Alumni Spotlight
Carol Hunsberger '64

Carol (Bordnar) Hunsberger, a 1964 graduate of the Communications/English department, continues to combine her writing skills and interest in history even after retirement. She has published two local histories, The Muhlenberg Story, which celebrated the township’s 150th anniversary in 2002, and more recently, The Gruber Wagon Works: the Place Where Time Stood Still in 2005.

Hunsberger grew up in Carbon County and attended Kutztown State College in the 1960’s. She fondly remembers hearing the sound of the Mennonite horses and buggies from her room in Old Main. After graduation, she married classmate Bruce Hunsberger and began teaching in the Muhlenberg School District, where she taught for 34 years until her retirement in 1999. As the school newspaper advisor, Hunsberger learned the desktop publishing skills that led to her first book on the history of Muhlenberg Township.

In the wake of her first publication, Hunsberger was commissioned by the Society for the Preservation of the Gruber Wagon Works to write a comprehensive history of the National Landmark and factory museum which is located at the Berks County Heritage Center near the Reading Airport. However, it wasn’t until she began researching her topic that Hunsberger began to truly appreciate the significance of the Wagon Works.

“I recall seeing the imposing structure on the hillside from the walking trail along the Tulpehocken Creek, but I knew very little about it,” says Hunsberger, “I did not tour the building until I started working on the book, and I was totally amazed when I saw what was inside.”

The Gruber Wagon Works, originally built in 1882 along Rt. 183 in Mt. Pleasant was one of many 19th and early 20th century wagon “factories” in the Reading area. After resigning its fate to the automobile industry in the 1950’s, the Gruber family stopped manufacturing wagons, but kept the building intact as if operations could recommence at any time. Hunsberger’s subtitle “The Place Where Time Stood Still” refers to the time-capsule atmosphere of the museum’s perfectly preserved workshops.

During the Blue Marsh Dam Project in the 1970’s, the Army Corps of Engineers recognized the value of the historic factory and worked to save the building from demolition. In 1976, a restored Gruber Wagon Works was moved in sections five miles down Rt. 183 to its present location at the Heritage Center. It has been opened seasonally for museum tours ever since.

Hunsberger interviewed Gruber family members, perused old photographs and newspaper articles, and rummaged through archival documents to complete her research. And, despite the arduous process of scanning in over 400 graphics, she considered the project a joy. As Hunsberger explains, “the Gruber Wagon Works is a national treasure that deserves to be visited by more local people. The story of moving the Wagon Works is an amazing tale of the ingenuity and commitment of many, many people who worked hard for nearly a decade to preserve this precious link with the past. The building and its contents provide an authentic connection with early industrialized America.”

Carol’s book The Gruber Wagon Works: the Place Where Time Stood Still is available on amazon.com as well as at the Berks County Heritage Center and the Historical Society of Berks County.

The Berks County Heritage Center, Rt. 183 South of Rt. 222, will reopen on May 1 for tours of its two on site museums. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4p.m. and Sunday 12-5 p.m. For more information, visit here.