The Sanatoga Post

Girl Scout Senior Troop 49 met in Lower Pottsgrove in the 1950s

By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – It occurs every year at this time, that gnawing hunger for Thin Mints, Shortbread, Peanut Butter Patties, and Caramel Delites. Those and other Girl Scout cookies are as much a part of the snack-time landscape across Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township as anywhere else.

Lower Pottsgrove Brownies bake holiday cookies for state hospital residents in 1959

Local troops during 2012 are marking the Scouts’ 100th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, a new lemon flavored cookie – Savannah Smiles – was introduced this year to the popular cookie line-up.

Girl Scouting has been active in Lower Pottsgrove since the 1940s. The Sanatoga Grange was among the first Girl Scout troop sponsors in the area. Pottsgrove schools have also sponsored troops throughout the years.

Troops of the Pottstown Council of Girl Scouts helped earn money through cookie sales in 1956 for the purchase of Camp Forest Glen, which was near Huff’s Church. They enjoyed troop and day camping there for a number of years.

Many area women have volunteered their time and energy as Girl Scout leaders.  One of the most influential was the late Sally Moyer, former secretary at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School, and former township treasurer. Girl Scouting opportunities in the township increased in the early 1970s due to her efforts. Her very active Cadet Troop 470 was sponsored by the Sanatoga Fire Company.

If you’re hungry for cookies this week, they’re still available. The Girl Scouts’ Cookie Finder website reports cookies will be sold by troops at these and many other locations:

• Today (Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012) through Friday (Feb. 17) from noon to 9 p.m. at Coventry Mall, 351 W. Schuylkill Rd., Pottstown PA;
• Saturday (Feb. 18) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at he Philadelphia Premium Outlets, 18 W. Lightcap Rd., Limerick PA; and
• Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Boscov’s Department Store at Coventry Mall.

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month from April through December at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society President Beth Scherer writes about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post.

Articles in this series:

• In Township, Scouts And Cookies (Yum!) Have A History
• Family Appliance Business Has Long History In Santa-toga
• Love NASCAR Now? You Would Have Adored Sanatoga
• Timeless Treasures Fill Historical Society Chapel Offices
• Hilltop’s Still Making History, 59 Years After Opening
• Historic Answer To Heat: Township Swimmin’ Holes
• Need A Local Hotel? There Once Were Four, Right Here
• What’s Changed Most In ‘Grove Grads? Their Schools
• Shantz’s Mound Presence Made Sanatoga ‘Pheverous’
• Stars Danced In Lower Pottsgrove Long Before TV Show
• Never Heard Of Sanatoga’s Longview Hotel? Here’s Why

By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

It's still atop the hill in Sanatoga, although the exterior has changed

SANATOGA PA – One of Sanatoga’s best known home-grown businesses was busy again during the just-ended holiday season, helping would-be Santas fulfill the gift hopes of loved ones and family members. For those who wished for a new oven in which to bake cookies, or hungered for a high-definition flat-screen television, many opted to buy from the family-operated Sanatoga Corporation, 2783 E. High St.

Sanatoga Corporation has served  Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township residents and the greater Pottstown community for more 80 years.

Door-to-door radio sales launched the Sanatoga Radio Company

Oliver Wittenmyer, born as Oliver Doner, was the company’s founder. Oliver grew up in Sanatoga and started the Sanatoga Radio Company in 1925, by traveling to New York City to purchase radio parts. He then assembled the radios and sold them door to door.

Radio sales were eventually discontinued, but by then Oliver had expanded his product line to include home appliances. Sanatoga Radio Company soon became a full-service appliance store, and in the early 1960s the name of the store was changed to Sanatoga Corporation.

Charles Wittenmyer bought the business from his father in 1970, and remains its owner.  The store and showroom remain in the original location, and Charles’ children – Bryan, Karen, and Connie – all are involved in the business, along with a long-time staff.

Charles Wittenmyer was a recent guest speaker at the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society.  He is a distant relative of Annie Wittenmyer, civil war heroine and Sanatoga native, and he spoke of Annie’s many contributions to the community. In addition, Sanatoga Corporation recently donated a new television and outdoor lighting to the society headquarters at the former Sanatoga Chapel on East High Street. The TV will be used for Lower Pottsgrove history presentations; the lighting will be a great addition to improvements at the chapel.

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month from April through December at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society President Beth Scherer writes about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post.

