Interracial marriage rates continue to rise in U.S.

The Reading Eagle

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It’s been 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled that interracial marriage was legal in Loving v. Virginia, and the number of interracial American couples is now higher than ever. Even since the beginning of the 21st century, racial intermarriage has become more widespread – not just in practice, but in social acceptance.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that of all married couples in the country in 2010, 10 percent were intermarried. In 2015, 17 percent of newlyweds in the U.S. were married to a person of a different race or ethnicity, according to the Pew Research Center, suggesting that the rate of intermarriage will continue to increase over time.

Firing foam darts with (or at) their dads

The Reading Eagle

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Dominic Langford’s favorite part of Father’s Day was getting to play with two guns. His dad, Drew, was completely fine with this, probably because the guns were Nerf.

The Langfords joined 163 other fathers and children at Coventry Mall on Sunday for a foam dart battle. According to Nichole Bartholomew, the event’s organizer, spaces for the battle filled up almost immediately after it was announced.

Mural project on track at railroad museum in Hamburg

The Reading Eagle

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The Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg already had about 70 train cars and locomotives, but it’s now in the process of getting four more. These new additions, however, are just a little different from the rest: they’re painted on the museum’s side wall.

The locomotives are part of a mural that has been in progress since the end of May and is expected to be finished before July. It will officially be dedicated on Aug. 12 at 1:30 p.m. as part of Railfest, a three-day event at the museum meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Reading Railroad’s Bee Line service.

35th Early Bird Fiddle Festival fills the Berks County Heritage Center in Bern Township

The Reading Eagle

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The guitar player onstage started his set by saying that with all the love songs in the world, there really should be a few about eating.

As he launched into a song Saturday about Oreos, dozens of listeners who had parked their lawn chairs in the shade began to tap their feet and nod with the beat and another chapter in the 35th annual Early Bird Fiddle Festival, part of Berks Country Fest: An American Jamboree, was underway at the Berks County Heritage Center in Bern Township.

Blue Marsh event promotes outdoors activities

The Reading Eagle

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Young boys huddled Saturday and clutched tiny fishing poles around a temporary above-ground pond.

They were trying to reel in catfish in the murky water being swirled by a fountain in the center of the pond.For the moment the fish weren’t biting, but that was hardly a deterrent to the determined youngsters.

20 Central Catholic High grads mark 70th anniversary of graduation

The Reading Eagle

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The Central Catholic High School Class of 1947 meets every year on the date of its graduation, and Thursday marked the group’s 70-year anniversary.

About 20 of the former classmates gathered at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Reading for Mass before reminiscing over lunch.

Reading Housing Authority

The Reading Eagle

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The Reading Housing Authority unveiled its new bike share station at Oakbrook Homes in Reading on Wednesday morning.

The station is run by Zagster, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company that hosts more than 160 bike-sharing programs in 35 states. At the Oakbrook station, five bikes will be made available to Oakbrook residents to ride for recreation or transportation, for running errands or other reasons.

Volunteers help renovate home of veteran’s widow in Reading

The Reading Eagle

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Wells Fargo employees have joined with Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks to improve the home of an Army widow in Reading.

Fourteen volunteers spent a day working on the porch, fence, windows and roof of Anna Marie Endy’s Bingaman Street house through a program called Operation Renovation: A Veterans Affair.

Drumming principal surprises students with concert

The Reading Eagle

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Deacon Thomas Murphy, principal of St. Francis Academy in Bally, sat down behind a drum set onstage in the school’s auditorium. He looked at the drums with confusion and hit them hesitantly a few times.

Then, as Murphy and the two other musicians onstage launched into the start of their set, it became clear that the confusion was all an act – Murphy was more than a little familiar with drumming.

Penn Street Market begins its 3rd year

The Reading Eagle

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Clear skies and the return of the sun welcomed downtown shoppers Thursday to the season opening of the Penn Street Market.

Now in its third year at Penn Square, Fifth and Penn streets, the outdoor market has about 15 vendors, some of whom will attend on rotating weeks. The market will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday through Sept. 28. Previously, the market was in the 800 block of Penn Street.