Back in September 1987, they were still constructing the Keystone Fire Company in Boyertown, PA. They had sold the building at 24 North Reading Avenue and bought a lot at Walnut Street and Spring Street.

I used to live in one of the houses along North Reading Avenue, and the fire company would have been right at our backyard. We moved out in 1986, and I remember the lot had been sold to the fire company then, but when we moved construction had just begun. Specifically, they had begun digging. Kids from the neighborhood would take pieces of cardboard and climb the pile of dirt they created, probably from digging the basement, and slide down.

When I was growing up, the lot where the fire company was built was half grassy field (which they mowed about once a year so it was full of weeds and you couldn't play in it) and half parking lot for H&R. It wasn't H&R Block, the tax people, it was H&R a clothing manufacturer. They must have had some type of retail store, because I remember going into the building a few times with my mom. But basically it was a factory and the lot was for people working there.

Because parking was limited in back, most yards only had one spot, and no one wanted to park out front along Reading Avenue because your car could get hit, many of the neighbors would park in the lot and walk up the alley to their houses.

These pictures were taken when I was 15. I was a junior in high school, and one day a friend and I were riding our 10-speeds around town and I took along my camera. I suppose the statute of limitations on trespassing has run out, so I can admit we walked all through the construction checking it out and taking photos.

The Keystone's website says the building opened in December 1987.

The former Keystone Fire Company building stands at 24 N. Reading Avenue in Boyertown.

In the photo, you can see the three Pennsylvania keystones in the brickwork. The white marble at the top says "Keystone Steam Engine Company No. 1." The front glass windows used to be the truck doors.

The building is now owned by National Penn Bank.

Walking down North Reading Avenue, there's a house that used to be Emilee's Bridal Salon. In the photo it's the tan building in the middle.

with the awning.

Two of my friends got their wedding dresses there, and had their bridesmaids' dresses made there.

In the photo, on the left is the former Dierolf home, and on the right is the Neubauer home.

This is Fifth Street in Boyertown, PA, behind Ritner's State Theatre (white building on the left).

In elementary school I was friends with a girl who lived in one of the row homes pictured here. I don't know about the others, but the house she lived in was divided into two apartments, and she lived in the upstairs apartment.

Back then, the Boyertown Casket Company was still standing, so you wouldn't have been able to see the trees behind the houses. (And I doubt the sun would have shone that much on them, either.)

This is Ritner's State Theatre in Boyertown, PA, or The State.

When I worked at the Times, I did an article on the theatre and spoke to Jack Kline, then 82, who managed the theatre for 40 years.

The building was built in 1912. The inside murals were done in 1934 by R.E. Greco Co. of Philadelphia. It was originally called the Lyric.

Kline's father bought the theater in 1934 and changed the name to the State. Just before he bought it, it was equipped with a sound system, before that it was a silent movie house.

The theatre's had many owners over the years, but in 1987 the current owner, Bob Ritner, bought it.

In June 2006 a mural was painted on the side of the theater by Robert Williams.

Admission is $3. When I was growing up, admission was $1, then $1.5. We lived close enough to walk to the theatre, and I remember seeing many movies there as a teenager.

The Friendship Hook & Ladder Fire Company of Boyertown, PA, stands at the corner of Third Street, South Reading Avenue and Warwick Street.






In this photo, you can see Third Street in front and Warwick Street on the right.

I remember going to Friday night dinners at the Hooks almost every week as a teenager. They used to have a fantastic ham steak that was as large as the plate! That was my favorite. And string beans.



Something else they occasionally served was sausage soup, what's locally called "Hookie House Special." (another recipe site). It's sausage, potatoes and beans. Yum! Very good in winter.

The Hooks also serves breakfast. We went a few times for breakfast, and I know other people who go every week and I think they still get a crowd.

My kids love the Hooks because if we go for walks at night, if any of the firefighters are at the building sitting out with the trucks they'll invite the kids in to see the trucks and sit on them. The kids have done that a few times, along with visits to the firehouse from preschool.