Articles in this series:

• Family Appliance Business Has Long History In Santa-toga
• Love NASCAR Now? You Would Have Adored Sanatoga
• Timeless Treasures Fill Historical Society Chapel Offices
• Hilltop’s Still Making History, 59 Years After Opening
• Historic Answer To Heat: Township Swimmin’ Holes
• Need A Local Hotel? There Once Were Four, Right Here
• What’s Changed Most In ‘Grove Grads? Their Schools
• Shantz’s Mound Presence Made Sanatoga ‘Pheverous’
• Stars Danced In Lower Pottsgrove Long Before TV Show
• Never Heard Of Sanatoga’s Longview Hotel? Here’s Why

Photo from the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society

By Glenn Isett
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – The 2011 NASCAR season is now history, although news regarding last weekend’s (Nov. 20, 2011) Sprint Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway has not yet seemed to die down. Sixty years ago, though, the points race had already been decided not in November but October, and specifically by Oct. 28, 1951, when the final 200-lap race was held at the Sanatoga Speedway.

Jimmy Ryan was points champion; Mose Moore was second and Monk Keller was third.

Gone but not forgotten: the fifth-mile Sanatoga Speedway, near what is now Sanatoga Park

Sanatoga’s place in racing history

Sanatoga Speedway was built in 1937 by Ed Moll, John Sweetwood, and Nick Pelacotti, near what is now Sanatoga Park.  It was a 1/5-mile flat asphalt track, and remained that size until its untimely demise.  It was primarily a midget track until 1941 and then closed during World War II.

With the end of the war, the racetrack obtained new ownership – and new showmanship – in the person of George Marshman. During the 1948 season he began racing “stock cars.” This was roughly a year before NASCAR held its first race in mid-1949.

The stock cars of Sanatoga were unlike the racers of today. They were primarily window-less, fender-less 1930-1940 Ford coupes, with an occasional Chevy or Dodge, and what was known then as a two-door sedan thrown in.  Most had flat head Ford V8 engines and three-speed on-the-floor transmissions.

How a grueling season gets rougher

By 1951, the season ran from April to October and included 47 meets.  This was possible because in many weeks there were two meets, and on Memorial Day, there was an afternoon and night program. Adding to this grueling schedule was the format of the program itself.

Depending on the number of entrants, there would be heat races of eight to 10 laps. Drivers who finished in the top 10 qualified for a semi-final. Then there were usually two semi-finals made up of the heat qualifiers. Again, there were a number of qualifiers for the feature race of usually 25 laps.

But, wait! There was one more chance to get into the feature event.  All non-qualifiers could race in a consolation race and usually the top two would qualify for the feature. It was possible that drivers could run four races in one meet. Just to show the tenacity of a champion, on May 30, 1951, Jimmy Ryan won the afternoon feature and finished third in the night feature.

Folks loved the race, but came for the show

Marshman, the showman, in 1954 hosted a demolition derby that featured a Sherman tank. It was always a thrill to see a car go through the wooden back fence only to have it come crashing back through further down the backstretch.

Long after he left the business, Marshman finally admitted that the fence-crashing was staged.  The fence was very loosely constructed near the beginning and the end of the backstretch.  There was a rudimentary road for the driver to follow, and there was a spotter near the entrance to the third turn to wave him back through to the track when it was all clear.

Suddenly, the roar was no more

In 1958, placards began appearing to herald the arrival of the fastest drag strip in the area. Land was cleared in preparation, but suddenly it all ended, without explanation. The once bustling, noisy, thriving attraction that drew thousands weekly was silenced.

Mother Nature has slowly taken back what was originally hers, except for a few random patches of macadam that can be found among the weeds and high grass. Old racing aficionados will tell you with a note of pride and a hint of misty-eyed melancholy that “this is where the fourth turn was.”

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society member Glenn Isett has joined society President Beth Scherer in writing about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post.

Articles in this series:

• Love NASCAR Now? You Would Have Adored Sanatoga
• Timeless Treasures Fill Historical Society Chapel Offices
• Hilltop’s Still Making History, 59 Years After Opening
• Historic Answer To Heat: Township Swimmin’ Holes
• Need A Local Hotel? There Once Were Four, Right Here
• What’s Changed Most In ‘Grove Grads? Their Schools
• Shantz’s Mound Presence Made Sanatoga ‘Pheverous’
• Stars Danced In Lower Pottsgrove Long Before TV Show
• Never Heard Of Sanatoga’s Longview Hotel? Here’s Why

Photo from the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society

SANATOGA PA – The former Sanatoga Union Sunday School chapel on East High Street in Sanatoga village will be decked out in holiday finery for the November monthly open house of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society, President Beth Scherer said Wednesday (Nov. 9, 2011) during its regular meeting.

The open house is scheduled for Nov. 27 (Sunday) from 1-4 p.m. at the chapel, 2341 E. High, which also serves as the society’s museum and offices. The event is free to the public.

