Our community would not be the same without the incredible influence of Berks’ active seniors. From organizing the area’s premier running event to assisting with the creation ofThe Reading Public Museum's most stunning displays, curatingcurious gift shops and educating our youth; see what someof the seniors in your neighborhoodhave been up to.
The Shopkeepers: Anne & Stuart Kern
from Oley
Berks County has an array of locally-owned niche shops, but none are quite like Evelyn & Harriette’s. The proprietors, Anne and Stuart Kern, have been local shopkeepers for more than three decades, and they give “unique” a whole new meaning.
The Keepers’ First Shop
The pair moved to Oley from Chester Springs more than 50 years ago while Stuart was working for AT&T. They had already been moved from New York and around the Philadelphia area several times when they “sort of got tired of the corporate pick-up-and-move-every-few-years lifestyle.” That’s when they purchased their first business, Colonial Craft Reproductions. They moved the furniture production company from Lancaster to the landmark Cheese Factory building near their home, and the couple worked side by side crafting handmade furniture for years. “Then there came a time that we thought we should get away from moving machinery while all of our fingers were still attached,” Stuart jokes.
One Simple Rule
In 2009, when Anne and Stuart sold Colonial Craft, Evelyn and Harriette’s – so named for Stuart and Anne’s mothers, respectively – had already been up and running for years. They first opened the shop in the Cheese Factory boiler house in 2001 as a showroom for their furniture. They had purchased a lamp here and tableware there to show off their products, and “the next thing you know we were in the gift business.”
The store was founded on the idea that quality items do not have to be expensive, with one simple rule: every item must come with a story. “If it doesn’t have a story behind it, it’s just so much stuff,” Stuart says. The result is a shop that prides itself on having unique items from more than 30 countries and as many states across the U.S. Curious shoppers can find Polish pottery, German bone glass, and French provincial tablecloths alongside American Chinese vases, historical reproduction pewter items, and original artwork. But what the Kerns truly pride themselves on is their array of handcrafted wooden children’s toys. They have a line of German Haba, wooden block toys, as well as alphabet blocks in 26 different languages, including hieroglyphics. “Playing is learning, and if the toy does the playing, the child doesn’t learn anything,” Stuart says of their decision to carry only toys “without buttons or batteries.”
The Search for a Story
It is a passion for quality and uniqueness that drives these local shopkeepers. “A lot of people are in business to make a buck,” Stuart says, “not us.” Instead, their enjoyment comes from seeing people satisfied by what they find in their store. Anne said her greatest joy comes from sharing the stories they have collected with others. “It isn’t just being a retailer; it’s presenting products that we find that are exceptional.” More importantly, the two have fun sharing those experiences together. They have worked together for decades and have shared a lot of stories and a lot of laughs.
The Curator: Alice Botvin
from Wyomissing
“You don’t always know what your life is going to look like, but I followed my passion, and I’m back doing what I always saw myself doing.” Reading Public Museum Curatorial Assistant Alice Botvin is proof that perseverance can lead to the life you want.
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Growing up in New York City, Alice always had a passion for the arts. She played flute and danced for much of her young life, but her true love was art history. She graduated from Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University with a dual degree in Art History and English Literature, then earned her MLS in Information Science at the University of Michigan. After that, she landed her first job in the arts at the New York Public Library, where she specialized in art and architecture reference.
Alice left the library when she moved out of Manhattan and continued her career as a reference librarian on Long Island. When she moved to Reading, she volunteered as a middle school library aide and helped catalog the library for the Yocum Institute. Unable to find work in her preferred field, she pursued a variety of other careers while raising her son, Blake.
…Try Again
It was not until she retired in 2004 that Alice got the phone call she had been waiting for since her move to Reading. The Director of the Reading Public Museum invited her to consult on a six-month assignment. Several consulting projects soon turned into a temporary part-time position, then permanent part-time, and eventually full-time work as a Curatorial Assistant. Now, 14 years later, Alice works behind the scenes on the incredible exhibits at our local museum.
She focuses primarily on internal shows that exhibit the museum’s collection, spending much of her time working on exhibits for the Works on Paper gallery, although she helps with exhibits throughout the museum. Working alongside the museum’s curator, Alice researches and writes shows that could be years in the making. From concept to construction she helps design the exhibits. In addition, she spends many hours updating, correcting and adding to the museum’s collections database, helping to oversee curatorial interns, and occasionally leading tours.
Follow Your Passion
Although Alice had to wait until retirement, she now works in the field she always envisioned. “I have a passion for this. You wait long enough, and you’ll get what you want.” For her it wasn’t just waiting for the right job offer, either. “When I went to school, there was no place for women in the arts field,” Alice explains. That is how she ended up in research and reference at the New York Public Library in the first place. “I could do what I love and work in art and architecture, but there were no women curators.” Now, despite time and many hurdles, “I finally get to do what I have always wanted to do.”