This is the Cumberland Farms convenience store at the split of Warwick Street (left) and South Reading Avenue (right) in Boyertown, PA.

The Friendship Hook and Ladder Fire Company at the intersection of South Reading Avenue and Warwick street. It was later torn down and the site is now a Cumberland Farms convenience store.

According to the Hook's 100th anniversary booklet in 1982, the old fire house was sold to Gulf Oil in March of 1966 for $30,000. The firehouse was later demolished.

Looking North on Reading Avenue in Boyertown, PA, you can see the former laundromat on the left, and the mural A Special Kind of Place is to my back.

Looking up the street you see the Boyertown Inn, the large white building on the left on the corner of Philadelphia Avenue (Route 73) and Reading Avenue (Route 562).

Across Philadelphia Avenue (Main Street) you see the National Penn Bank building (the distinctive logo and mirrored glass makes it easy to spot). And just beyond that you see the steeple of St. John's Lutheran Church.

On the right you see the stores.

Boyertown, PA, is "A Special Kind of Place."

The original print by Boyertown artist David Larson was done several years ago (I think the original print was about 1985). He's also done two later prints, "Boyertown Autumn" and "Boyertown Botanical."

History of Boyertown from brochure of same name.

This mural was sponsored by the Lions Club of Boyertown. Based on the Dave Larson print, the mural was done by Robert L. Williams. It's on what Building a Better Boyertown now calls the "Civic Club Walkway" along South Reading Avenue at the entrance to the Inner Core parking lot. The walkway was dedicated in April 2007.

Growing up, I remember this walkway being one of the few places in town with public telephones. Funny thinking about that now, when even 12-year-olds have their own cell phones. But back in the '70s and '80s, if you were out with friends and needed to call home, you stopped at a pay phone. They weren't actual phone booths (with doors that closed), but a pole with the phone surrounded on three sides by a small glass case at the top. (phone booth photos) I think there were two or three phones here, and two benches.

Farmer's National Bank in Boyertown, PA, was at the corner of East Philadelphia Avenue and Washington Street.

Like many banks, it's changed hands over the years. It's now M&T Bank, as you can see by the sign that covers the engraved name on the building's facade.

This is the bank my grandmother has always used. The interior is pure nostalga, with granite and marble. When you walk through the outside columns, you feel like you're walking into a "real" bank.

Online research shows Farmers’ National Bank of Boyertown was organized on March 20, 1883. According to this article, the bank was originally in the same building as the Rhoads Opera House, so it would follow that the bank building pictured was built after the fire. The article was in a biography book of 1898, so the fire isn't mentioned.

On the top left of the building you can see the alarm system. Near the bottom right you can see a Fallout Shelter sign. On the left you can see the drive-through, which has two spaces, and a small parking lot.

The Boyertown Area Historical Society (Boyertown, PA) exhibit about the Rhoads Opera House Fire includes many photographs and postcards. The photos visually tell the story of the fire in a way that words cannot.

Growing up, this is the photo I remember seeing the most-the one of the inside of the opera house after the fire and the bodies piled up on the floor.

Photos I don't remember seeing before were the photos of the aftermath. There were photos of crowds gathered outside the building. I imagine there were people coming to identify bodies and probably many spectators who just had to come see for themselves what had happened.

And, of course there were many funerals. At the memorial service Sunday Pastor Pearson said many services were held in the homes of the families (because that was the custom then). This one was at a church.

One display at the Boyertown Area Historical Society is a map of Boyertown, PA, at the time of the Rhoads Opera House Fire. Sites of significance during the fire were marked.

1. The Friendship Hook and Ladder Fire Company at the intersection of South Reading Avenue and Warwick street. It was later torn down and the site is now a Cumberland Farms convenience store.

2. The Keystone House stood at the corner of Third Street and South Reading Avenue. It was torn down and is the current site of theFriendship Hook & Ladder Fire Company's new building.

