Those who went on the last THREE CENTURIES TOUR visited the
Five Spring Farm, which is on the National Historical Register.
It's situated walking distance south of the Yellow House Hotel,
along Route 662, heading towards Amityville and Douglassville.



Below is a picture of the well-known recording group, the LAWMAN,
who will be on hand at the summertime gala to entertain us.



You who have a computer with a sound card can hear the LAWMEN
now by clicking on "the button" below!

2- The Antique Dealers Ass'n, which sponsors "Antiques in the Valley,"
has been very supportive of the Historical Society of Berks County.
Accordingly, we urge our members to attend this major antique show
in the beautiful Oley Valley.

The location of the event is quite near the famous and historic
Sacred Oak Tree.

3- Albany Township Historical Society's next meeting is
this coming Monday, May 19, 2008, at 7:30 pm.

The program---Mennonite Heritage and Culture---will be
presented by Dr. Laub, a lifelong resident of Berks County
who has studied Mennonite culture extensively as it relates
to our local area.

A few years ago, Dr. Laub discussed the history and
customs of this culture and will continue her discussion
in a more in-depth fashion.

Through demonstration and energetic story telling, Dr. Laub
will certainly provide an informative evening for A.T.H.S.
members and guests. YOU are invited.

Directions to the Historical Society are available at www.albanyths.org

(Deanna Wahler for Albany Township Historical Society)

4- Paul Miller, President of the Sinking Spring Area
Historical Society, will be presenting "A Ride on the
Lebanon Valley R.R. Line" on Wed.,May 21, 2008, at 7:30
at Heritage Park in Sinking Spring--located behind the
Sinking Spring Fire Co.

This is being done to commemmorate the 150th Anniversary
of the Lebanon Valley R.R. Line as well as the 30th
Anniversary of the Sinking Spring Area Historical Society
and Heritage Park's existence.
You are invited!

Come and see old pictures of Sinking Spring, when it was
a true "railroad town." Refreshments will be served.
For more information call 610-678-4219.

On Thursday, June 19, 2008, at 7:30 PM, President Miller
will also be showing a slide presentation entitled
"A Walking Tour of Sinking Spring" at the Borough Hall
in Sinking Spring. This is being done in conjunction
with the borough's " Main Street" project, commencing
this year and running to 2020, when it is anticipated
that the Borough of Sinking Spring will appear much like
the main street (Penn Avenue) in West Reading---with
all types of shops and restaurants within walking distance.

Mr. Miller's illustrated talk will give the audience an
idea what Sinking Spring looked like about a hundred
years ago...and up to present day. You are invited!

5- The Ringgold Band's first "summer-season concert" will be
held on Sunday, May 25th....from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gring's
Mill Park....along the Tulpehocken Creek....near Penn State
Berks Campus.

This is a "Concert in the Park" program. ALL WELCOME!

For more information on the Ringgold Band's summer concerts,
access..... http://www.ringgoldband.com/schedule.htm

6 - 2008 Senior Festival of the Arts----May 25 to June 6, 2008,
sponsored by the Berks County (Pa.) Office of Aging.

Events held at Reading Area Community College,
2nd and Penn Sts., Reading.

Major art exhibit with works of Berks’ residents 55 and older.
Submissions welcome. Cash prizes. Acrylics, drawing, mixed media,
oils, watercolors, photography, woodcarving.

Special one-time performance of Leonard Nimoy’s passionate
“Vincent,” starring actor Jim Jarrett on Sat., May 31 at
7:01 p.m. at RACC’s Miller Theatre--sponsored by Home
Instead Senior Care. Tickets: $15.

Also Sundays with the Arts on May 25 and June 1,
from 2 to 5 p.m. with music, poetry, gospel, demonstrations,
dancing, etc.
Special exhibit of works by Alzheimer’s artists.
Contacts: 610-478-6500 or www.berksaging.org.

7 - KUTZTOWN, April 1 – The Wagonhurst collection of tinsmith
tools, machinery, and patterns used by four generations of
Kutztown tinsmiths has been donated to the Pennsylvania
German Cultural Heritage Center (PGCHC) at Kutztown U.

