For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at obituaries@readingeagle.com or fax at 610-371-5193.
Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to obituaries@readingeagle.com.
In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased’s care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email.
All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full.
Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published.
Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing.
Boyertown welcomed thousands of visitors on Saturday, Dec. 6, as the community gathered for activities, live entertainment, shopping, photo opportunities and holiday cheer at Building a Better Boyertown’s 19th Chillin’ on Main.
A highlight of the event was the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus, who rode into town on a firetruck courtesy of Friendship Hook and Ladder.
This year’s Santa and Mrs. Claus, Kevin Zimmers and Jamie Cascino, continued a tradition that dates back to the first Chillin’ on Main in 2006.
Zimmers was a last minute addition, filling Santa’s boots for the first time this year.
Once Santa and Mrs. Claus climbed from the firetruck, Boyertown Optimist Cheerleaders, Boyertown High School Cheerleaders and members of Let’s Get Dancing let the way through the crowded street to the Body Borneman parking lot, where Santa would pose for more than 200 photos with kids plus three dogs.
As the group paraded along the street, the Boyertown Alumni Band played “Here Comes Santa Claus” and the cheerleaders swapped the “Bears” out of their cheers for “Santa.”
Mrs. Clause and Ellen Martignetti, Main Street manager of Building a Better Boyertown, put Bearianne to bed to hibernate. Bearianne will reemerge from her slumber during BaBB’s Coming out of Hibernation event in April.
Jeff and Rachel Lynn from “Flipping Farms,” a reality show filmed in Gilbertsville and available on Amazon Prime, made an appearance at the event. The father-daughter team had a red carpet behind a velvet rope where they posed for photos with event goers.
“We were just at a red carpet event in Lancaster,” said Rachel. “We wanted to bring the red carpet experience here.”
The Grinch portrayed by Z. Timberlake-Newell, 16, and Cindy Lou Who, portrayed by Kailey Reinboth, 17, walked up and down the street stopping for photos and high fives.
Collective Harmony, a music studio of Patricia Keith’s elementary and middle school voice class, sang “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and other carols.
The event also featured performances from Let’s Get Dancing, Boyertown Legionettes and DJ by EsJay Entertainment.
When CE Tumbling and CHEER members heard the DJ play “Wobble” by V.I.C., they had to leave their stand to get up and dance.
Boyertown Scout Troop 503 brought 40 Scouts and 20 Cubs to help kids build wooden tool boxes.
“One of the kids kept hammering my finger,” said Scout Jocelyn Manning, 12.
“They’ve all been hit with the hammer,” Scoutmaster Al Tomaselli joked. “A lot of the kids were on the other side of that table (learning to build the boxes from older Scouts) before they were old enough to help with tool box building.”
The six-piece tool box kits take less than 10 minutes to build, and the group helped build more than 100 boxes.
“The tool boxes are so popular we added more building stations this year,” Tomaselli said.
Along with the tool boxes, Troop 503 demonstrated soap box derby races and sold smores and hot chocolate.
Vendors lined the street selling everything from ornaments and crafts to 3-D printed toys to candles. Several stands offered services like ear piercing and permanent jewelry application.
Little Entrepreneur Alley was added to the event in 2023 to give artists and crafters under the age of 15 the opportunity to showcase and sell their creations.
For the first time, Clementine Palko, 11, of Boyertown participated. Her family has made wooden items every year since she was age 6.
“We give them to family and friends,” she said.
Clementine’s dad did the wood cutting, and she did everything else on her wooden tree ornament holders and gnomes. She brought 12 trees and 16 gnomes. All of the small gnomes sold out right away, SO next time Clementine plans on making more. She plans on selling her crafts during the Coming out of Hibernation event in April.
“This event has grown significantly in the last three years,” said Krista Gross, Building a Better Boyertown event planner. “We’ve expanded vendor space all the way to Franklin Street, added Little Entrepreneur Alley and incorporated more music and activities to make sure every community member feels represented.”
Chillin’ on Main is a boost for local businesses.
“Our hope is that this event brings exposure to Boyertown’s retailers and restaurants and encourages people to come back to shop and dine throughout the season,” Gross said.
Planning the event took several months and involved coordinating with dozens of vendors, food trucks, performers, and volunteers.
Gross credited the Eventeny system for helping streamline vendor engagement and applauded volunteers from Boyertown Area Senior High, including the cheerleaders, Green Cord program, and National Honor Society, for their help every year.