Carlton Berger
Carlton L. Berger
Carlton L. Berger, 84, of Whitehall, died Wednesday, October 21, 2009 in Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township. He was the husband of the late Grace J. (Bortz) Berger. Born in Allentown on August 9, 1925, Carlton was the son of the late Wallace and Irene (Geiger) Berger. He faithfully and honorably served his country in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Carlton graduated from Lafayette College and received his masters degree in education from Temple University. He began his career in education as a teacher and athletic director for the Wilson Borough School District for 25 years before becoming the principal of Wilson High School, from 1977-1985. He was a former officer of the Lehigh-Northampton and Colonial League, a former member of the District XI League, a former school board member of the Whitehall-Coplay School District and was an avid golfer and fisherman. Survivors: Sons, Jeffrey C. Berger and his wife, Monica, of Schnecksville, Gregory C. Berger and his wife, Susan, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; sister, Dorothy Moyer of Myerstown; grandchildren, Meredith, Kevin, Matthew and Emily. Services: A private service will be held in the Heintzelman Funeral Home Inc., Schnecksville. No calling hours. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association , c/o the funeral home, P.O. Box 196, Schnecksville, PA 18078-0196.
Published in Morning Call on October 22, 2009
See more about Carlton Berger here.
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(from Terry Lee, March 5, 2009)
Many of you will remember Carlton Berger, who taught history and coached the baseball team. He retired as Principal of Wilson about 20 years ago. Mr. Berger was a fully engaged teacher who raised his voice only in passion for his subject.
Over the past year or so, I've run into Carlton, who is 84 years old, at Lafayette College a couple of times and thought you might enjoy some of his stories.
Early in 1943, at age 17, while a senior at Allentown High School, he left school to join the army under a special program where diplomas were awarded early. After basic and advanced training, he entered pilot training in the Army Air Corps while taking college courses at Oklahoma A&M. In his words, "I was in college, but hadn't finished high school."
His early training included flying a Fairchild PT-19, an open cockpit trainer which had a 175 hp engine, smaller than most cars today. In his first flight, he got air-sick and threw up, quite an event in an open cockpit. He was responsible for cleaning up the mess.
His training continued at various locations, but before completion the war ended so he never entered combat. He left the service in November 1945 and subsequently entered Lafayette College, along with many other ex-GIs, where he played football and baseball, graduating in 1950.
During a Lafayette-Yale baseball game, Carlton hit a grounder and raced for first base. He noticed the first baseman hogging the bag and debated whether to run him over. He relented at the last second.
The Yale first baseman was George Bush, our 41st president!
Again, in Carlton's words, "I should have run him over!"
I assume Mr. Berger is a Democrat.