Members will get to enjoy the holiday spirit there too, Scherer said; their holiday party and gift exchange will be held Dec. 14 (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel. The society does not meet during January or February.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Scherer reported the society’s October open house and slide show by member Glenn Isett attracted more than 40 visitors, including at least one general election candidate. As of Oct. 30 the society also has gained four new members this year, she said.

Photo from Clipart.com

The former Sanatoga Union Sunday School

By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – During more than 100 years of commercial and residential growth along East High Street in Sanatoga village, one of its earliest and most enduring features has been an unassuming and quaint brick chapel.

East High is a bustling thoroughfare today, filled with businesses like Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Sunnybrook, CVS, Thriftway, K-mart, Sanatoga Fire Company, The Silver Shoppe, Cutillo’s, Sanatoga Animal Hospital, Sanatoga Corporation, Hill Top, and Turkey Hill. They’re accompanied by a couple of shopping centers, numerous doctor offices, other small businesses and many homes.

Back in 1891, however, the highway carried far less (and far slower) traffic. Much of the land along its shoulders was undeveloped fields and forest. And built to rise above the treetops was the bell tower of the old Sanatoga Union Sunday School, which now is headquarters for the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society, 2341 E. High St., Pottstown PA.

Restoring the chapel is a continuing project of the historical society. Members obtained the deed to the structure during its centennial year, 1991, only six years after the society itself was founded. Its exterior brick has been refurbished and re-pointed.

Its real treasures, though, lie within, where youngsters once learned about the Bible while seated in pews there. The former chapel is recognized as a functioning museum, and is filled with many items depicting the vast history of Lower Pottsgrove PA) Township. The society is intent upon preserving the township’s heritage.

As with most non-profit organizations, the society depends on its membership fees and holds fund-raisers to pay its bills. It’s well-attended annual Strawberry Festival, yard sales, raffles, and public donations throughout the years have kept the society afloat, as have the time, energy and dedication given by its members.

The society this month will conduct a membership drive on Oct. 30 (2011; Sunday) during its open house from 1-4 p.m. It’s trying to grow, just as East High Street has, and encourages the public to come see what’s inside the chapel now.

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society President Beth Scherer writes about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post.

Articles in this series:

• Timeless Treasures Fill Historical Society Chapel Offices
• Hilltop’s Still Making History, 59 Years After Opening
• Historic Answer To Heat: Township Swimmin’ Holes
• Need A Local Hotel? There Once Were Four, Right Here
• What’s Changed Most In ‘Grove Grads? Their Schools
• Shantz’s Mound Presence Made Sanatoga ‘Pheverous’
• Stars Danced In Lower Pottsgrove Long Before TV Show
• Never Heard Of Sanatoga’s Longview Hotel? Here’s Why

Photo from the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society

Among the best swimming facilities available locally were those at Sanatoga Lake

At Ringing Rocks, similarly named "Lake Minnetoga"

By Carol Isett
of the Lower Pottsgrove
Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – They’re upon us: those lazy, hazy days of summer when everyone’s mind turns to ways to cool off. In the days before air conditioning and backyard pools, the next best thing was the ole’ swimmin’ hole. Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township had no shortage of good places for swimming and water activities.

First was the lake at Sanatoga Park. A swimming area was installed with diving boards, sliding boards, and other water amusement devices. The bottom of the pool was covered in sand and gravel, in order to make it a comfort to bathe in this cool and exhilarating body of water. Bath houses were built; bathing suits could be rented, and there also were boats and canoes for rental by the hour.

Coolest in town was Pruss Hill, seen from overhead

Then there was Lake Minnetoga at Ringing Rocks Park. It covered two acres and was said to be a beautiful body of water that reflected the bordering trees in its limpid depths. Fed by a spring, this was a choice spot for swimming in years past. There were also pleasure boats for the visitor who cared to row over its crystal water.

Another great place to cool off was Pruss Hill Dam, located at Pruss Hill Road and Schaffer Road. Pruss Hill Dam had long been famous for being the coldest spot in the area during the winter, so what else would be better than to take a cool dip in the refreshing waters? There was a bath house for changing, and Miss Elsie Liss, daughter of G.E. Liss – owner and proprietor of the Pruss Hill Ice Co. – taught local children how to swim there.

Best kept secret? Reese's Dam

There was one more spot which would fit the category of old swimming hole to a “T.” It was Reese’s Dam, down almost at the end of Sanatoga Creek where it empties into the Schuylkill River. There was the proverbial rope tied to a tree that swung out over the water. A few brave swimmers actually dived off the high stone wall, which is now crumbling and unsafe to be near, into the cool water below.

Even though home air conditioning was not much more than the seed of an idea in someone’s mind at the time, there were great ways to cool off in the early days of Lower Pottsgrove.

