Route 422 (Philadelphia Pike)---behind "Strawberry Mansion." Years ago, if you came out the front door of the school building (which faced northward) and looked across the road, you might have been able to see the race track behind the mansion (which faced southward). ============= =============== ================= 8- News-Bits ends with a tombstone inscription appropriate to the occasion….. =========== === gmmix === ====== end ======== =============== ================ ============

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