It was an event 250 years in the making.
About 200 people gathered Wednesday outside the Berks County Services Center, a few blocks from where local residents had done the same on July 8, 1776. That first time, they had been called by the ring of a bell, summoned to hear some important news.
Just a few days prior, the Continental Congress had formally adopted the Declaration of Independence. And now it would be read aloud to the masses.
That historic moment was honored Wednesday as the document that announced the birth of the United States of America was ceremonially read again and that same bell, which has come to be known as the Berks County Liberty Bell, rang out across the city.
In 1776, after the bell called the public to meet, Sheriff Henry Vanderslice had the honor of reading the newly adopted Declaration. This time around, two of his descendants took on the responsibility.
Dale Cake, a fifth great-grandson, and Jennifer Loveland, a sixth great-granddaughter, took turns reading from the historic document. It was also read in Spanish to honor the large Latino population in the county and German to recognize the region’s heritage.
Andre Castillo, an America250PA representative, said the ceremony was meant to bring people together and connect them to the first moments of the nation’s history. It is also a reminder that the American story continues to be written by communities like Berks, he said.
“We gather not simply to look back, but to remember that every generation has a role to play in preserving the freedoms and opportunities we inherited,” he told the crowd. “We celebrate our history, not because it is finished, but because it continues to shape the future we build together.”
Castillo said the ringing of the bell on Wednesday is a symbol that history is made when communities come together with hope, purpose and a shared commitment to one another.
County Commissioner Christian Leinbach speaks to a crowd gathered outside the Berks County Services Center in Reading Wednesday to celebrate the ringing of the Berks County Liberty Bell 250 years ago. (KAREN SHUEY – READING EAGLE)
Commissioner Michael Rivera noted how poignant it was that people were reliving almost the exact same thing county residents had done 250 years ago.
“But those people were facing a crossroads — they were about to embark on something bold, dangerous and utterly unprecedented,” he said. “They would no longer be subjects to the British crown, they would govern themselves with the belief that liberty was worth the risk to defy the most powerful empire in the world.”
Rivera asked the crowd to imagine what it would have been like to be those people, feeling the anticipation, the uncertainty and the courage it took for ordinary people to take a step toward an unclear future.
“Those gathered here were not celebrating a victory, they were embracing a cause where success was anything but guaranteed,” he said.
Rivera said that to honor the sacrifice and determination of those people 250 years ago, residents today have a responsibility to sustain civic engagement through respect for one another and shared commitment to the common good.
Commissioner Dante Santoni Jr. said the event marks the importance of those who came before to secure those unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and those who came to the country seeking those rights.
He noted that he is the descendent of four Italian immigrants who came to the U.S. a century ago with a dream of being able to enjoy those rights.
“I don’t know if, in their wildest dreams, they could have imagined their grandson standing before this crowd on the 250th anniversary of our country,” he said. “I hope they are looking down on me with pride as I’m looking up to them with thanks.”
Santoni said everyone in the crowd has a responsibility to carry on the principles that were expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
“Freedom, opportunity, equality under the law, civic responsibility — these ideals have challenged every generation of Americans to build a nation that fully reflects the promises put forth in that document,” he said.
Local officials on Wednesday marked a historic milestone — the ringing of the Berks County Liberty Bell 250 years ago. County Commissioner Michael Rivera speaks to a crowd gathered outside the Berks County Services Center in Reading. (KAREN SHUEY – READING EAGLE)
Commissioner Christian Leinbach, who also serves as chairman of the America250PA Berks County Committee, said the anniversary is a call to put an end to the divisiveness that exists and remember that the Declaration of Independence was written for all people regardless of their beliefs and backgrounds.
“We should be celebrating our diversity,” he said. “We would be better to celebrate our rights as Americans, to be what we can be, to say what we think, to be free to agree or disagree with our government and to pursue our own future.”
“This is why our founders ratified this declaration, and did so by pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.”