Tag: Pottstown

PEAK event & literary arts in Pottstown

An estimated 600 people, most of them Pottstown’s youngest residents, turned out for a day of fun and information-gathering at the YMCA for the annual Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness (PEAK) Community Event to kick off the Month of the Young Child.  

Erika Hornburg-Cooper of The Gallery School creates magic!

PEAK is funded through Pennsylvania-Pre-K Counts, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation, and the Montgomery County Foundation and focuses on building partnerships with the early learning programs in the Pottstown community.

Please join me in sending a huge shout-out to Mary Rieck, PEAK Coordinator for the Pottstown School District, and all the other agencies and organizations who came out to share a few hours on a Sunday afternoon with the community.

PEAK was created in an effort to coordinate quality early childhood education and related services.  Every three- and four-year-old child has access to high quality child care, early childhood education, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Parents also receive education and resources so that they can do a better job at being their child’s “first teacher.”

These are all critical to the success of Pottstown’s students, which relates directly to the town’s fiscal situation. At last week’s meeting of the new PAID board, in response to a question, Dr. Lindley said something to the effect that if a child isn’t reading at grade level early in elementary school, there’s a very high chance that child is going to be a high-school drop-out. That’s pretty disheartening – to think that any person’s educational fate may be set at such a young age. As a mom who spent many hours reading to my sons from the time they could sit up, and as a creative writer myself, I am fiercely passionate about reading, writing and storytelling. These are the ways that humans of all ages connect. On the societal level, illiteracy and an undereducated workforce strain many aspects of community life, producing all kinds of negative fiscal impacts.

Family fun

My table was set up near the folks from Montgomery County’s Head Start and the YWCA, which runs literacy programs for all ages and for families, so I got to talk with their representatives for a few minutes about what they do. This got me thinking again about the potential for the literary arts to serve Pottstown’s children, improve educational outcomes, and play a role in revitalization. (Here’s an earlier blog post/discussion.) Now I’ve got an expanded take on my prior literary dreaming… What if all the existing organizations and programs – from early childhood through adult – got together to create/coordinate a year’s worth of literary programming to expose the community to an even wider array of writers and to make literature a more visible – and visitor-friendly – part of the culture of Pottstown? 

If we added “Literary Arts” as a category of resources to the Heritage Action Plan, we’ve already got:

Feel free to add to the list, and count me in for tapping the writers and publishing professionals I’ve gotten to know through my undergraduate university and my current MFA program at Bennington College.

There’s probably an impressive line-up of writers living in and visiting Pottstown already. By adding a few more events; “sharing” visiting writers within the context of larger community events; and then advertising all these events collectively, we might find that Pottstown is just a few stanzas away from being a literary arts destination. 

Two important community meetings tonight

Two meetings tonight will provide key information on various aspects of revitalization and serve as proof of the new collaborative spirit taking hold in Pottstown.

#1  For anyone interested in the status of the Pottstown Area Industrial Development corporation (PAID), the entity responsible for economic development in the Borough, there will be a meeting to announce their new board members this evening at 6 pm at the library on the The Hill School campus. The reconstituted PAID board is an outgrowth of a recommendation by the Urban Land Institute in a 2009 report for the Borough to create a single entity for redevelopment and revitalization. See The Mercury’s article here.

#2 If you want to know more about what’s happening in the Washington Street corridor and how you can get involved, Genesis Housing is holding a meeting called “Let’s Talk” at 7 pm tonight at the Ricketts Center, where you can learn about new projects and help design a community mural. The Ricketts Center is at  640 Beech Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. Community members will be asked for their ideas for a new mural at the Chestnut Street Park and to help to set priorities and develop future projects. An update on Washington Street neighborhood projects,  including the new community garden and the Science in the Park event, will be discussed.  Community concerns about this area and other sections of the Pottstown will be explored with the hope of setting priorities for future projects.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the proposed mural in the Washington St. neighborhood will speak volumes on the tenacity and determination driving the revitalization of Pottstown.  Genesis Housing Corporation, The Gallery on High and Citizens for Pottstown’s Revitalization are in collaboration to develop a mural at the park located at Washington and Chestnut Streets.  The artistic coordinators, Cathy Paretti and Erika Hornburg-Cooper of the Gallery on High have selected Robert Louis Williams, an accomplished local artist to design and create the proposed park mural.  Let’s talk about the different types of murals and what this mural should look like – this is the chance for your input!

Judith Memberg, Executive Director of Genesis Housing Corporation, will provide an update on their Washington Street neighborhood housing developments including the rehabilitation of vacant properties for new home buyers and the homeowner rehab programs.  Information about the Pottstown Homeowner Rehab Program will be provided.

