Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2021 - 24

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A glimpse
of bygone years
By the Hon. Jeffrey K. Sprecher

T

hirty lawyers1 are crowded into
the well of the administrative
courtroom, spilling out the
backdoor, to witness this monumental
event. Note the " cloak room " clothing
hooks where the lawyer's hats2 hung on
the wall next to the witness stand. Court,
that last day, was presided over by all four
Common Pleas judges: Robert E. Mays,
Forrest R. Shannaman, President Judge
Paul N. Schaeffer, and Frederick A. Marx,
President Judge3 of the Orphan's Court.
There are no women in the courtroom.4

The event preserved in the photo
happened 90 years ago. The day was
Saturday,5 April 25, 1931, at the very end
of the last day of court. Judicial life was
relocated elsewhere but not very far, while
the former Berks County Courthouse was
demolished and, in its place, constructed
an 19 story edifice - the tallest building in
all of Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh. Until the opening of the
new courthouse, court was temporarily
conducted in a building at the corner of
4th and Court Streets.
This historic scene is preserved and
displayed for us on the second floor of
the Berks County Courthouse, along
with various other photos that depict the

24 | Berks Barrister

former and current courthouse, thanks
to Prothonotary Jonathan Del Collo - or
J.D. as he's known to most of us in the
courthouse -- and his many community
contacts. Our story continues, with J.D.'s
predecessor from 68 years ago, Paul A.
Adams, also shown in the photo.

Paul A. Adams, Berks County's
First Court Administrator

The lawyers are
separated from the
court by county
officials including
Prothonotary
Nelson L.
Rothermel and his
clerk and deputy
Paul A. Adams.
Nelson was elected
Prothonotary in 1925 and reelected in
1929. In 1927, he appointed Paul his clerk
and deputy prothonotary.
After his 25-year tenure as a deputy,
Paul was elected Prothonotary in 1953
and was reelected to three successive
four-year terms until his retirement in
1970, which did not happen. President
Judge Warren K. Hess convinced him
to be hired as the county's first court

administrator. His job specifically was to
help set up and monitor the justice of the
peace system, as it was known in 1970
when it became a part of the Pennsylvania
Unified Judicial System ( " JP System " ) as a
result of those major amendments to the
Pennsylvania Constitution approved by
the voters. 6

Margaret A. Freeman, another
noted figure in Berks County Court
Administration history was also retained
by Judge Hess and hired to the position of
Court Coordinator. Her job was to do all
the court's scheduling. Margaret handled
many other duties including monitoring
the constant revolving door of visiting
senior judges from other counties assigned
to us. They helped, along with our senior
judges, to handle our burgeoning caseload.7
Margaret treated visiting judges like gold,
similar, for instance, to the likeness of the
coating on the clothes hangers that she
had requisitioned to provide them the very
best place to hang their coats.8
Forty-five years ago, Paul was my first
boss when I was hired as his assistant
court administrator, in November 1975.9
Paul worked in both the former and the
current courthouse for a total of 50 years!
Coincidently, 50 is the number of years
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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2021

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