Traditional pork and sauerkraut served up on New Year’s Day
BERKS
For Norm and Lisa Bradley of Ruscombmanor Township, the annual New Year’s Day pork-and-sauerkraut dinner at their local fire company is both a tradition and a way to support an important community service.
“We’ve lived in the township for about 30 years,” Lisa said. “It’s a local volunteer fire company, and we help it any way we can.”
Besides that, she said, they understand it’s one of the best pork dinners around.
Eating pork and sauerkraut on the first day of the New year is a tradition steeped in early Christian religious custom and Pennsylvania Dutch culture.
But Berks Countians who turned out to churches and fire halls had a more palpable reason for getting in line: they know it supports a worthy organization whose members roll up their sleeves days before the holiday to get things ready.
Norm pointed out that his wife comes from a family of firefighters.
“We kind of made it a tradition,” Norm said. “We know it’s a fundraiser for the fire company and we want to help.”
This year, they were joined by Lisa’s mother, Bette Foulke, who recently moved back north after years of living in Florida.
A line formed outside Ruscombmanor Fire Company along Pricetown Road well before doors were supposed to open at 10:30 a.m.
One of the first in line was Kathie Gernert of Bern Township. Gernert said she supports the fire company throughout the year by donating her bingo winnings back to the organization.
Her late brother-in-law, Eric Fox, who died of cancer in 2020, was a Ruscombmanor fire chief.
The fire company, which hosted a dine-in buffet in the fire hall,