Is the Berks historical society planning to move out of Reading? No one will say no

by Steve Reinbrecht

I wonder if the Historical Society of Berks County is planning to move from its longtime home in Reading to join with the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University.

I heard that someone has offered a $1 million donation if the merger takes placed.

When I asked the leaders of those organizations if the organizations will merge, my wonder increased.

Sime Bertolet, executive director of the historical society, said talk of such a move is “rumors at this point.”

When I asked him what he meant by “at this point,” he refused to comment further.

I left a message for Patrick Donmoyer, who runs the cultural center, but he didn’t contact me. When I called again, a woman who answered the phone said the center has no comment on my question.

She said others have called to ask the same thing. 

So that’s it.

Because the Reading Eagle has trained local leaders that if they don’t like a story, they can call the newsroom and get it censored, many Berks organizations have never had to learn how to answer tough questions from the public.

“No comment” is never a good answer.

With social media filling in the cracks around the county newspaper’s crumble into journalistic irrelevance, organizations will need to stay on their toes with unexpected public relations.