PRINTER'S NO. 3189
No. 372 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY SANTONI, CALTAGIRONE, ARGALL, MILLER, LEH, ROHRER, SEMMEL, THOMAS, ZUG, NAILOR, BELARDI, FLEAGLE, MUNDY, DALEY, OLASZ, READSHAW, PIPPY, HERMAN, GORDNER, GEORGE, SCHULER, DeWEESE, KENNEY, FICHTER, BROWN, TIGUE, HENNESSEY, SCHRODER, ORIE, CAPPABIANCA, HERSHEY, JOSEPHS, BOSCOLA, McNAUGHTON, GODSHALL, BELFANTI, CORRIGAN, WOJNAROSKI, SURRA, ITKIN, CLYMER, WOGAN, BATTISTO, RUBLEY, MAITLAND, COY, LESCOVITZ, HALUSKA, GEIST, DENT, RAMOS, SHANER, LAUGHLIN, BROWNE, BAKER, PETRONE, BENNINGHOFF, GANNON, ROONEY, ROSS, SAYLOR, TRAVAGLIO, DEMPSEY, BEBKO-JONES, FAIRCHILD, WALKO, MANDERINO, KIRKLAND, L. I. COHEN, SCRIMENTI, ROBERTS, TANGRETTI, TRUE, B. SMITH, DONATUCCI, CIVERA, ADOLPH, ROBINSON, MELIO, KAISER, STABACK AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 17, 1998
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, MARCH 17, 1998
A RESOLUTION 1 Extending congratulations on the 250th anniversary of the 2 founding of the City of Reading and declaring March 23 3 through 30, 1998, as "The City of Reading's 250th Anniversary 4 Week" in this Commonwealth. 5 WHEREAS, The City of Reading is conducting a yearlong 6 celebration of the 250th anniversary of its founding; and 7 WHEREAS, A birthday weekend, Wednesday, March 25 through 8 Monday, March 30, is featuring reenacted appearances by Thomas 9 and Richard Penn, the arrival of the Lord Mayor of Reading, 10 England and a re-creation and rededication of the principles of 11 the founding of Readington at City Hall; and 12 WHEREAS, The people of Reading and its businesses, nonprofit 13 organizations, schools, churches, hospitals, health care
1 providers and elected officials have contributed to the benefit 2 of this Commonwealth; and 3 WHEREAS, The City of Reading, the sixth largest city in this 4 Commonwealth, is an important economic, tourist, political, 5 social, transportation, educational, health care, business and 6 social hub; and 7 WHEREAS, Reading businesses and workers contributed to 8 Pennsylvania's economy as a center of the iron industry in the 9 19th century, with 41 ironworks, and operated factories for the 10 manufacture of cigars, paint, textiles, automobiles, pretzels, 11 candy, cough drops, steel, shoes, bricks, goggles, gas ranges 12 and wrought-iron pipes and other products; and 13 WHEREAS, Today, Reading is known for many factory outlets and 14 has earned recognition in the production of clothing and various 15 food specialties and the construction of auto parts and steel 16 products; and 17 WHEREAS, Thomas and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn, 18 founded Reading in 1748 and named it for the birthplace of their 19 father; and 20 WHEREAS, The Penns planned to develop Reading as early as 21 1733 when Richard Hockley bought 1,150 acres on the east side of 22 the Schuylkill River, and Samuel Finney and Thomas Lawrence also 23 acquired land in what now comprises the heart of the city; and 24 WHEREAS, Joseph Finney, a son of Samuel Finney, is regarded 25 as the first settler in the area of the present City of Reading; 26 and 27 WHEREAS, Joseph Finney established early development in an 28 area which, after his death, became known as Widow Finney's; and 29 WHEREAS, Thomas Penn in his first visit in 1739, began plans 30 for a new county, which he named Berks after his father's home 19980H0372R3189 - 2 -
1 county of Berkshire, England; and 2 WHEREAS, Thomas Penn remained in constant correspondence 3 about the development of Reading after he returned to England in 4 1742, directing through letters the purchase of lands, the sale 5 of lots and the organization of Reading's early government; and 6 WHEREAS, Thomas Penn's agents, Richard Hockley and Richard 7 Peters, used a "straw man" to secure Thomas Lawrence's 437 1/2 8 acres of land; and 9 WHEREAS, Thomas Lawrence's parcel was transferred to Thomas 10 and Richard Penn on March 30, 1748, and Reading was formally 11 founded; and 12 WHEREAS, Berks County was named as a separate county on March 13 11, 1752; and 14 WHEREAS, Reading, the county seat since