At their first meeting of the club year, the members of the Woman’s Club of Strausstown took a virtual tour through their town, past and present.
Program committee chairman, Robin Faust, spoke about the town as it once was-a bustling community where folks could shop at one of several general stores, visit the ice cream parlor, attend church, send their children to one of the one-room schools, and find employment at the cigar factory-to name just a few of the attractions Strausstown offered years ago.
The Woman’s Club of Strausstown meets at the Community Center (formerly the Strausstown Elementary School), and Mrs. Faust revealed that it was her great-grandfather Anthony who had donated the land for the school. This was one of the reasons the community wanted to keep the building in the hands of local people when the school was sold. The Anthony family had six sons and established a feed mill, a hatchery and a dairy businesses in the Strausstown area.
Mrs. Faust went on to reminisce about the “field trips” she and her classmates had taken with their third-grade teacher, Mrs. Carol Wicks, to the bank, to the post office, to local businesses. Other club members added their own remembrances as they enjoyed “bag lunches” prepared by the program committee with items such as juice boxes, apples and sweet treats.
The second part of the program was led by charter member, Vera Breidigan. She spoke about her long-time interest in Strausstown history and displayed just a small part of her extensive collection of pictures, scrapbooks and memorabilia.
Mrs. Breidigan has amassed this collection over the years by interviewing townsfolk and doing research at the Berks County Historical Society. She has created display boards with pictures and labels, documenting all aspects of Strausstown life, including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the fire company, Zion Blue Mountain UCC, local athletes, and many more. In addition to the boards, she has at least twenty binders filled with Strausstown facts.
Her interest has drawn much of its inspiration from her family’s involvement in the town. Her father owned the cigar factory. Her mother, Carrie Ketner, was long-time postmaster of Strausstown, and was followed in that position by her sister, Ruth Zerbe. Mrs. Breidigan invited members to examine numerous artifacts that she brought along to the meeting.
The club’s next meeting will be a trip to the Light Victorian Farm Bed and Breakfast. Members will meet at the community center at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, and carpool to their destination for dinner and a tour. Members should make reservations with Robin Faust (610 488-1300) by Oct. 1.