Boyertown >> The call has gone out to former employees of the Boyertown Auto Body Works, which operated in Boyertown from 1926 until 1990. The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles wants to honor those employees with a reunion to be held at the museum.
“We wouldn’t be here if not for those people,” said museum Curator Kendra Cook. “We want them to come in and enjoy the building and the collection. They are part of it – their history is so intertwined with what we have here.”
Cook said the museum is currently gathering names and contact information of former employees, so that invitations can be sent once final plans for the reunion are made.
Cook said a firm date has not yet been decided, but the reunion will likely be held in the spring of 2018 at the museum at 85 S. Walnut St. in Boyertown.
“We have done a lot of work on the museum and we thought it would be a great time to have this event,” she said.
The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is housed in the former Boyertown Auto Body Works factory building, where truck bodies were manufactured for nearly 70 years.
Cook said the museum hosted a reunion in 2010 and had an estimated 100 former employees turn out.
“When it was over, we heard from other people who said they hadn’t heard about it. So right now, we’re updating the list – and hopefully will find some of the people that slipped by us last time,” Cook said.
Former Boyertown Auto Body Works employees can reach out to the museum by calling 610-367-2090, emailing mail@boyertownmuseum.org, or they can stop in to the museum, according to Cook.
“We have a sign-up sheet in the lobby. Any way they want to get in touch with us, they can,” she added.
The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles was established in 1965 by Paul and Erminie Hafer, according to the museum’s website. Paul Hafer had a 57-year career designing and building truck bodies at the Boyertown Auto Body Works, which was co-founded by his father B. Frank Hafer.
On display in the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is a selection of trucks built by the Body Works ranging in years from 1932 to 1976. Also on display are several photographs and signs from the Body Works, as well as other assorted memorabilia from the factory’s heyday.
The museum preserves the transportation history of Pennsylvania and displays more than 80 locally manufactured cars, trucks, carriages, motorcycles, sleighs and other types of vehicles. Also on display are two examples of roadside architecture: a 1921 cottage style Sunoco gas station and a 1938 Jerry O’Mahony diner. For more information call 610-367-2090 or visit www.boyertownmuseum.org.
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