passage of the act 15 creating Berks County, was recognized as a borough and formally 16 separated from Alsace Township on September 12, 1783, by an act 17 of the General Assembly; and 18 WHEREAS, As early as 1795, discussion arose about moving the 19 State capital from Philadelphia, with Reading as a possible 20 site; and 21 WHEREAS, A charter providing enlarged powers was granted on 22 March 29, 1813, and Reading was incorporated as a city by an act 23 of the General Assembly on March 16, 1847; and 24 WHEREAS, Reading city government organized on March 26, 1847, 25 with Peter Filbert, a Lutheran clergyman, serving as the first 26 mayor of the City of Reading; and 27 WHEREAS, On May 23, 1874, Reading became a city of the third 28 class; and 29 WHEREAS, In 1992, voters approved a home rule charter 30 reorganizing city government into a strong mayor-council form; 19980H0372R3189 - 3 -
1 and 2 WHEREAS, The citizens of Reading have established a 3 distinguished record of military service; and 4 WHEREAS, On July 17, 1775, a few months after the start of 5 the American Revolution in Lexington and Concord, six companies 6 of soldiers from Berks and neighboring counties were organized 7 in Reading; and 8 WHEREAS, On July 22, 1775, under the command of Captain 9 George Nagel, these companies left Reading to march to Cambridge 10 and earned distinction as the first troops to report to General 11 George Washington, becoming known as The First Defenders; and 12 WHEREAS, Forges and furnaces in Reading turned out cannon for 13 the Continental Army, and Reading served as a depot for 14 Continental military supplies and as the site of a camp for 15 British and Hessian prisoners; and 16 WHEREAS, A plot in 1777 to replace General Washington as 17 Commander-in-Chief was stopped in Reading when Major James 18 Monroe joined Major James Wilkinson for dinner at the Bald Eagle 19 Hotel and Wilkinson confided information about the plot to 20 Monroe, who immediately reported it to Washington; and 21 WHEREAS, More than 9,000 soldiers from Reading and Berks 22 County fought to set the United States free from English tyranny 23 during the American Revolution; and 24 WHEREAS, Troops from Reading also attained distinction in the 25 Civil War; and 26 WHEREAS, Captain James McKnight and his Ringgold Light 27 Artillery was the first company in the nation to leave home 28 after President Abraham Lincoln's call to duty on April 16, 29 1861, after the firing on Fort Sumter in South Carolina; and 30 WHEREAS, The company joined the Washington Artillery, the 19980H0372R3189 - 4 -
1 National Light Infantry from Pottsville, the Allen Rifles of 2 Allentown and the Logan Guards of Lewistown to barricade the 3 City of Washington against possible attack; and 4 WHEREAS, The first Ladies Aid Society in the nation was 5 organized in Reading during the Civil War; and 6 WHEREAS, Development in Reading contributed to the growth of 7 business and industry in this Commonwealth; and 8 WHEREAS, The Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company 9 and the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Company were chartered in 10 the 1790's, and construction in the 1800's of a canal system in 11 and around Reading opened up the State to development; and 12 WHEREAS, The canal system in the area began operating on 13 January 1, 1828, and functioned until the railway system became 14 the major route of transportation; and 15 WHEREAS, With the construction and expansion of the railway 16 system, Reading secured its place as an industrial giant in this 17 Commonwealth and our nation; and 18 WHEREAS, The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company was 19 incorporated on April 4, 1833; and 20 WHEREAS, The first track extended to Pottstown by December 21 1837, and the system extended to Norristown and Philadelphia 22 before its expansion and incorporation as the Reading Railroad; 23 and 24 WHEREAS, In 1858 J. Robley Dunglison came from Philadelphia 25 to start the Reading Daily Times, and in 1868 the Reading Eagle 26 started publishing under the supervision of William S. Ritter; 27 and 28 WHEREAS, These companies combined, and the tradition of a 29 continuous daily newspaper begun in 1858 has survived to the 30 present day; and 19980H0372R3189 - 5 -
