Weissport's Founder's Day, held Saturday, offered a glimpse of the town's storied past.

The Founder's Day event was held in the borough park to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the town's founding and 150th anniversary of its incorporation as a borough.The highlight was a series of displays in Jacob's United Church of Christ, located next to the park, which contained old photos, news clippings, memorabilia, scrapbooks, old bottles and a unique map detailing some of the long-gone landmarks that existed.The six-hour Founder's Day featured vendors, a cake walk, children's games and sightseeing tours.It kicked off with a brief opening ceremony during which two special presentations were made to the borough council - a certificate of recognition by the State Association of Boroughs and a resolution by state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, on behalf of the state House of Representatives.Congratulatory remarks were also made by Carbon County Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard.It was the display in the church that drew the attention of many attendees, especially those who have moved from the borough and returned for Saturday's events.A newspaper contained a headline about Weissport winning the "Little World Series." The event was a best-of-three series baseball games between Weissport and Lehighton in the 1930s. In 1930, Weissport won, with the deciding game played before 3,000 fans.James and Christine Anewalt of Mahoning Township lived in Weissport most of their lives.Anewalt said what he remembers most growing up in the town "was the mess we had with the floods. We went through two floods, 1942 and 1955. That's something you never forget."There were articles and photos from the floods on display.Anewalt said, "Weissport was a good place to raise kids."Among the largest collections displayed was that of Clarence Getz of Franklin Township. It included calendars and other specialties from funeral homes and other businesses that existed in the town over the past 100 years or so, as well as news articles.Austin Blew of Mahoning Township showed items from the Lehigh Canal.Lamont "Mike" Ebbert of Lehighton also had a collection of items.Charles Fritz led visitors on a tour of the church, which has a long history in the town.The historical display was organized by Sandy Putkowski and Nancy Shaffer. Shaffer said when they heard about Founder's Day, they decided to put something together and the church agreed to allow the use of its facilities.Putkowski, the former Sandy Bowman, was born and raised in Weissport."People who come from Weissport just love Weissport," Shaffer said.Putkowski contacted Ruth Bush of Lehighton about sketching a map of the borough. The map, which details most businesses that have existed in the borough since its existence, is available for sale as a map (along with a booklet providing more information about those businesses) or a postcard.Some are still available at Jacob's UCC Church.Duane Dellecker, who is chairman's of the borough's annual Redneck Festival, walked around the festival grounds dressed as Jacob Weiss, the founder of the borough.Dellecker said, "This park is so beautiful."He said one reason for this is the hard work of the borough's recreation commission.Dellecker, a member of the commission, adding, "Most of us (commission members) don't live here in the town and we raise all kinds of money for it. This year, we spent $1,000 on topsoil and plants and cleaned up the bell tower."He said a yard sale recently organized by the recreation commission had 89 vendors, with another scheduled the third week in September."The Rec Commission owns the Redneck Festival. We're going into our 10th year," he said. "The festival is for a fun time."The festival is staged on Labor Day weekend in the park.Gene Kershner, president of Weissport Borough Council, said he was happy to see the Founder's Day celebration staged.He said, "It's just so nice to see people come out today. Thank God that the weather is nice," noting it was raining earlier in the morning."The memories of growing up in Weissport, it's a really, really good feeling," Kershner said. "It's a beautiful, compact little town."