the (boyertown) rhoads opera house fire-- memorial service for the 109th anniversary-- sunday, january 15, 2017: a traveling poetry class excursion.

my traveling poetry class will have its first excursion in 2017 in fairview cemetery in boyertown, as we'll be attending a memorial service for the victims of the rhoads opera house fire. the devastating blaze, which prompted legislation to ensure public building doors were able to be opened from inside and out, grew its flames on january 13, 1908.

the memorial service, hosted by margaret and carl harner of the boyertown area historical society, is slated for sunday, january 15 @ 1 p.m. at the grave marker below, which reads as "the unidentified" in larger lettering.

this event, free to all of the public, will not be too long, as it'll be during the cold of winter weather. the service is to honor the victims and this tragedy-rich part of local history, 109 years later.

the closest address across from the entrance of the cemetery is 332 west philadelphia avenue, boyertown, pa 19512. while the cemetery has its own driveway and no official designated parking, street parking is across from the gates.

my current traveling poetry class students and any new students who would like to attend this event can join us afterward. we will be meeting at the other farm brewing company, which is located at 128 east philadelphia avenue, boyertown, pa 19512.

the cost for the class is $20 in genuine dollar bills. students are welcome to bring their own previous poetry or other creative writing for sharing and discussing with the class, as we always aim to give each other open-minded feedback and reflections. reading from your journal, notebook, sheets of paper, or an electronic device is fine, but you are also welcome to bring copies for everyone to read. 

and we'll plan to discuss the memorial service to help stir ideas of poetic writing to craft from this experience.

we usually meet for at least 2 hours and sometimes more, depending on how long students are interested in talking, reading out loud, gaining feedback, writing, etc.

for any questions, email the instructor: poetrywithjenniferhetrick@yahoo.com.