1 WHEREAS, Albright College relocated to Reading in September 2 1928 when it merged with the Schuylkill Campus; and 3 WHEREAS, The Pagoda, a city landmark visible in all 4 directions, was built by William A. Witman, Sr., at the southern 5 extremity of Mount Penn in 1908; and 6 WHEREAS, The citizens of Reading acknowledge with pride the 7 contributions of the city's native sons; and 8 WHEREAS, Conrad Weiser, one of the founders of the city, 9 provided aid to the Penns and early settlers and established 10 good relations with native Americans who had made the site of 11 Reading an important tribal area; and 12 WHEREAS, Edward Biddle, the last speaker of the last Assembly 13 of Pennsylvania under the proprietary government, represented 14 Reading and Berks County in the first and second Continental 15 Congress and signed the Olive Branch, in which the colonists 16 sought to obtain redress from England, and the Declaration of 17 Independence; and 18 WHEREAS, The Rev. Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg served in the 19 Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780, was president of the 20 Constitutional Convention in 1787 and, a speaker of the first 21 and third Congress, served in the first, second, third and 22 fourth Congress from 1789 to 1797; and 23 WHEREAS, Joseph Hiester, one of Reading's favorite sons, 24 succeeded his father, Daniel Hiester, in Congress, serving from 25 1797 to 1807 and from 1815 to 1820, and he was governor of 26 Pennsylvania from 1820 to 1823; and 27 WHEREAS, John Andrew Melchior Schulze, the second area native 28 to be elected governor in the 1800s, won gubernatorial elections 29 in 1823 and 1829; and 30 WHEREAS, Thomas Mifflin, who lived in the area for many 19980H0372R3189 - 6 -
1 years, served as a major general of the Continental Army during 2 the Revolutionary War, represented Berks County in the 3 Continental Congress in 1782 and was governor of Pennsylvania 4 from 1790 to 1799; and 5 WHEREAS, Henry August Muhlenberg, a Democratic nominee for 6 governor in 1835 and 1844, served nine years as a member of 7 Congress and was ambassador to Austria from 1838 to 1840; and 8 WHEREAS, Major General David McMurrie Gregg, who resided in 9 Reading from 1874 until his death in 1916, served with the Army 10 of the Potomac, accepted appointment as consul at Prague in 1874 11 and was State auditor general from 1892 to 1895; and 12 WHEREAS, At his death, Major General Gregg was the last Civil 13 War general in this Commonwealth, and statues in Reading and on 14 the battlefield at Gettysburg commemorate his service; and 15 WHEREAS, Spencer Fullerton Baird, born in Reading on February 16 3, 1823, achieved national recognition as a natural scientist 17 and, from 1850 through 1887, as assistant secretary and 18 secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C.; 19 and 20 WHEREAS, Mr. Baird contributed to the expansion of the 21 Smithsonian Institution, bringing it to international 22 prominence, and also held the post of United States Commissioner 23 of Fish and Fisheries from 1871 until his death in 1887; and 24 WHEREAS, James H. Maurer, a labor leader, organizer of the 25 Socialist Party and 1906 gubernatorial candidate, won election 26 to the State House of Representatives in 1910, 1914 and 1916; 27 and 28 WHEREAS, Mr. Maurer introduced and supported passage of the 29 Workmen's Compensation Act and was a president of the 30 Pennsylvania State Federation of Labor and a Socialist Party 19980H0372R3189 - 7 -
1 candidate for national offices in 1928, 1932 and 1934; therefore 2 be it 3 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives congratulate the 4 City of Reading on the occasion of its 250th anniversary, 5 recognize the notable contributions of its citizens, past and 6 present, and declare the week of March 23 through 30, 1998, as 7 "The City of Reading's 250th Anniversary Week" in this 8 Commonwealth. C13L82JRW/19980H0372R3189 - 8 -