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By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA
November 5, 1899: George Y. Rhoads, a Douglas Township school teacher, was attempting to cross Pennypacker’s trestle, just above the Manatawny Station on the Colebrookdale Railroad line, at 6:43 PM.
He had assumed that the 6:34 train had already passed on its way to Pottstown and midway across the trestle, he was startled by the headlight of the engine coming around the curve.
Choosing death by leaping off the trestle rather than being smashed by the train, he jumped 25 feet down from the bridge as the train thundered by, stunned by the leap but uninjured.
Sunny, with a high of 83 and low of 61 degrees. Sunny in the morning, clear overnight.
Kudos to Zack! In these troubled times, the world could use many more people like him. And kudos to Boyertown for providing the kind of atmosphere where Zack (and others like him) can grove and thrive. Finally, is the book mentioned still available? I'd like to buy one as I remember all of the people mentioned.
Yes, Mark. The books are available at Studio B Art Gallery and the Building a Better Boyertown office.