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Authored by Society president George Meiser IX |
| Posted 09-22-2003
SIX News-Bits of general historical interest... ========== ================ ============= ============ ================== ========= 1- Berks County POSTCARD CLUB being formed: Oct. 23rd at 7 p.m. 2- Location of Burma-Shave signs in Western Berks answered 3- Society's Stereography/Old-Time Photo & Camera exhibit now open 4- Erie Lackawanna R.R. line to be explored (outside Berks) 5- $11,750 Edison light bulb sold at auction 6- A Weird and Unusual Exhibit just across the Berks border ================= ============ ========== ================= ============ ========== 1- If you're interested in vintage postcards, Reading and Berks cards especially, take note: The very 1st meeting of the Berks County Postcard Club will take place at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, October 23rd, at the Fleetwood Historical Society headquarters on Arch St.,in Fleetwood--old school building's rear entrance. Dennis Becker, Dave Remaley, Brandon Strasser, and Jay Druckenmiller, the chartering members, will be there to help get this venture underway. For more information, call Dennis at 610-944-9983 or Dave at 610-683-3488. ============= ============= ============= 2- In a recent News-Bits release, mention was made of Burma-Shave signs that for many years could be seen along the highways in rural Berks. Your editor recalled one location in Western Berks in the Wernersville-Robesonia section but could not remember exactly where. Our friend Carroll Lape, Newmanstown's resident historian, sent this comment: "I certainly remember as a youngster a group of signs located on the north side of 422, just west of Robesonia--and west of Moyers Gulf gas station: between it and the next home. I can still hear my parents reciting the segmented verse every time we passed by--which was often!" ================ ============= ========== 3- The Historical Society's Stereography/Old-Time Photo & Camera exhibit is open for visitors in Exhibition Hall. It's really well worth seeing, especially for those interested in old-time Reading and Berks stereo-cards. A group of very rare/early shots of Reading---and store interiors there---are included in the show. Many of the pictures have never been published, so they will be new to you. This is a short-term exhibit. It runs a little over a month. ================= ============== ========= 4- "Bangor and Portland Railroad Revisited" A bus trip sponsored by the Anthracite Roads Historical Society will be touring the former Lackawanna / Erie Lackawanna Railroad lines on Oct 26, 2003. Several retired employees will be invited guests to act as tour guides throughout the day. Most all of the 34 miles of track between Portland, PA and Bath, PA will be explored. Railroad operations at the various Cement plants--and the interchange the Bangor & Portland did with four other railroad companies at six locations will be discussed. The bus will have a PA system, and attendees are encouraged to bring tape recorders to archive the narration. Those interested should contact Bob Bahrs at 973-829-0040 or at dlw1el2@aol.com before Oct 10. Parking will be at the Reliant Energy power plant at Portland, PA, and all attending must have forwarded the license plate number of the car they will be parking there to Bob before Oct 10. Boarding of the bus will be between 8:45-9:00am Sunday, Oct 26. The price of the trip will be determined that morning but will be somewhere in the $30.00 to $40.00-dollar range, depending on the number of participants. A lunch stop at the Nazareth Diner is planned, but attendees may bring there own lunch and cooler. Don't miss this once-in-a lifetime opportunity to relive what once was--and will never be again--on the former Lackawanna Railroad lines in Northampton County. ============= ============ ============== 5- An $11,750 light bulb? (This account sent to us from a reader.) The cost of lighting appears to be on the rise! At a recent Bonhams & Butterfields sale, a rare circa-1880 incandescent light bulb, produced by the Thomas Edison Laboratory, sold for $11,750.  The Edison Type “A” 16-candle power lamp ignited a fiery round of competitive bidding, selling several times above the estimate of $5,000 to $7,000 to an East Coast collector. The bulb, brought to a Bonhams & Butterfields appraisal clinic earlier this year, belonged to the decendants of an entrepreneur named Roy Congdon who received the bulb as a gift from the Edison Laboratory in the early 20th century. “Light bulbs rarely become cherished family heirlooms--like Victrolas, for example. And even the earliest models were often thrown away when they ceased to be functional," said Catherine Williamson, a Bonhams & Butterfields specialist. “Luckily, by the time Roy Congdon and his family received this particular light bulb, its importance was self-evident. The piece was lovingly and carefully preserved from that time until now.” Documentation accompanying the bulb reveals the family attempted to sell it in the early 1930s to various institutions,including the Henry Ford Museum. The museum, however, offered a price of only $3 at that time, so the family declined to sell. =============== ============ ============ 6- A WEIRD AND UNUSUAL EXHIBIT The Board of Directors of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, 105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, announce the opening of a special Halloween exhibit: Weird and Unusual: unique and unexpected objects from the Heritage Center collection. The exhibit, which is now open, will run through November 10, 2003. The staff at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center has mined the museum collection to find a selection of bizarre objects for visitors' enjoyment. Stop in during this creepy holiday season and you'll be wondering, "How did that end up in Pennsburg, PA?" or "What is that thing?" On view will be a mummy's hand, Babylonian cuneiform tablets, fossils, etc. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about phrenology; you'll have to visit the Heritage Center to find out what it is! (You all have a head start. --Ed.) The famous "Squirrel Band," novelty taxidermy from the early 20th century, will make its appearance. The visitor to the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center will experience authentic Pennsylvania German culture up close and personal through exhibits of folk art and history. The Heritage Center's renowned fraktur and textile collections make it a must-see in southeastern Pennsylvania. The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Thursdays 9:00 am to 8:00 pm; Saturdays 10:00 am to 3:00 pm; and Sundays 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The Heritage Center is closed to the public on Mondays. For additional information and/or directions, call 215-679-3103---or visit their website: www.schwenkfelder.com ================= ============ ========== =========== gmmix =========== end ======= |
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