Number 43 A Quarterly Publication June 2002
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Dale Berger
He Wears Three LFA Hats: Genealogist, Historian, Archivist
Dale Berger, LFA Genealogist- Historian-Archivist, was born on 7 January 1940 in Bethlehem, PA, where he lived throughout his younger years.
Dale is the eldest of two sons of Francis Edward and Miriam Emily (Dewalt) Berger of Bethlehem. Francis, born in West Bethlehem in 1914, and Miriam, born in West Bethlehem in 1917, were married on 4 June 1938 in the parsonage of First Reformed Church in South Bethlehem. Their younger son, Bruce Alan Berger, was born eight years after Dale, on 19 March 1948, also in Bethlehem.
Dale Berger
When his mother became ill, Francis Berger left school at an early age and went to work for Bethlehem Steel Co. to help support his parents. Like many other men in the Bethlehem area, he worked at the Steel Co. his entire life, retiring around 1976. Throughout most of his employment, he worked in the Steel Company's drop forge.
Their father vows a better life for his sons
Francis Berger’s job there was hot and dangerous. Dale’s father often remarked, "My sons will NOT work in any similar job under such conditions." (Meaning: "I will see to it that they have a better education so they don't have to support themselves by manual labor as I did for so many years.")
While still a young lad, Dale's parents moved from West Bethlehem, where they had been living with Francis' father, now a widower, to a rented home on Union Boulevard in Bethlehem. Here Miriam Berger set
up a beauty shop in their home and dressed women's hair to help support the growing family. She later became a sales lady at Farr's Shoe Store in Bethlehem.
One of the most lasting impressions on the lives of both of Dale's parents was that of the great depression of the early 1930s. They were both determined to ensure that their two sons were afforded all of the opportunities and conveniences that they had been denied in their early lives.
In the early 1950s Francis built his own summer cabin near Promised Land Lake in Pike Co., PA, where the family enjoyed many weekends and summer vacations. Around 1963 the family moved a final time to a home at 1130 Center Street in Bethlehem.
Dale’s education, career and marriage
Dale attended the local public schools in Bethlehem and graduated in
1957 from Bethlehem (aka. Liberty) High School. He then accepted a scholarship to Moravian College, also in Bethlehem. While in his freshman year in college, to pay other expenses, Dale took a full time job with Atlantic Aviation at Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Airport, where he learned to pilot small, single-engine, aircraft.
A major, stepping-stone, year in Dale's life was in 1961. In that year, he graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, accepted a job offer from Bell Telephone Company in Philadelphia and married his college sweetheart, Linda McHenry. Linda, who was born and raised in the Bronx in New York City, also graduated from Moravian College in 1961.
After their marriage Dale and Linda settled in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. In 1962 Dale and Linda had a son, Scott William Berger, and, in 1965, a daughter, Kristin Lee Berger. Around 1968 they moved to a new home in the small suburban community of Oreland, PA. While Scott and Kristin were still young, Dale and Linda traveled thoughout the eastern states with a travel trailer and enjoyed many long vacations at lakes and the sea shore.
Dale and Linda now called “Pop-Pop” & “Nana”
Scott, a graduate of Bloomsburg University, is now married and is working as a computer specialist for Carlisle Publications in Carlisle, PA, and managed the weekend car shows at the Carlisle Fairgrounds. In March of this year, Scott and his wife, Cathy, had their first child, a daughter, Maya Elizabeth Berger.
Dale and Linda became grandparents for the first time and now are known officially as "Pop-Pop" and "Nana". Kristin is living at home and is employed as a secretary.
Dale’s 30-year career in the telephone industry
After college, Dale entered the Management Training Program at Bell Telephone Company and worked as a manager at various assignments in the Philadelphia area. In 1976 he transferred to AT&T in New York City and at Basking Ridge, NJ. After two years he returned to Bell of PA in Philadelphia where he was a District Manager in the Rates & Tariffs, Product Management, and Service Cost organizations.
During this time Bell of PA became part of one of the "Baby Bells," known as Bell Atlantic, which later became the present Verizon. After 30 years of service, Dale accepted an early retirement offer, which was "too good to turn down."
Dale Berger at his desk
After early retirement, Dale joined forces for a time with an old high school friend and opened a lawn mower repair business. He also turned much of his free-time attention to one of his primary interests--genealogy.
Dale gets bit by the genealogy bug
Dale's interest in genealogy began one Christmas day in 1975, during the annual gathering of the Berger family in Bethlehem, PA. The conversation that day turned into a discussion of family ancestors, with Dale's parents relating all they knew of their lineages.
Suddenly, the thought of discovering and finding out all of the details of as many ancestors as possible became very intriguing. Dale had a long interest in history, and the idea of such a project, that would combine history and genealogy, soon became an obsession that would last to current times.
After reading several popular books on genealogy, Dale forged ahead with research which would eventually determine that virtually all of his ancestors were "Pennsylvania German" (sometimes referred to mistakenly as "Pennsylvania Dutch") and had come from the four county area of Northampton, Bucks, Lehigh, Monroe Counties in PA. Also it was discovered that most families had arrived in America in the mid to late 1700s.
