Pastor Hans E. Becklin
Ever wonder why the “Bard House” is called the Bard House? I did when I first read through Trinity’s newsletter and bulletin–I thought it was in reference to our love of Shakespere, which seemed a bit far-fetched!
It’s actually named after A. Raymond Bard, a hardware merchant and lifelong member of the congregation, whose bequest paid for the renovations in the mid-1950s. Although he never married, Bard was a deeply social and supportive man. He loved Trinity and was the first man to break the long-held custom that only married men could serve on Trinity’s Vestry–something that Trinity’s history indicates barred many worthy men from service, including Kutz and Arnold, erectors of the Annex. (Mary Drehs was the first woman to serve on Trinity’s Vestry, elected in 1970.)
In 1906, Morton Montgomery’s Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks County shared this about Bard:
Raymond Bard attended the public schools of Reading and was graduated from the Boys’ high school in 1889. He then entered a business house in the capacity of cashier, and spent one year in Philadelphia, connected with the Phoenix Bridge Company. Since he entered the firm of Bard Hardware Company he has been in charge of the office, as well as purchasing agent for cutlery, paints, bolts, etc., and is a competent and shrewd man of business. He is a very popular citizen. During the Spanish-American War he was in the service for nine months, a member of Company A, 4th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and spent five months in Puerto Rico, being acting Hospital Steward in the Reserve Medical Corps. He has numerous business connections, one of these being treasurer of the East Reading Electric Railway Company of Reading. He is superintendent of the Sunday school of Trinity Lutheran Church, and treasurer of the Humane Society of Berks County. For five years he was president of the Luther League of Pennsylvania, and for two years was president of the Reading High School Alumni Association, during which time he founded a Free Scholarship Fund, of which he is treasurer.
You should note a few things in this sketch of the young Bard (in 1906 he was just 33). First, he was a very active citizen of Reading and a successful businessman. Second, he was passionate about education, already helping to found scholarship funds for needy students. Third, he knew the isolation and challenges of serving our country during a time of war.
These themes would recur in Bard’s life. When World War One broke out, Bard took it upon himself to correspond with each member of Trinity deployed to Europe. Despite the enormous work of corresponding with so many young men, Bard succeeded for the duration of the war. Pastor Gunnar Knudsen, in his 1951 history of the congregation, writes that “the impact of these letters and their meaning to the young men can never be measured.” He adds that “fruits of [this] are still being harvested spiritually today.” Current research supports this assessment of Bard’s act of Christian love. Young people who have a personal relationship with a number of members of their church other than family and church staff are more likely to remain active Christians into adulthood and beyond. This finding has led to the rise of “intergenerational” faith formation and ministries instead of the long-favored separation by age and stage of life.
Upon Bard’s death he left a significant sum of money to this congregation. The Bard House is the physical reminder of his generosity, but an even more significant contribution was made through the establishment of the Bard Fund, designated by its namesake to be used for scholarships for the members of the congregation along with the relief of the poor and needy of the City of Reading.
In this way, Bard helped to support the church he loved, the city he loved, and the specific causes that he had been passionate about for decades in church and world. His is but one story of generosity that connects us who still labor, through “mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won.” May his memory be a blessing, and may his energy and passion inspire us in our day.
Pastor Hans