Genesis Housing Corporation serves Montgomery County as a non-profit community development organization and is dedicated to the development of affordable housing and to the education of consumers on housing and financial issues.  For more information, visit their website at www.genesishousing.org or call 610-275-4357.

Brunish’s: There’s no place like home for hot dogs & hot sausage

577 Lincoln Avenue

Last week I walked into a Pottstown landmark and walked out totally in love with this town all over again. No, the building isn’t on the Historic Register, although the place has got the past written all over it, and its traditional pork and beef hot sausage sandwich – with mustard, relish and onions – is called “old school.” Yep, I’m talking about the concrete extension of the basement at 577 Lincoln Avenue, where Brunish’s Deli has been located since 1938. If you want a taste of Pottstown history and a hearty sausage sandwich, cheesesteak or hoagie, you need to put this on your list of go-to local spots.

Brunish’s Deli has been a family affair from the beginning, starting in 1937 when the grandparents of the current proprietors – Dan and Bob Brunish – opened a candy, sandwich and mini-mart in a basement a few doors away. One year later their grandparents moved to #577 and set up shop in their own basement. Dan and Bob’s father took over in 1949, and added hot dogs and hot sausage to the menu in 1955. Dan has been running the deli full-time since 1974. Justin Brunish, Bobby’s son, also works there, making him the fourth generation to be in the business. The Brunishes claim to have the last originally-owned family sandwich shop in town. 

In addition to an extensive sandwich menu, they’ve got convenience items like pasta, sauce, soups, chips, mac & cheese, cereal, soda, and – of course – Tastykakes. They’ve also got some sports gear for sale, most notably, Phillies hats and jerseys.

Brunish's interior

If you want to experience something real, check out Brunish’s for the food, the atmosphere and the architecture. While the 6’4.5” ceiling is just barely high enough for 6’4” Dan Brunish to stand up straight, the cocoon-like surroundings and the friendliness of the Brunishes make it feel like home.

Brunish’s is on the web at www.brunishgroceryinc.com. And check them out on Facebook: they’ve got 1,787 “likes” at I Love Brunish’s!!!!!!!

Brunish’s Deli is located at 577 Lincoln Avenue, Pottstown, PA, across from the former Jefferson Elementary School. They’re open 7 am-8 pm, Monday-Saturday and 7am-6pm on Sundays. The phone number is 326-1900 (“The same number since Day 1,” says Dan.)

Easter Services in Pottstown

Rev. Kerry Pidcock-Lester gives instructions to the kids at the Good Friday Prayer Processional
The Pottstown community of faith gathered today for  The Good Friday Prayer Processional (aka the Crosswalk). With no rain, and even peeks of sunshine, the walkers enjoyed a brisk one mile walk through town, stopping to pray for our leaders, the school administration, and the people of town.

This year, the kids who walked were given an extra charge (and plastic gloves): to pick up trash along the way.

The walk today is just the beginning of this holy weekend for area Christians and there are services all weekend for the faithful to mark both Good Friday and The Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Tenebrae (Latin for darkness) services are being held tonight at Cedarville United Methodist, Emmanuel Lutheran and Shenkel UCC.  An Easter Vigil mass will be celebrated at 7:45 on Saturday at St. Aloysius on Hanover Street, marking the beginning of Easter celebrations for Catholics.

For more information on Easter Services in the area, you can follow the links below to what is really just a sampling of the churches in this town.

St. Aloysius
 Emmanuel Lutheran

Shenkel UCC

Cedarville UMC

St. Paul’s UCC

Coventry Church of the Brethren

First Presbyterian

Heritage Action Plan assesses resources & linkages

This past Monday, about a dozen members of the Heritage Action Plan working group gathered at the Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce to review the results of a recent listing and ranking of Pottstown’s heritage resources.  

The map below – created by Tom Carroll – shows the clusters of historical, arts, cultural, dining and recreational resources in and around the downtown. Some highly-ranked resources received “poor” ratings for physical condition.  It’s important to keep in mind that highly-valued resources, perceived to be in poor condition, may be excellent candidates for money or attention to draw the most benefit from them in our promotional efforts.

The map also listed major annual or seasonal events hosted in/by Pottstown every year. When these events are shown by the month in which they occur, it becomes apparent that the Borough and various other organizations are holding major events that draw visitors from throughout the region 8 months out of the year. Coordinating & enhancing promotion with downtown merchants and PDIDA could be one of several recommended strategies in the HAP. Creating additional events to fill in the other months would lead to a full year of “hometown celebration” programming.

As the working group moves toward defining Pottstown’s heritage marketing strategy and branding, history and the arts emerged as themes to pursue. Here were several comments/suggestions:

  • Start giving Historic Walking Tours on First Saturdays, led by MCCC students.
  • Consider giving Cemetery Tours, esp. for John Potts Cemetery, which is now not open to the public, and for Edgewood Cemetery. Coordinate with Pottsgrove Manor.
  • Look into creating a Historic Church Tour; several churches were highly-ranked.
  • Use banners (inexpensive) to designate High St. as an “Avenue of the Arts.”
  • Use banners to generate excitement & direct visitors to downtown. Add color! 
  • Coordinate with PDIDA & downtown merchants.