The collection, which will help to further educate students
and the public on the Pennsylvania German culture, was once
owned by Charles Wagonhurst of Kutztown.

Charles Wagonhurst’s tin shop was originally located at
16 Greenwich Street in Kutztown. The business passed out
of the Wagonhurst family when Charles Wagonhurst, due to
failing eyesight, sold his business to Roy Daniel in 1973.
Daniel then moved the tin collection to Harpers Ferry,
W. Va., and over the next 20 years, used the tools to
demonstrate traditional tin-making methods and to create
reproductions of early tin ware. Two of his pieces are
on display in the Smithsonian Institute.

In 1996, Daniel retired from the tin business and moved
to Maine, taking the tin collection with him. The tin
collection eventually ended up in a storage facility
outside of San Diego, Calif. It was then that Arlen
Wagonhurst, a nephew of Charles, discovered the collection
when it was being sold by Joan Myers, Daniel’s stepdaughter.
Wagonhurst then contacted Dr. Robert Reynolds, director
of the PGCHC. Both were extremely interested in bringing
this wandering collection back to Kutztown.

“The Wagonhurst tinsmith collection is a phenomenal example
of the legacy of a multi-generational family’s pursuit of a
useful and traditional craft,” said Reynolds. “Returning
this collection to Kutztown brings the artifacts back to
their place of origin and provides the PGCHC with a wonderful
opportunity to highlight Pennsylvania German craft collections.”

In 2006, Doris Brunt, another relation to the Wagonhursts, offered
to purchase the collection for the PGCHC, and it was shipped from
California to Kutztown in May.

The tin products that Charles Wagonhurst made included
stovepipes, buckets, copper pots, lanterns, pie tins, funnels,
cookie cutters, and dippers. Wagonhurst also put tin roofs on buildings.

Reynolds hopes to eventually re-create the original Wagonhurst
tin shop, including the installation of the original charcoal
stove, to use in teaching classes on traditional Pennsylvania
German tin making methods.

“My vision for the collection is to develop a tinsmith shop
that not only serves our visitors, but also functions as
a learning opportunity for students enrolled in the
Pennsylvania German Studies program at KU,” he said.
“I can see our students making stove pipes for our 10-plate
stoves and learning how to make everyday table wares that
can be integrated into the period rooms of our relocated
buildings.”

A major portion of the collection is on display in the
basement of the 1871 bank-barn at the PGCHC.

The PGCHC is located on 21 acres of Kutztown University’s
campus. It features a stone farm house, summer kitchen,
bank-barn, one-room schoolhouse, two reconstructed log
houses, and a genealogical, historical, and cultural
library.

For more information on the tinsmith collection or the
PGCHC, call 610-683-1589.

8 - Even though this unusual view has nothing to do with Berks
County history, it required an extraordinary effort to create
and is well worth examining....."chust for so!"

As the human formation was composed of military men in 1918,
one has to wonder how many eventually perished in the flu
epidemic of that year. In October 1918, everybody lost at least
one relative and/or good friend. Whole families were wiped out.
Birdsboro was particularly hard hit.



CAMP DODGE, De Moines, Iowa --- STATUE OF LIBERTY formation

Base to Shoulder: 150 feet
Right Arm: 340 feet
Widest part of arm holding torch: 12 1/2 feet
Right thumb: 35 feet
Thickest part of body: 29 feet
Left hand length: 30 feet
Face: 60 feet
Nose: 21 feet
Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet
Torch and flame combined: 980 feet
Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000
Number of men in torch: 2,800
Number of men in right arm: 1,200
Number of men in body, head and balance of figure only: 2,000
Total men: EIGHTEEN THOUSAND!

9 - Famous actress to appear in Reading for Acting Workshop!



Enrollment limited to 20 students for the class
that begins on Wednesday evening, June 18, 2008
Reading, PA—--Acclaimed actress Kelly McGillis, who starred
opposite Harrison Ford in “Witness” and Tom Cruise in “Top
Gun,” will teach an eight-week Summer Acting Workshop for
Reading’s Community School of Music and The Arts, announced
Executive Director Phylllis McLaughlin.