3. The Keystone Fire House on North Reading Avenue. The fire company moved to a lot behind North Reading Avenue, and this building is now offices for National Penn Bank.

7. Fairview Cemetery on West Philadelphia Avenue. This was the old entrance. Now there's no wrought iron fence or sign, but there are brick columns at the entrance and exit.

8. Good Shepherd U.C.C. on West Philadelphia Avenue. This is the church with the town clock.

18. The Colebrookdale Railroad Station in Boyertown stood at the railroad tracks off Third Street. It was on the same block as the Rhoads Opera House.

24. D.C. Brumbach Furniture Store and James Brown's Morgue was at the corner of East Philadelphia Avenue and Washington Street, catty corner from the Rhoads Opera House. This is currently the building of Richard Zuber Realty.

The Boyertown Area Historical Society was open from 4-7 p.m. on Sunday, Jan 13 for people to see their display on the Rhoads Opera House Fire.

The exhibit is there all month and open on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.

I've been in the society building before for programs and exhibits, and they usually do a nice presentation.

On this Sunday they had Opera House experts there to answer questions and talk to people visiting.

This is artist Julie Longacre (left) holding a print she drew of the Rhoads building. Next to her is Betty Burdan, local historian who helped on the Opera House committee.

On display are newspapers from that time, photos of the fire aftermath and postcards that were printed about the fire, maps and bios on the people killed.

The photos and articles really speak for themselves.

A Service of Remembrance for victims of the Rhoads Opera House Fire was held at St. John's Lutheran Church, Boyertown, at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008.

The service was opened by Rev. John Pearson, pastor of St. John's and president of the Boyertown Area Ministerial Association. The service seemed well attended-I'd estimate about 100 people, maybe a few more.

There was a nice bulletin handed out with interesting information on the last page. The Boyertown congregations held memorials for the fire victims on Feb. 1, 1908. Several hymns sung today were sung then (marked with * here).

First, Pastor Pearson told those gathered that the Boyertown Area Historical Society's opera house exhibit would be open at 4, about 20 minutes after the service concluded. Then, he asked for a show of hands of how many people gathered lost family in the fire. More than a dozen hands were raised (maybe more like 20?). Then he asked how many had relatives who were injured or escaped the fire. A half dozen hands were raised.

Sister Millicent of St. John's then read the Thanksgiving for Baptism and Greeting. There was a Prayer of the Day, a reading from Job 19:23-27, Psalm 130 was read responsively, a reading from Romans 8:31-27, and the choir performed an anthem "Abide with Me"

There was a reading from John 14:1-7 and the choir sang "Who Knows How Near My End May Be?*" Then Pastor Pearson gave the sermon "Remembered by Name." He shared some stories of victims of the fire and survivors of the fire. He spoke of how often in a tragedy people look to blame, and that happened with the opera house fire. He spoke of how people often blame God, but reminded us that God gave his only son to save us.

I was very touched when the pastors from the ministerium were participating all stood and took turns reading the names and ages of all 170 fire victims. And the church bell was tolled for each. It was nice to know that even people not attending the service would hear the bells as a memorial. I also thought that it might have been almost 100 years since some of these people's names were said aloud.

It's easy to talk about the fire and remember it and still lose sight of the 170 individuals killed.

Those gathered then sang "Nearer My God to Thee*", which by the way is not an easy song to sing (which is probably why they had to copy the words in the program-maybe hymn books no longer have it because the meter seems very strange--just my personal opinion.)

We said the Nicene Creed, heard prayers, said the Lord's Prayer, then read the 23rd Psalm. The service ended with a commendation and the group singing "Rock of Ages Cleft for Me."

There was a table at the church displaying items from church records at the time of the fire.

The St. John's Parish Register from that time showed 78 funerals for its members.

This old photo showed the inside of St. John's Church (I didn't see a year marked).