The group briefly talked about tourism/hospitality amenities that are lacking or need improvement. Safety and cleanliness had been concerns in our first large group meeting back in March. 

  • High school students will be cleaning up the downtown on the April 30 Clean-Up Day, and this should be the beginning of more frequent clean-ups downtown by student volunteers.
  • Need to do a better job of tapping volunteers in the community.
  • Involve high school students in creating marketing materials.
  • Need signage, banners, kiosks to get Trail users into the downtown – still must decide how many, what goes on them, where to place them and prioritize list.
  • Need more occupied storefronts, esp. creative-related, for critical mass to attract trail users.
  • Will need lodging for overnight visitors when Trail is complete.
  • Consider a winter carnival in February.
  • HAP partners must continue to have conversations & coordinate with County & PennDOT regarding road projects and trail linkages.
As one participant noted: “This is exactly what the ULI report was talking about.”
We expect to have another large group meeting in the next couple weeks as we solicit more input on a vision statement, marketing strategies, and trail town components like signs, kiosks and connecting paths. The public is invited to join in here or by emailing PtownHAP@gmail.com.


Man-made waterfalls: A vision for Pottstown?

This past Friday, Joe Zlomek, Managing Editor of The Sanatoga Post, published an interesting revitalization story out of Rosemont, Illinois. You can check out the article here: “You can see the Pottstown waterfalls from Illinois.”

Joe describes the way this relatively new town created waterfalls at one of their gateways and at an entrance to a walkway along the Des Plaines River and asks readers to imagine something similar along Pottstown’s Schuylkill Riverfront.

With funding from the Schuylkill River Heritage Area and the William Penn Foundation, the Borough is in the midst of developing a Heritage Action Plan. The plan will lay out a vision, goals and objectives, and a marketing strategy for linking Schuylkill River Trail users to downtown resources, such as shops, restaurants, arts, culture, history and recreation. The River and the Trail are key to any revitalization and economic development strategy.

A working group meeting is taking place this morning, Monday, April 18 from 10:30am-noon. Anyone interested in being part of the planning or implementation of the Heritage Action Plan is welcome to attend this or future meetings.  Please send an email to PtownHAP@gmail.com or check out the Pottstown Heritage Action Plan on Facebook for more info.

A huge “THANK YOU” to Joe for giving us some creative food for thought!

Wyndcroft classmates return for 50th Reunion this weekend

Please welcome guest blogger Susan Storb to Positively!Pottstown.  Susan grew up in Pottstown and went to The Wyndcroft School back in the 1950s.  Her father was born and raised in Pottstown and ran Storb Travel Service for many years, and her grandfather represented Pottstown in the State Legislature.  Susan is married to retired architect Michael Horn, lives in Philadelphia, and is committed to the revitalization of Pottstown.  As a current Board Member at the Tri-County Performing Arts Center, she hopes to spend two days a week in Pottstown, working on behalf of the theater and town.

Wyndcroft Classmates Return for 50th Reunion This Weekend

By Susan Storb

A few people, who had the good fortune to grow up in Pottstown in the 1950s and attend The Wyndcroft School, recently decided to organize a reunion. It will be held at Brookside Country Club this Saturday, April 16.   We have about 40 people coming.  Most of those attending still live in the vicinity of Pottstown but some are coming from as far away as California, Arizona and Georgia.

“There was a whole group of us who grew up around Rosedale Drive who wanted to see everyone again,” said Lisa Longaker Brandin.  “Not everyone went to Wyndcroft but everyone is tied to our childhood in some manner.”

“Pottstown was a great place to grow up,” added Holmes Raker.  “There weren’t many organized activities for kids back then so we had to invent our own games.  We played in everyone’s backyard, wandered through every creek bed and knoll and just had to show up for dinner.  It was great!”

On Saturday there will be a bicycle tour of Pottstown starting at Tri County Bicycles, home of Bike Pottstown, at 256 E. High Street.  It will conclude with hoagies at the Ice House (of course) and a tour of the Tri-County Performing Arts Center.   There will be time during the day for people to drive through their old neighborhoods and maybe even tour their old houses.  Then those who attended Wyndcroft will get a special tour of the school conducted by the headmistress, Dr. Kathleen Wunner.

“We are just thrilled that this group of alumni is coming back to see Pottstown and see how the school has changed” said Damaris South, Director of Development. “We had lost touch with some of these graduates so it will be fun to meet them for the first time.  And, it is inspiring to see that everyone who attended Wyndcroft has such fond memories of their childhoods.  Even Latin class taught by Mr. Snively!”