One of the first family names to be logged onto the family tree was Laubach. Dale's mother, Miriam (Dewalt) Berger, remembered that the name of her paternal grandmother was Amanda Elizabeth "Laubach." Amanda had married James Oliver Dewalt around 1880 and the family lived in Butztown in Bethlehem Township., along the road from Bethlehem to Easton.
It didn't take long to find the birth and death dates of James and Amanda and then to discover that Amanda was a daughter of William and Matilda (Knauss) Laubach.
But there the trail grew cold. Who was William Laubach? There were three or four William Laubach's in the Lehigh County area where he supposedly lived. Which one was the "right" William? The question was not solved until several years later when the tombstones of William and Matilda Laubach were discovered, quite by accident, in the old Union-West End Cemetery in Allentown.
Having their dates of birth and death, it was fairly easy to find evidence of their parents and at long last, link William Laubach to his ancestors.
He’s an LFA veteran since its beginning
In 1988 Dale joined the LFA and attended the weekend-long reunion of that year at the Hotel Bethlehem in Bethlehem, PA. Shortly thereafter, Dale became an active member of the Book/Genealogy committee that researched and compiled the book History of the Johann Reinhart Laubach Family --The First Five Generations in America, which was published by the Laubach Family Association in 1993.
Dale has served two terms as a Director of the LFA and has served as the Genealogist/Historian/Archivist since about 1990. Since initiation of the LFA web site on the internet, Dale has answered several hundred queries from persons either descended from, or interested in, the Laubach families of America and Europe and has been able to help many descendants discover their Laubach roots.
In addition to his continuing research of the Laubach history and genealogy, Dale has also researched, compiled and published genealogical histories of:
The Albright family of Lehigh County, PA;
The Cooper family of Upper Saucon Twp., Lehigh Co., PA;
The Altemose/Altemus family of Monroe and Indiana Counties, PA;
The Wint family of Upper Saucon Twp., Lehigh Co., PA;
And the Meckes family of Monroe Co., PA.
In 1995 Dale also published a book titled Guide to Cemeteries and Burial Grounds of Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The proceeds from sales of this book benefit the Monroe County Historical Association. in Stroudsburg, PA. Dale also occasionally lectures on genealogy-related subjects at seminars in eastern PA.
Although genealogy consumes much of his time, Dale also enjoys trout fishing at lakes in the Pocono Mountains and sailing with his family and friends on a 21 ft. sailboat on Lake Nockamixon, near Quakertown, PA. A sailing enthusiast for many years, Dale also moors a smaller sailboat on Lake Galena in Peace Valley Park near Chalfont in Bucks Co., PA.
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Dale and Linda live at 1301 Bradford Rd., Oreland PA 19075. His phone: (215) 836-4727 Email: daleb@voicenet.com. Dale’s line: Dale Berger 10, Miriam (Dewalt) Berger 9, Harry Howard Dewalt8, Amanda Elizabeth (Laubach) Dewalt7, William Laubach6, John Laubach5, Johann George Laubach4, Johann Reinhart Laubach3, Johann Christian2, Johann Reinhart1.
You can order a Laubach T-shirt
to be delivered at the Picnic Aug. 3
Here’s you chance to order a T-shirt to wear at the picnic (and save the cost of postage). For delivery at the picnic, please order by July 10 to give Lou Laubach time to get your order ready.
Make check payable to LFA; send to:
Lou Laubach, Treasurer, 823 W Walnut St., Allentown PA 18102 Phone: (800) 752-2006
Homestead Plate, 8 ½", with sketch of
the home on the Laubach homestead............... $10
T-shirts, each with words, “Laubach,
an American Family since 1738.”
Size 10-12............$8 Small...........$8
Medium, Large, X-Large......$10 XX-Large..............$13
Golf of Polo Shirts (print on back)
Regular Size.......$16 XX-Large.........$19
Adult Crew Sweatshirts (print on front)................$18
Youth Crew Sweatshirts........................................$17
Adult Hooded Sweatshirts.....................................$24
Youth Hooded Sweatshirts....................................$23
(If you are not picking it up at the picnic, then
add Shipping & Handling as Follows):
Up to $15, add $3.50---- $15-$35, add $4
$35-$50, add $5-- $50-$75, add $6
$75-$100, add $7— $100-$150, add $9.50 $150 or more, add $12.50
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BOOKS Two books available, with the history of the Reinhart Laubachs, and names of descendants;
The Reinhart Laubach Family: First Five Generations in America. Hard-cover book; $35 pp.
The Eighth Edition Supplement, with generations 4 to 13. Loose-leaf bound, $8.25 pp. (postage paid).
Order these books (check payable to LFA) from:
Helen Schmidt, 3300 Darby Road, Haverford, PA 19041-1073. Phone: (610) 649-2120.
Make check payable to LFA; send book order to
Helen Schmidt, 3300 Darby Rd. #5312, Haverford PA19041