im an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

[davest]

i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

going to go back up for about 2 wks in April. I'm bringing my grandson to show him some of the areas I remember from 35 yrs ago. I've been on google earth and I also have been back about once a year to see my folks so I know some things have changed but many things have stayed the same. has anyone ever searched the junction of the tully and schuylkill river near the old paper mill? how about the around the showboat bar?
sam straus lumber company? Lake Ontelaunee?
I grew up in Greenfields, outside of Reading and am planning on checking some of the old party spots along the schuylkill, maybe find some of the coins I dropped when i was a kid.

if anyone wants any info as to some of the places I remember, let me know. I wasn't one to stay in the house and watch tv so I did a lot of exploring.

 

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[jeff of pa]

Re: i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

Welcome Dave.

I have searched Lake Ontelaunee in 05.
on a rare occasion (Once) When it was Low
and some of the Foundations were Visible.

the Only Keeper I remember was this
1797 Half Cent



The rest I'm not familiar with &
the Only Party Spot I'm aware of is the Hole Below PORT CLINTON
I Believe
They Banned Swimming there now that Enough people have Drowned.

JEFF

 

[Don in SJ]

Re: i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

Well Dave, I grew up in NW section of Reading and left in 1970. However, lots of memories of old spots and one thing to remember with anyplace along the Schuylkill or Tully is the past floods(meaning possible silting over good areas, making finding anything impossible)
Where they built the giant cloverleafs of 422 and 222? over the Tully was known when I was a kid as "the Keystone" and back in the 50's and way before it was always a popular fishing and swimming spot, but oh has the entire area there changed over the years.

How about trying the area above/next to Mineral Spring Park in Reading where the Rev War Hessian POW camp was, of course not the park itself, probably has been pounded to death over the years and I do remember back in the 80's when my son and I hunted there, the mineral content was so high, I think our detectors only penetrated a couple inches. Hmmmn, maybe that is why it is called Mineral Spring Park.

Seriously, I would try and think of some spots on Mt Penn or perhaps Neversink Mountain. Jeff spoke of the foundations exposed during drought, I remember back in the 60's seeing the remains of an old bridge being exposed and my dad used to bicycle and fish in that section back in the late 20's, early 30's.

A lot of history in Berks County, hope you find someplace good to take the grandson.

I used to fish below that paper mill and off the paper mill dam as a kid and remember the day the covered bridge was torched (prior to Warrens Street Bypass). What a shame, such a beautiful ride on bike the old original road was.............

Don Hartman

 

[davest]

Re: i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

many thanx for the replies. I was thinking more along the lines of the Grings mill recreation area, but on the side that is privately owned. I was there in 1972 when the hurricane came thru and both rivers flooded, since that time, the floods have been controlled on the tully by blue marsh if i'm not mistaken. There are also a few places behind the Reading Airport that have some history that few know about, foundations, etc. As i said, i was an explorer back then, there are a lot of places in wooded areas that probably escaped detection so far.

 

[bjw]

Re: i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

The areas behind the airport may be still open to hunting, haven't been there in some time. The area of Mineral Spring Park where the Rev War Hessian POW camp is pretty trashy. The foundations of the huts were visible up to the early 1940's but are now buried under construction. Angelica Dam is no longer a dam but a stream since the dam went out. The wooded area nearby produced a number of older coins years back but has been worked hard. Lake Ontelaunee as well has been detected pretty hard to include the area surrounding it. I think if I were hunting around the Showboat bar I'd want backup by someone with an automatic weapon. If you have any questions email me and I'll be glad to try and help.

 

[justine093]

Re: i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

The area of Mineral Spring Park where the Rev War Hessian POW camp is pretty trashy. The foundations of the huts were visible up to the early 1940's but are now buried under construction.

I was recently wondering about that....nothing worth looking for

 

[davest]

Re: i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

has anyone tried the area above Felix Dam? My dad said there was once a system of locks and the use of donkeys to move barges of coal on the east side of the river. i remember the coal dust stacks on the west side near the Rdg Boat Works, but that area used to be used as a ski club and a party hang out. last i was there, the only thing existing was a boat ramp and the ski club lodge. neither looked like they had much use in years. i am aware Felix Dam broke a few years back.

 

[bjw]

Re: i'm an outastater that grew up in Berks Cty and am

justine, the area where the Hessian camp existed is pretty trashy. Obviously there could be something worthwhile still there but I would think you might consider using a smaller coil than the stock coil.
BJW