Any proceeds above and beyond the cost of the function will go towards Wyndcroft’s fund raising efforts.

SALSA & more in Pottstown this weekend!

On Thursdays, we’ll be putting the spotlight on some entertainment & recreational possibilities for your weekend in Pottstown.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14

Thursday Night Karaoke at Chummy’s/Sunnybrook , 8-11 pm. Sam and Tim DJ this cool event. Drink specials and more.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15

Join Remi and Star and the Calle Sol dancers at the Starry Ferrari Third Friday Salsa Social In Pottstown at the Ballroom on High, 310 E. High St., 2nd floor. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Food will be set out buffet style at 7:45 pm, first come, first served. Salsa lesson at 8 p.m. Dancing to salsa, bachata, merengue, cha cha, reggaeton, and more till at least 12 a.m.! DJ REMI! They had over 100 people at last month’s party! BYOB. ABSOLUTELY NO UNDER-AGE DRINKING! IDs checked at the door. Under 18 must be under the supervision of a parent. Security on Site. Admission: $12 Dress code: Dress to impress. NO boots or sneakers, no hoodies, low slung jeans, please.

World War II Swing Dance at Sunnybrook Ballroom. 8-11 pm, Tickets $24 on sale at Phillies Fire Co. For Info Call 610-323-2229

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

Dinner specials at The Brickhouse, in the historic Security Trust Building, 152 E. High Street. Friday & Saturday Nights: Country Fried Steak Entree-$13.99. Sunday Nights: Brick House Rib-Eye-$12.99

SUNDAY, APRIL 17

Women’s Self Defense Class, 1-2 pm, Pottstown Karate Club, 21 N. Hanover St.  Sponsored by Citizens for Pottstown’s Revitalization.

First Suburbs meeting: Help make Pottstown’s voice be heard

The Southeastern Pennsylvania First Suburbs Project is holding a public meeting Thursday, April 14 at 7:30 pm with Housing and Urban Development Region III Administrator Jane Vincent to call for fairness in regional housing policy.

The Statement of Purpose on their website declares:

“The Southeastern Pennsylvania First Suburbs Project is a regional coalition of community leaders from developed suburbs that have joined together to harness their communities’ power by directly engaging citizens to affect policies and practices that will lead to the stabilization and revitalization of their communities.”

The First Suburbs Project has galvanized communities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. Pottstown is a member of this coalition and will be taking a bus to the meeting, which will be held at the JP Mascaro and Sons Building in Audobon. To get on the bus, which will leave Borough Hall at 6:30 pm, call the Borough at 610-970-6511.

To read some prior blog posts about the challenges facing Pottstown and other First Suburbs, check out the following links:

Community Gardens & First Suburbs – the start of a (long) conversation

First Suburbs: Affordable Housing Notes from NJ

First Suburbs – Challenges of Rental Housing

First Suburbs, Keim Street Bridge & Keystone Blvd. Extension

Pottstown Elementary Schools Compete in Reading Olympics

The parking lot at Souderton Area High School was overflowing with cars last night, but it wasn’t for a baseball game or even for the school play.  Instead, over 500 area students and their families were gathered for Reading Olympics, with about a fifth of them coming from Pottstown.  The yearly event, sponsored in our area by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, brings students together to test their knowledge of an extensive book list. 

“We are thrilled to have one of the most successful and growing programs in the county that supports reading. In 12 years, we have more than quadrupled the number of participating students,” said Maria Johns, who organizes the event for the MCIU’s Division of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development.

Reading Olympics

For my own daughter, who is in fourth grade this year, the reading frenzy started in the fall, when she and about 20 of her classmates decided to give up valuable recess time and tackle a reading list of more than 40 books.  The list includes Newbery Award-winning books like Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins and kid favorites like Bunnicula and Judy Moody.  The event not only encourages kids to read, but gets them to read beyond what they would normally choose for themselves.  The favorites from this year’s list for my daughter were Rules, Flush, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and When You Reach Me.  The intermediate unit, along with reading specialists, librarians and grade level teachers select the book list each year, read the books themselves and then devise the questions. 

Flush by Carl Hiaasen

Although the event is a celebration of reading rather than a contest, with teams accumulating points to earn ribbons, the kids take it very seriously.  Some questions last night, like the one about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, were met with knowing smiles, while others left teams scratching their heads for the answer. 

Eleven teams with a total of over 100 kids competed from the five elementary schools in Pottstown: Barth, Lincoln, Edgewood, Franklin and Rupert. The hard work of teachers and students alike went into making the whole event a success. 

For more information about the event, you can visit the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit.  And, if you have a budding reader in your home, at any grade level through high school, you will want to check that website for the 2012 list which should be out in May.

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