The Commendation: Let us commend all those who have died to the mercy of God, our maker and redeemer.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend those who died a century ago in the Opera House Fire. Acknowldege, we humbly beseech you, sheep of your own fold, lambs of your own flock, sinners of your own redeeming. Recieve them into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do God's will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in God's sight; thorugh Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Fairview Cemetery in Boyertown, PA, is the location of the location of the grave of unidentified victims of the Boyertown Rhoads Opera House fire of Jan. 13, 1908.

Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the tragedy.

I couldn't find a list online of the names, so I'll type it here. Remember, this isn't a list of the victims. There were 171 victims. This is just a list of the people whose bodies couldn't be identified so they were buried in a mass grave.




Morris M. Anderson, 40
Addie R. Bauman, 22
Carrie L. Bauman, 18
Edna E. Bauman, 14
James Keely Boyer, 15
Annie E.G. Clouser, 54
Esther M. Cullen, 37
Esther F.N. Erb, 11
John S. Fritz, 67
Ida Cora Fritz, 34
Carolina M. Hoffman, 65
Alice J. Hoffman, 35
Lottie H. Hoffman, 13
Ephraim H. Johnson, 33
Robert A. Lapish, 13
Marie K. Lapish, 8
Clara Leaver, 47
Hiram L.B. Leidy, 25
Emma M. Lichtel, 52
I. Newton Lichtel, 27
Annie L.K. Schoenly, 35
Robert Tagert, 73
Ellen E. Tagert, 61
Rosa Ellen Tagert, 42
Sarah Emma Wien, 44

Here's an old postcard of the cemetery.

Here's a video of the Remembrance Walk and here's an article from the Reading Eagle.

NBC 10 had a story.

Here's the impact of the fire on public safety.

But, is the building or gravesite haunted? Some people think so.

The Rhoads Opera House was in this building at the corner of East Philadelphia Avenue and Washington Street in Boyertown, PA.

In two days will be the 100th anniversary of the fire that happened there on Jan. 13, 1908. The fire claimed 170 lives and was a tragedy so terrible that it was never forgotten.

Luckily, no one in my family was killed. But there is a family story to tell. My grandmother, now 89, wasn't born until 10 years after the fire. But she recalls as a little girl everytime relatives visited from Allentown, they'd talk about the fire. It's easy to tell that, as a little girl, she got tired of everyone talking about it.

Now, the story. Her mother's brother, Nathan "Nate" Fegley, had told his mother that he was going to see the play that night. When the fire broke out and they heard where it was, they thought he was inside. Naturally, they were worried and scared. As fate would have it, Nate had changed his mind and taken the trolley to Reading. When he heard about the fire up there, he tried to get back home, but they wouldn't let him on the trolley because they were bringing doctors and nurses down from Reading to help. He finally made his way home (I don't know how) around 2 or 3 a.m.

To commemorate the tragedy, the Boyertown Area Historical Society has an exhibit on the fire, and yesterday they had a speaker whose grandfather escaped the fire and collected news clippings about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't go hear him, but my mother went and said he was a great speaker who presented the tragedy without casting blame. This fire photo is from the Society's website.

They've had two walks through town spotlighting where things were at the time.

St. John's Lutheran Church is having a special memorial on Sunday to remember the victims.

On Channel 69 news they're airing a special on Sunday night. Watch clip

You can find more information on the fire using these Google or Yahoo searches.

Other events are planned, including a new historic marker. (All reports seem to indicate the bronze plaque on the building is wrong and there are 170 victims not 171.)

Lester K. Fryer Beverages used to be located in this now-empty white building at the corner of Third and Washington Streets in Boyertown.

Called "Hefty" Fryer, he was the father of local Attorney Charles Fryer.

This past summer they added the handicap ramp on the right side of the building and they repaved the parking lot. Before they added the railing, the local skateboarders seemed to enjoy hanging out there jumping off the ramp.

This building is across the street from the Boyertown Borough Hall. On the other side of the street are the railroad tracks.

The second photo was taken looking up Third Street. The railroad would be on the right and borough hall behind me.