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society member Carol Isett has joined society President Beth Scherer in writing about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post.

Related articles in this series:

• Historic Answer To Heat: Township Swimmin’ Holes
• Need A Local Hotel? There Once Were Four, Right Here
• What’s Changed Most In ‘Grove Grads? Their Schools
• Shantz’s Mound Presence Made Sanatoga ‘Pheverous’
• Stars Danced In Lower Pottsgrove Long Before TV Show
• Never Heard Of Sanatoga’s Longview Hotel? Here’s Why

Photos from the Historical Society

The former Sanatoga Chapel on East High Street, which the society uses as its headquarters.

SANATOGA PA – Both the August meeting and August open house of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society have been canceled, as society members enjoy their summer. This month’s meeting, however, is a reward of membership: the society’s annual picnic, open to its dues-payers, will be held July 20 (2011; Wednesday) beginning at 6:30 p.m. outside its headquarters, the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Pottstown PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Hamburgers, hot dogs and sodas will be provided. Members are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share. The meal will be followed by a meeting at 7:30 p.m., at which the 2011-2012 society officers are expected to be elected.

For more information, call 610-323-6033.

The regular meeting and open house schedule will resume in September.

One look will tell you how terrific those strawberries tasted

Sanatoga baseball great Bobby Shantz was on hand

By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – Not rain, not strong winds, and not high temperatures and humidity could derail the success of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society’s annual Strawberry Festival earlier this month at the former Sanatoga Chapel on East High Street, its members reported.

Despite the worst Mother Nature might throw at it, they added, it was again a hit with the public’s taste buds and the society treasury.

Oppressive heat and humidity, strong winds that almost blew its tents onto the highway, and a storm’s downpour during the day couldn’t dent the festival’s flavorful atmosphere. Hundreds turned out for the June 11 (2011) event, which served up and sold strawberry desserts to delight the palate. It also provided entertainment from former baseball big leaguers Bobby Shantz and George Moore, and hand-clapping tunes by The O’Such Rhythm and Music Band.

A new fund-raiser tried this year by the society – a raffle of 23 different, merchandise-filled baskets donated by local merchants and its members – earned almost $700.

“Thanks to all who came out that day to support the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,” it said in a Friday (June 17) e-mail. “An even bigger thanks to all the members who gave so much time prior to, during, and after the festival. We couldn’t have had a great day without the members’ dedication to keeping the history alive in Lower Pottsgrove!”

Good friends shared good eats while attending the festival on East High Street

A basket raffle, assorted bargains, and baked goods sales raised extra income

The John O'Such Rhythm and Music Band provided entertainment

Photos by Glenn Isett

A HOT AND DUSTY PRESERVATION JOB – Ronald Houck, a custom builder who specializes in masonry re-pointing, was busy Monday morning (June 6, 2011) chiseling out old and cracked mortar from between the bricks of the former Sanatoga Chapel on East High Street, which now serves as the headquarters and museum of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society. The society has over several years raised money for the work to help preserve the chapel’s exterior. Society members this weekend thrown open the chapel doors and invite the public to its grounds to enjoy its annual Strawberry Festival.

By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

A 1907 commencement program from the predecessor to Pottsgrove High

POTTSTOWN PA – In just three weeks (June 16, 2011, to be precise), members of the Pottsgrove High School Class of 2011 will head onto a stage to receive their diplomas. Most are ending a 13-year stay within the Pottsgrove School District. They began at Lower Pottsgrove, West Pottsgrove, or Ringing Rocks elementary schools; then united at the Middle School, and spent their last four years at the Kauffman Road high school.

It wasn’t too long ago, however, that those buildings didn’t even exist.

Once there were five one-room school houses in the area now known as Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, and they provided education only through 8th grade. Most historical data documenting Pottsgrove schools is available from the latter part of the 1800s, but some were operating many years earlier. And as the township population expanded, two more schools were added.

Until September 1955, students who lived in Lower Pottsgrove students attended Pottstown High School for their secondary education.

It was during ’55 that Upper, Lower, and West Pottsgrove townships undertook the process of working together to form the Pottsgrove School District. Initially its 7th graders went to West Pottsgrove High School, which is now the elementary school. Pottsgrove Senior High opened its doors in September 1958, and the first commencement ceremony was held there the following spring (1959).

More than 50 years later, the Class of 2011 will receive its diplomas on the same grounds. Hail, Pottsgrove High!, and congratulations to the Class of 2011.

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society member Beth Scherer writes about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post. The society usually holds an open house on the last Sunday of every month; the May session has been canceled due to the Memorial Day holiday.

Photos from the Historical Society