If you're interested in learning more about this Berks County town or simply want to remember it as it once was, you may want to check out "Coming Together—Interviews with Special People from a Very Special Kind of Place—Boyertown, PA," a two-hour DVD included with Boyertown’s second pictorial history book.

The DVD compiles interviews of 16 men and women of Boyertown’s past and present.

In addition to taking a look at the lay of the land and the town's civic and service organizations, the book and DVD focus on the town leaders and community volunteers who have devoted their time to Boyertown since it was chartered in 1866.

The book includes a look at Main Street businesses, everyday life, and scenes of the area.

Each chapter of the 169-page volume has a differenc author, providing a variety of "voices" to the effort.

Copies of the pictorial history book and DVD are available at the following Boyertown area locations: Bause’s Super Drug Store, 42 E. Philadelphia Ave.; Crown Card and Gift, Gilbertsville Shopping Center; Twin Turrets Inn, 11 E. Philadelphia Ave.; Gracefully Framed, 135 E. Philadelphia Ave.; Studio B, 39A E. Philadelphia Ave.; and the office of Building a Better Boyertown, 12 N. Reading Ave.

Contact Building A Better Boyertown’s Main Street Manager Heather Oxenford at manager@boyertownpa.org or 610-369-3054 to order a copy of the book and DVD through the mail. Cost for soft-cover and DVD is $31.79; Hardcover with DVD, $52.99 (prices include tax, please add $10.35 for shipping and handling).

Marshall E. Wren, a 1965 graduate of Boyertown Area High School and current adjunct professor at Colorado Technical University, has announced that he has published "Simeon’s Witness: Volume I of The Origins, History and Purpose of Mankind, Revisited Series," a novel in E-book format.

Wren's brief description of the work, eight years in the making, is as follows:

"A family in a future world, a father preparing his son for a destiny which lies ahead, with the primary textbook for this preparation being the history of a world known as Earth."

Read the book for free on his Web site, http://webpages.charger.net/mewren.

Per his Web site, Wren is a graduate of Ursinus College, with a bachelor of arts in philosophy and religion, and of Colorado Technical University with an MBA in health care management. He is currently positioning to pursue a doctorate of theology in christology and neurotheology.

Wren worked for 16 years as an underwriter and vice president of marketing in the property and casualty insurance industry. He later worked 17 years as a computer software developer, and subsequently as a manager of an assisted living facility.

He is currently an adjunct faculty professor, as well as a faculty mentor and coach, with Colorado Technical University in their Health Science College teaching a healthcare management associated course of instruction via the university’s online virtual campus.

Wren was recently recognized by his students and peers as CTU On-line’s 2009-2010 Educator of the Year in the Category of Leadership.

He describes Simeon's Witness as the culmination of years of amateur ancient history research, archeological readings, religious and philosophical study, along with a passion for science, technology, and theoretical physics.

Boyertown native K. Scott Schaeffer (unknown to me whether he is related to the Schaeffers of former South Reading Avenue Pa. Dutch restaurant fame) has penned a book, "Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression" (Albireo Publishing, $14,95, trade paperback, 256 pp.)

Midwest Book Review calls Schaeffer's work “an intriguing and fascinating read that may change some reader's lives for the better."

The following is taken verbatim from the Midwest Book Review:

Schaeffer examines how the teachings of most Bible-believing churches conflict with the Bible’s teachings. Using messages that resonate throughout the Bible to free Christians from strict, man-made religious rules and practices that add to human misery, Schaeffer delivers a complex and controversial book that shows how the Bible is actually more lenient than the Church.

"Schaeffer explains how Christians can achieve religious freedom by using the Every-Verse Method of Bible Study — a means through which the Bible is studied in totality, as opposed to pulling isolated verses out of context — on some of the most complicated — and confusing —issues Christians face.

"Meticulously researched and engaging, Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression contains over 700 Bible verses and examines Biblical perspective on such issues as: freedom, creationism, alcohol consumption, sexual thought, divorce and re-marriage, oppression of the poor, Christian political power, judgmentalism, and religious arrogance. Rather than focus on isolated verses in the Bible, Schaeffer presents all of the applicable verses that address the various issues and explains the historical background, whereby allowing readers to achieve a greater understanding of the Bible’s message. For example, Schaeffer presents all 35 Bible verses addressing alcohol consumption, and upon examination of each verse, it becomes clear that the Bible’s stance on alcohol consumption is far more lenient than that of many churches.

Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression explains the Four Fundamental Freedoms of the Christian Faith, as well as the Four Freedom Defeaters. Moreover, Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression presents, in clear and concise terms, where the Bible and the Church differ in sections entitled “Required by the Church, but Not by the Bible,” ”Forbidden by the Church, but Not by the Bible,” and “Committed by the Church, but Opposed by the Bible.”

Thoughtful and thought-provoking, Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression explains how Christians can differentiate between which Christian practices are truly Biblical, which are optional, and which are evil, and explains how to achieve freedom from the myths, misconceptions, and man-made rules that prevent us from leading the lives God intended.

According to Schaeffer, “Millions of people have been driven away from both the Bible and God thanks to those who have distorted isolated Bible verses to promote oppressive religious traditions. The good news is that the Bible actually rescues us from this oppression. Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression is simply a fresh look at the Bible, stripping away tradition and assumption as much as possible, and, from beginning to end, forces us to let the whole Bible dictate the truth to us. It denies us permission to approach the Bible with the intent of finding verses that support our pre-existing beliefs. My hope is that readers are prepared to have their traditional beliefs challenged, but will ultimately develop a greater appreciation for what Christianity is all about.”

Schaeffer now devotes his life to exposing the differences between Biblical teaching and church tradition.

"Biblical Freedom from Religious Oppression" will be nationally released on Oct. 15. To learn more, check out the Biblical Freedom website.