This is the L.W. Ott Funeral Home, 111 North Reading Avenue, Boyertown, PA.

I've been there for funerals of family and friends over the years. Back in 1994 I interviewed Mr. Ott for an article for The Boyertown Times. The late Mr. Ott was then 82. (Named Linwood W. Ott, friends called him Linny).

Mr. Ott retired in March 1979 and sold the business to Terry L. Starr, who's since retired. Ott went into the funeral business in 1931, serving as an apprentice to James J. Brown until 1935. Ott bought the business in July 1936 and relocated it from the corner of East Philadelphia Avenue and Washington Street to Warwick Street. In 1952 he again reloacated to the location pictured.

The building here was formerly the home of L.P.G. Fegley, a founder of Boyertown Mutual Insurance. The house was built in 1891.

In the late 1990s there was a small fire at the funeral home that caused some damage.

In front of the funeral home is one of the Boyertown Bears, Paul Bear, which is a play on "pallbearer".

This is Iezzi's Tavern at 61 South Reading Avenue in Boyertown, PA (at the corner of Reading Avenue and Third Street). Locally it's refered to as just Iezzi's.

I believe the original owner was Nick Iezzi and the business was then taken over by his daughter and her husband, the DiCindios. It was then taken over by their son, Jimmy DiCindio.

Iezzi's is a great small-town bar. Now that I'm married with three kids, I go maybe once every couple years. But friends and I hung out there quite a bit in the 1990s.

When you walk in, there's a large square bar in the center of the front room with seating on all sides. Along the side walls are counters with stools. If you go straight back, there's a small room with about five small tables where you can sit to eat.

At the time, I used to drink Coors Light-one of their beers on tap. A small glass was 50 cents, and a tall glass was $1. You couldn't beat a place where you could walk in with $10 and spend a few hours drinking. Even a mixed drink was reasonably priced.

There was always a sporting event on the TV, but usually people met there to talk to friends.

There's a small parking lot behind the building on Third Street, and people park across the street in the old Auto Body Works lot. But, I was lucky enough to live in town where I could always walk to Iezzi's!

The food at Iezzi's is great. Homemade pasta sauce and meatballs. I know some people love their hamburgers, too. I think they used to make the sauce fresh for Thursdays, but go early because the tables used to fill up quickly on Thursday nights.

In the past Iezzi's has prepared the sauce and meatballs for the Boyertown Key Club's annual spaghetti dinner, which raises funds for the James DiCindio, Jennifer Gilbert, Leslie Saponsky, Boyertown Area Key Club, Kiwanis Club Memorial Scholarship.

Iezzi's is also a favorite spot for some people to watch the Boyertown Halloween Parade. The Boyertown Halloween Parade is usually the second to last Saturday in October. (The last Saturday in October reserved for Hamburg's King Frost Parade).

A unique site you'll see driving on Route 562 is The Iron Monger, 220 South Reading Avenue, Boyertown.

I remember the building as a garage, although I don't remember the name.

The Iron Monger's website says they started the business in 1998 as an antique store and changed the name to The Iron Monger in 2002.

The business is owned by Dave and Kim Parish.

Boyertown Speedwash, a coin-operated laundry, is at 240 South Reading Avenue in Boyertown, PA.





I can't recall when this building was built and the laundry moved, but I believe it was in the 1990s.

The laundromat's former location was closer to the main intersection, at 23 South Reading Avenue.

That building was bought by National Penn Bank and is now one of its offices. Last fall I saw workers cleaning and repairing the outside of the building.

Just to the right of the old building you can see the side of the Boyertown Inn.

The Boyertown Community Library is one of my favorite places in Boyertown.

First, I should say that when I was a kid, we didn't have a library in town. My grandmother would take all the grandkids to the bookmobile when it stopped. It used to stop on North Reading Avenue at the Boyertown Post Office (The post office then moved to Washington Street) and then in the parking lot of St. John's Lutheran Church.

