Rush Township's 200-year history was celebrated Sunday during the Rush Township Bicentennial Celebration and Community Day held at the township building to observe the township's long history.

In addition to free hot dogs, face painting and other activities, organizers showcased agencies, businesses and organizations within the township.The open house event also showed off township equipment, such as police cruisers, fire trucks and road crew trucks.Just as Schuylkill County has been celebrating its 200th birthday this year, Rush Township joined the fun Sunday to celebrate its own bicentennial. "The whole part of community is to get involved with your community," said Robert Leibensberger, a Rush supervisor. "That's what we're trying to promote, volunteering, plus there's free food."A notable display included the Heckman-Isganitis-Messerschmidt Quakake American Legion Post 973, located in Barnesville, which provided information about soldiers from the township who died during World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam wars, including Harold O. Messerschmidt, who was 20 years old when killed during WWII and is one of 464 soldiers in the U.S. to ever receive the Medal of Honor."I'm proud to work for them," said Jim Shaup, chaplain.Dale Freudenberger, of the Tamaqua Historical Society, also had many township items on display for visitors, such as memorable photos of Rush Township buildings, landmarks and attractions. Freudenberger pointed out that many items in the photos are no longer in existence, and some date back from the 1920s. Freudenberger added, "The township also included a lot of small villages that many people may not realize such as Hometown, Barnesville, Quakake and Ginther."Some of the memorabilia included a trolly car advertisement for Sayler's Steam Bakery in Hometown, photos of old drive-in theaters and photos of the original High Bridge.Ron Savitsky, Hometown resident, stated, "These are some nice pictures here from the good old days." Freudenberger also had photos relating to the Lakeside Park, which was a well known attraction and amusement park that provided all types of entertainment and fun venues, such as a dance hall, skating rink, rides, swimming pool, theatre and popular Bavarian Festival.Sen. Dave Argall, who was at the event, mentioned that Rush Township is a great place to raise a family, as he recalled memories of looking for beaver dams while being Scout Master in Lake Hauto.Rush Township consists of almost 24 square miles of farmland, hills, villages, residential developments, commercial property, and light industries. In the early days, Rush Township was one of the orginal nine townships of Schuylkill County. Established in 1811, the township was originally part of Northampton County.Rush Township was named in honor of Judge Jacob Rush, who served as the first president judge of the Third Judicial District, when Schuylkill County was still part of Northampton County, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.In its early days, the township was larger than it is today. In 1849, Mahanoy Township was separated from Rush followed by parts of Ryan Township being peeled away from Rush in 1866. A year later, other parts became part of East Union Township. Kline and Delano townships were carved out of Rush Township in 1873 and 1882.First settlers to Rush Township were sent by industrialists who used the pioneers to develop the territory. According to the Rush Township website, the pioneer settlers of Rush Township were all of German nationality, and for many years only German was spoken in the township. Thomas Lindner came in 1800; John Faust settled in the township in 1800, and Abram L. Boughner became his neighbor near Barnesville in 1815.Jacob Neifert and Andrew Gottschall were early settlers who made the first improvements near Tamanend., while John Feller was also known as one of the early pioneers.Other topics of discussion during the bicentennial celebration revolved around Rush Towship's Civil War era powder mills, railroad transportation, oldest churches, first school which opened in 1810 and specific places, such as Hometown, Lake Hauto, Greenwood Dam, Barnesville, Tamanend and Quakake. During the event, Joe Urenovitch, president, TIDE, Tamaqua Industrial Developement Enterprise, stressed that eight companies are employing 470 people at the TIDE Industrial Park, also pointing out future expansion plans.The event also included a broadcast by "Polka Joe" Manjack, a Rush resident. Mae Bittner, a Barnesville resident, remembered a little history as she recalled teenage years spent at the Lakeside Dance Hall and skating rink. Bittner, whos father owned Keilman's Dairy, also remembered delivering milk door to door. Rose Hosch, who has lived in Rush Township since 1957, stated, "I love the people and all my neighbors here. I feel safe and at home here." Rush Township is simply the best place to live," said Flo Bubel, 15-year resident of Hometown.