Building a Better Boyertown's Second Pictorial History Book Available

by Jane Stahl

We hope you have enjoyed your tour of Boyertown's history through Building a Better Boyertown's first pictorial book:  A Pictorial Tour Through the History of Boyertown. The volume is now out of print.

However, the ink wasn’t dry before members of Building a Better Boyertown’s committee that created the 2006 pictorial history book began to plan the second book which is available at the Building a Better Boyertown office, 3 East Philadelphia Avenue, Boyertown, PA.

Titled The History of the Boyertown Area in Pictures: Special People Create a Special Place, the 168-page book includes a 90-minute DVD featuring interviews from 16 men and women from the community recalling their memories of people, places, activities, and events unique to this special kind of place. The DVD is now available on YouTube thanks to Zach Reinert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts4rc-HiKz4

The combination book and DVD was released on November 27, 2009. Chapter titles featured in the 169-page volume are Main Street Revisited, Scenes of the Area, Area Farms and Orchards, Civic Organizations, Off-Main Street Businesses, Renowned Citizens, and Celebrations. Each chapter, authored by different individuals, provides a variety of “voices” and writing styles to the effort. Each “Chapter Chair” involved his or her own network in collecting information and photographs. An assortment of proofreaders added expertise and information to the project.

A focus on volunteers who have devoted countless hours to the betterment of the community since it was chartered in 1866 became the core of the vision for the second book. Featuring the human angle to focus on the people who have created and maintained this special community inspired a call for names of citizens through letters-to-the-editor. These “nominations” plus Boyertown’s unique Citizens of the Year event served as the basis for the “Renowned Citizens” chapter.

Authors include Jim Jannotti, Off-Main Street Businesses; Gordon Moser, Area Farms; Richard Frecon, Area Orchards; Margaret Harner, Civic Organizations; and Linnette Hulbert, Celebrations. Diane Van Dyke prepared the chapter titled Renowned Citizens. Jane Stahl served as editor.

Proofreaders included Kim Frain, Margaret Harner, Gordie Moser, Dick Frecon, Athena Jones and a number of individuals who are no longer with us: Dan Bause, Jim Tribbett, Kitty Reese, Linette Hulbert, and Barbara and Daniel Johnson. Gene Rothenberger served as layout artist and designer of the book. 

The DVD included with the book was produced by Zach, who, at the time, was a special young entrepreneur, owner and operator of WZAR-TV, and student of film and video at Kutztown University. Zach was known locally for his internet TV show entitled Boyertown Live, preserved in film and video the present Boyertown scene for future generations. 

Narrating the DVD are long-time residents: the late Linnette (Ott) Hulbert and Margaret (Leidy) Harner, along with Jeff D. Stahl and Christiana Weidner who were both born and raised in Boyertown, love the community and represented voices of Boyertown’s future.

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