Berks County, Pennsylvania
Oley Countryside Berks County is about 800 square miles with a population close to 375,000.  The City of Reading is the County Seat.  The county receives 9.5 million tourists every year.  Many come to learn about their Pennsylvania Dutch genealogy while visiting scenic natural areas and photographing the great old stone farmhouses and hex barns with ages measured in centuries rather than decades.  Many of the huge stone churches are Lutheran, Reformed, or Moravian, and thus the "fancy" Dutch abound.  Oh, and there really is a Reading Railroad Company just like on the Monopoly Board Game.
    I lived near Pricetown, where the Pricetown Road crosses the road that connects Fleetwood and Oley.  I attended a little one-roomed school visible from the crossroads.   We were on a mountain.  If you drove toward Fleetwood, it was like a roller coaster ride down into a fertile plain that went through Kutztown and into Allentown.  If you went toward Oley, you had another roller coaster ride in the other direction, down into the beautiful, fertile Oley Valley.  Farms were everywhere.  That roller coaster into Oley was the way my school bus went when I attended Oley Valley Area High School.  It was a really exciting trip when the roads were coated with ice and snow.
    Since we lived on a mountain, it was frequently foggy up where we lived but not down in the valleys where I went to play once I had my driver's license.  Because of the fog, my Pop would argue, "It's too fokky.  Bettah schtay home."  And, I'd say, "You know it's only foggy up here.  As soon as I head down the mountain, it'll be clear."  We had a lot of discussions on that topic.
    I'm trying to portray the feel of this place in my stories.  For example, I'll describe the fire company picnics that were held every weekend in Berks County, and the events at the local rod and gun clubs.  I'll describe the foods and customs.  How many of you have heard of Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer?
    I want people to experience the place with their hearts, and so I'm writing stories filled with the love and fun that I experienced as a child.  I want people to understand the respect the Pennsylvania Dutch have for nature, and so I'll describe the old agricultural practices and the hunting and the fishing and the love of animals.  If you want to learn more about Pennsylvania, bookmark the page you are on then, check out this great web site,
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