The crowds flocked to the Berks County Heritage Center on Saturday.
Daniel Rowe, the historic resource supervisor for Berks County Parks and Recreation, said it felt good to bring the programming back for another year.
- Advertisement -
The heritage center and environmental park at Antietam Lake have been opened since June, but there were no educational programs, Rowe said.
âThis is really our first weekend with actual onsite programming and activities,â he said.
Jim Ohlinger, a heritage center volunteer who lived at the site in the 1940s and 1950s, gave an hourlong tour of the property to about 30 people.
Epler Schoolhouse, which was saved from demolition and moved to the Berks County Heritage Center last year, will open to the public on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The one-room schoolhouse opening is the first event held by the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department since the pandemic forced cancelation of programming more than a year ago.Â
In addition to several programs this weekend, the Parks and Recreation Department will be giving a historic walking tour of the grounds of the Berks County Heritage Center starting at 1 p.m. The tour will highlight many of the still existing farm buildings as well as the on-site historical features and attractions.
Beads of sweat trickled from Alan Schaefferâs forehead Monday morning as he nailed one cedar shingle after another onto the roof of Epler schoolhouse.
âThey didnât have modern materials and power tools when this was built,â Schaeffer said, balancing on the scaffold, hammer in hand.
The historic one-room school, built in 1847, was moved last year from its original location on Van Reed Road in Bern Township to the Berks Heritage Center also in Bern.
- Advertisement -
The move was just the start, said Jane Goetz, chairwoman of the Friends of Epler Schoolhouse, the group responsible for saving the 175-year-old building.
NWS Weather Alert
NOTE: This information is provided by the National Weather Service. Forecast may differ from local information provided by our own 69News Meteorologists
.Enhanced Danger for Fire Spread Today and Tuesday.
The danger for fire spread will increase across the region this
afternoon as relative humidity values drop into the low to mid 20
percent range and northwest winds gust 20 to 25 mph at times. This
combination of low humidity, warming temperatures, and gusty
northwest winds will produce favorable conditions for wildfires to
ignite and spread, especially this afternoon and early evening.
On Tuesday, relative humidity values will again fall into the low