The Fire That Changed America: Boyertown Historical Society Hosts Event to Remember Fire Victims

by Luann Zambanini

January 13, 1908, the date that will be forever remembered in Boyertown.

At 1:00 pm on Sunday, January 14, I invite you to join me at the tomb of the identified on Fairview Cemetery in Boyertown. We will come together as a community as the Boyertown Area Historical Society’s tradition continues to remember the victims of the Boyertown Opera House Fire of 1908.

The town changed that evening. A huge cloud of grief settled over the town for many months. Families were heartbroken as they buried children, parents, sisters, brothers, cousin, friends, and neighbors. Every family in town was affected in some way. For this reason, on January 14, we will remember the heroes of our town. 

I will highlight a few of these heroes by name and tell you about their lives. We will pay tribute to all the victims by having a short memorial service at the unidentified marker, but we remember all the victims, no matter in which cemetery they have been laid to rest. 

I invite the community to join us in remembering on Sunday, January 14 at 1 p.m. on Fairview Cemetery.

[Editor's Note--  The historical account of Boyertown's Rhoads Opera House Fire and its aftermath can be read beginning today in the upcoming daily selections that we publish from Margaret Leidy Harner's book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.]

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