I loved the bookmobile. A library on wheels! I'd be so excited when it was library day. We'd take our old books and walk up town. I remember climbing the big steps to get in. I think the floor was covered with a dark blue carpet. I'd go right to the little kids books. They has some kind of a step stool I'd sit on to start looking through the books I picked. (The bookmobile still runs, but doesn't stop in Boyertown since we have a library.)

Then when we were older we got books from the school libraries, even during the summer.

The Boyertown Community Library began as a Girl Scout project in November 1989. I would have been at college then. I do remember hearing people talking about it questioning why Boyertown even needed a library, since we had the school libraries. My thought was "Cool! Our own library!"

About 1991 the library moved from their first home at 10 South Chestnut Street to 3 East Philadelphia Avenue. That was where I first visited the library. I came home from college and started working in Boyertown in July 1993. Soon after that I went in and signed up for my first Berks County library card. (The library is part of the Berks County Public Libraries, so the card is good at any library in Berks County, and with BCPL participating in Access PA, you have access to books at any participating school, public or university library in PA).

3 East Philadelphia Avenue is a very, very narrow space, but very long. I remember winding through shelves that were very close together. If there were other people in the library, you had to squeeze past each other. And the book selection was very limited because they didn't have the space for more books. But still, I went in often to get new books to read.

In 1996 the library bought its own building at 29 East Philadelphia Avenue. I'm one of the many who remember that building as Haring’s Shoe Store. I remember going there with my grandmother when she needed to buy shoes. I remember old Mr. Haring as being a friendly guy. It was an old-fashioned shoe store where they measured your feet, brought the shoes to you and then put them on your feet to try on.

According to an article in The Boyertown Times on April 17, 1975, the Harings (Raymond and Kathryn) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the store. The article said it's been the only shore store in town for 18 years. They bought the business in 1955 from George Greenawald. According to Mr. Haring's obituary, he died Feb. 1, 1994. He retired in 1982 after operating the store 27 years.

I stopped working at The Boyertown Times in 1998, so I don't remember clearly the library buying 31 East Philadelphia Avenue in 2000 and opening The Biesecker Children’s Wing. With driving to work in King of Prussia, I didn't visit the library as much as I used to. I do remember going in when they were doing rennovations and knocking holes in the walls between the buildings to make walkways to connect the two old buildings.

The library's history says that building at 31 East Philadelphia Avenue used to be Sands Sporting Goods. I only remember Sands being at the corner of East Philadelphia Aveue and Chestnut Street, so maybe I never when into it at the old location.

As a member of the Kiwanis Club of the Boyertown Area, I did volunteer and for a short time lead the Saturday Story Corner at the library, so I was in periodically on Saturday mornings to read.

I still volunteer as a reader for Saturday storytimes, and I'm active with the libary in other volunteering ways. But the reason the library is my favorite place is because it's one of my kids favorite places. For about three years we went to Friday storytime almost every week. Now that school and preschool interfere we don't get to storytimes during the week.

My kids love going to the library to pick books and videos. I usually make a rule of 2 books per kid (that's 6 books to read in a week), but they always find another one they HAVE to have, so I give in and get more. And they love picking their own kids VHS or DVD video to watch for the week. They each get to pick 1 (and that I can firmly say 1 because there's a limit of 3 per card).

The summer reading program one of the kids favorite things to do in summer (besides the pool, of course)! They willingly read 5 new books a week so they can fill in the form and get a token for a prize. Insted of me having to pest them to keep reading over the summer, they pest me to read "one more book" to fill in more slips! It's great. Last summer we read more than 100 books. Now, remember my youngest is 3 so some of those 100 are board books-but I don't count the easiest books for my older two.

The Boyertown Area School District requires the kids read 10 books over the course of the school year, and they have a suggested list. They can start over the summer. By the first day of school my son had read his minimum 10 (including non-fiction), and then some (like 90+).

So, if you're ever in town (even on a Saturday morning) stop in and get a library card. They're FREE! Just show your driver's license. (Read the library's blog)

The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history. Author: Carl Rowan