A Brief History of Berks County, part 2

Flight of Five http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockport_(city),_New_York

Many of you probably do not know that I am not originally from Berks County.  I was born and raised in Lockport, New York, which is roughly 30 minutes northeast of Niagara Falls and an hour north of Buffalo.  Lockport, while having many claims to fame, is known for having the most locks along the Erie Canal.  In fact they are currently restoring the flight of five (as they were known) to make them operational again.  Growing up, I used to listen to my Great-Grandmother tell us, how she liked to make produce deliveries in Buffalo with her father, because she had to stay overnight at a hotel.  I never could figure out why, until much later when I realized they traveled by horse.  An hour trip today, was a half-day to a day trip at the turn of the century.

The German Immigrants, who traveled to…