By studying and organizing information from old Souderton Independent newspapers, Souderton Independent Primary Researcher Cory Alderfer is able to share information with locals about their homes’ history and town happenings.
Alderfer’s work with the newspapers started around five years ago when current Souderton Mayor Dan Yocum found out that old copies of the Souderton Independent were being disposed of at the Indian Valley Public Library.
“He called me in a panic and I said, ‘I’ll meet you,’” Alderfer said, “and we went over to the library and we took all of these newspapers from 1881 up to the early [1950s].”
Alderfer, who also serves on the Souderton-Telford Historical Society board, realized that her research could benefit people who were asking about the history of their house.
“My feeling was that I needed to be able to tell people [about their homes],” Alderfer said, “and then not only about their house, but maybe something going on around it, something that was happening, how the town was developing, things like that.”
According to Telford resident Jared Gillespie who was “curious” about his home’s history, Alderfer provided him additional information about the original owner.
“What I had was [that] someone named Klein built this house between 1921 and 1924,” Gillespie said. “What she was able to offer [was] this whole story about who Robert Klein was to an extent and even how building this house changed his life.”
Gillespie also said that knowing more about his home gives it “identity.”
Souderton Borough resident Jeffrey Gross said that Alderfer was able to tell him about his home’s previous owners, and she confirmed that the “garden shed” on his property served as the tax collector’s office when he owned the house.
“My house keeps taking on more and more character as the years go by,” Gross said, “and it is there. We [just] have to keep uncovering it.”
As per Yocum, Alderfer is an “encyclopedia” when it comes to local history.
“Anytime anybody has a question about anything in the borough, she is a resource to know why it is that way, how it got there [and] who was involved,” Yocum said.
For Alderfer, she hopes to use her work in the future for a “circa project,” where homeowners would receive a “plaque” for their house with the year it was built and information about its history.
“That is my goal is I like making people feel like their house is important [and] their contribution to the town is important,” Alderfer said.
According to Gazette editor Edie Adam, Alderfer’s work with the newspapers has uncovered “stories” that the Gazette, the historical society’s newsletter, uses to get people “engaged” with local history.
“We want to tell the story at the time and then bring it up to date where we can,” Adam said.
Alderfer found out in 2023 that the first Souderton Christmas Tree Lighting was in 1923, so it was the 100th anniversary, which Adam believes added “context” to the event.
“There’s all kinds of stuff in 2025, 26 [and] 27 that we’re going to be able to do that’s going to be 100 years,” Alderfer said.