I admire the civic pride and local spirit that is demonstrated in vintage postcards.
Almost every town had postcard photographs of new high schools, post offices, courthouses, and churches.
Photographs of public works, such as improved roads or bridges, often included a brag about the cost. The expenditures on local improvements were a point of pride.
This postcard, “A Picturesque View of the Schuylkill Valley, Showing Disposal Plant, Reading, PA”, was published in Reading in the early years of the 20th century.
The publisher is J. Geo. Hintz.
While the disposal plant may not be imposing nor have an ornate façade, clean water was a necessity for every growing city.
Alice mailed the card from Lenhartsville on July 14. 1921.
Addressed to Mrs. Anna Miller of Front Street in Reading, the postcard conveys the news that “Sister Kate comes up on Sunday…”.
The wastewater treatment plant for Reading is now located on Fritz Island; the buildings shown in the postcard seem to have been built on the banks of the Schuylkill.