The Athlete: Bob Meyers
from Birdsboro
Many people begin running to look or feel better, but Bob Meyers started running long distance for a much more significant health reason: to quit smoking. Nearly 40 years later, he has a whole new addiction to the “runner’s high.”
Bob moved to Birdsboro from his hometown of Souderton with his wife Mary Lou and, after he got out of the Army during Vietnam, went to work for Firestone in Pottstown. He was employed by the company for a decade, including a stint in the plants in Baton Rouge, before going to work for the Reading Hospital. He retired as the VP of Human Resources in 2007, after 25 years of service, but his connection with the hospital wasn’t finished yet.
The Road (Run) to Health
Bob was destined for long distance running from an early age. Even his high school track coach said his long stride would make him a great “miler.” At the time, that wasn’t Bob’s interest: “I opted for the more glamorous and less strenuous – at least in my eyes – quarter-mile and hurdles.” He says he didn’t excel in either, but he had fun.
In college and the military he picked up a smoking habit, but near the end of his career at Firestone he decided it was time to quit. “After many, many unsuccessful attempts it dawned on me that smoking and running long distances were pretty much incompatible activities, so while living down in Louisiana I eased myself into a regimen.” He started by jogging around the block, and in no time his excursions grew longer. When he returned to Birdsboro with his family in 1981, he registered for his first 10K in Pottstown. “The exhilaration I felt was incredible,” Bob recalls of his first race. “In place of my addiction to nicotine, I immediately became hooked on the ‘runner’s high.’”
He ran more 10Ks, progressing to 10-milers and eventually to half-marathons. In 1993, he ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. “At my age, my goal was simply to make it across the finish, but I was thrilled when I clocked in under four hours!” That was 3:51:42 to be exact.
A Winning Wardrobe
When he started at the hospital in 1982, the Reading Hospital Road Run was the premier 10K in Berks County and possibly in the region. Since that time, Bob has run every one of the races organized by the Friends of Reading Hospital. “I have a collection of 18 race shirts that have survived and occupy a place of honor in one of my dresser drawers,” he jokes. The race was shelved for a short period of time, but his commitment never wavered, and when it resumed, he was tapped to be on the planning committee.
Bob is registered for this year’s Road Run in October and still races competitively two to three times a year. Although, he says, “My days of running long races are pretty much behind me, the 5K race is currently my cup of tea.” He continues to place for his age group, adding more t-shirts to the drawer each year.
The Caregiver: Jane Bitner
from Wyomissing
For the past 50 years, in addition to working tirelessly as an elementary school teacher, a mother of three, and a grandmother of nine, Jane Bitner has never stopped lending a hand in her community.
Born and raised in Mohnton, Jane has been helping her fellow Berks residents for decades and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. She began her good works in high school as a volunteer candy striper at the Reading Hospital. During her time at Catawba College in North Carolina, she turned her sights to helping through her church.
She returned home and began a fulfilling teaching career, retiring from Conestoga Valley School District after 22 years in the classroom. But despite retiring nearly 15 years ago, Jane still teaches several days a week. She is now a K-12 substitute in the Wyomissing Area School District. Next year, she is looking forward to having all seven of her local grandchildren in the district with her. She has always loved teaching and is thankful that she has the health to continue to do what she loves. But she also has another motivation. “The money that I earn goes back to the grandchildren, so I can do things for them that I wouldn’t normally be able to do.”
Love Thy Neighbor
Jane also continues to volunteer at her church. She and her husband Tom are members of Bausman Memorial UCC and work together on many church activities. “I like to be kept busy and to help other people, to give back to the community,” Jane says of her packed schedule. She is a former chairwoman of the Women’s Committee and still helps out at community events, prepares and manages several fundraisers throughout the year, and participates in monthly meals at Opportunity House. She is also very involved with the church’s support of Family Promise – an organization that helps those who are temporarily down on their luck with room and board.
Caring is a Full-Time Job
Today, Jane is an active resident of The Highlands at Wyomissing, where she plays bells with the choir and tends to her corner of The Highlands’ Gardens. She spends as much time as she can with her family and takes endless care of her grandchildren. During the summer months, she spends several hours a week with her younger grandchildren, and she and Tom attend a full schedule of sporting events all year long. “Our chairs are always in the car,” she jokes.
With all of her endeavors, Jane rarely sits still. “I’d go crazy just sitting around,” she admits. “I like keeping active and giving back. I feel fortunate that I am healthy enough to do it.” Surely the multitude of people she has helped over time feel the same way.
