[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4672-4673]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOROUGH OF MOUNT PENN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM GERLACH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 25, 2003

  Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Borough of Mount 
Penn, Pennsylvania during its 100th anniversary celebration. Mount 
Penn, known as the ``Friendly Borough,'' truly lives up to its moniker.
  The area lying at the foot of Mount Penn was settled in 1748; it was 
originally named Dengler's, after one of its most prominent citizens. 
With busy Philadelphia Pike running through town, Dengler's quickly 
became a popular suburb of nearby Reading. Some of the first businesses 
were carriage and wagon works to help speed travelers along the 55-mile 
trip between Reading and Philadelphia.
  In 1902, residents of the village petitioned the courts to create 
their own borough. On

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January 7, 1903, the petition was granted and the 500-citizen Mount 
Penn Borough was born. As time went on, trolley lines and paved roads 
running to all points around Mount Penn brought more visitors and 
settlers to the borough.
  Today, Mount Penn has grown to around 242 acres and 3,000 residents--
many of whom are third- and fourth-generation ``Mountaineers.'' The 
Borough contains a thriving business district, including Leinbach's 
Hardware, which at 82 years old is the longest continually operated 
business in the borough.
  Although the Borough has kept up with the times, it still retains the 
small-town feel that made it so appealing to travelers many years ago. 
In a day and age when many people do not even know their neighbors, 
Mount Penn is a shining example of what a community can be. I 
congratulate Mount Penn Borough on its one hundredth anniversary and 
call upon my colleagues to do the same.

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