McGillis begins teaching on Wednesday, June 18, said
McLaughlin. Her class will run from 6 to 9 p.m. for
eight consecutive Wednesdays, ending on Wednesday, Aug. 13.
The class is limited to only 20 students.
The cost is $395 per student plus a $30 one-time
registration fee.



McLaughlin said the school is “very honored and extremely
fortunate” to have an actress of McGillis’ ability join
its faculty. “Kelly’s resume and experience is phenomenal
and we expect a very good response to her first workshop
with us and future programs under her direction.”

A California native, Kelly McGillis was born and reared
in Newport Beach. After high school, she was accepted into
the acting program at the Pacific Conservatory of the
Performing Arts where she began to study acting in earnest.

She was so taken with her studies that she applied to and
was accepted by the drama department of the Juilliard School
in New York. It was while she was a student there that
she was discovered by Robert Ellis Miller who cast her
in his film “Reuben, Reuben” as Tom Conti's love interest.
Shortly thereafter, she appeared on stage in the world
premiere of Garson Kanin’s play “Peccadillo” starring opposite
Christopher Plummer and Glynnis Johns.

Her big break was being cast to star in Peter Weir’s
“WITNESS,” playing the unforgettable role of the Amish
widow, “Rachel Lapp.” This was soon followed by other films,
such as Tony Scott’s “Top Gun,” Alan Rudolph’s “Made In
Heaven” with Timothy Hutton and Deborah Winger, and Jonathan
Kaplan’s “The Accused,” opposite Jodie Foster.

Not restricting herself to the big screen, McGillis
continued to work in television, starring in several mini-
series and movies of the week and recently, she completed
filming a guest star ‘arc’ on the Showtime series,
“The L Word.” She also found time to produce and star in
a film adaptation of Kate Chopin’s novel, “Grand Isle.”

She has always, however, had a love of the stage which was
nurtured by her years at Juilliard. Since her graduation,
she has found time on a regular basis to perform live
theatre, very often classics by Chekov, Shaw, Ibsen,
Shakespeare and O’Neill. She has regularly appeared in
starring roles with the prestigious Shakespeare Theatre of
Washington, DC and also performed in a national tour of
the stage play, “The Graduate,” as “Mrs. Robinson.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

KELLY's FILMS......

Supergator (2007)
Black Widower (2006) ....Nancy Westveld
The Monkey's Mask (2000) .... Professor Diana Maitland
At First Sight (1999) .... Jennie Adamson
Painted Angels (1998) .... Nettie
North (1994) .... Amish Mum
The Babe (1992) .... Claire Hodgson Ruth
Winter People (1989) .... Collie Wright
The House on Carroll Street .... (1988) .... Emily
The Accused (1988) .... Kathryn Murphy
Made in Heaven (1987) .... Annie Packert/Ally Chandler
Top Gun (1986) .... Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood



Witness (1985) .... Rachel Lapp
One Life to Live (1968) (TV series) .... Glenda Livingston #1 (1984)
Reuben, Reuben (1983) .... Geneva Spofford
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She has spent most of the past decade undertaking one of
her most demanding roles, that of being a mother and rearing
her two daughters, Kelsey and Sonora.

THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND THE ARTS was founded more
than 50 years ago by Werner von Trapp of the world renowned
Trapp Family Singers of “The Sound of Music” fame. Today
it offers many individual and group classes in music, the
visual arts and dance through its diverse faculty of
professional musicians and instructors at its two Reading
locations:-- The GoggleWorks, 201 Washington St., and
345 Douglass St. The school’s website is
www.berkscommunitymusicandarts.org.

To enroll or for more details about the Kelly McGillis
2008 Summer Acting Workshop, contact McLaughlin by e-mail at
pmcL304@comcast.net -or- call 610-413-7050 or 610-777-2948.
Or contact the Community School weekdays between 4 and 8 p.m.
at 610-374-7167 -or- by e-mail at csma@dejazzd.com.