Day 3.1 Mom & Dad's First Home Purchase - Reading, PA - 1950

Back Bleile Family


This house in Reading, PA. was my Dad's first house that he purchased while selling insurance for Penn Mutual. He said he paid $10,500 for the home at the time. While we were there the current owner left us go inside the home on all three floors plus the full 75ft basement downstairs. Pretty amazing to see where I slept 52 years and more ago.

We actually showed the current owner a hidden staircase that was walled over that they didn't know existed.

The city of Reading has really deteriorated over the years. In talking with some of the locals it appears that at one time it was a very industrialized area but also very union controlled. The demise of the Union controlled industries really hit the city and area hard.