Rollin Rueben Keim

Rollin Reuben Keim was born in 1897 in Bethlehem, PA. He entered Lehigh University with the Class of 1919 but left to serve in World War I and returned to graduate with the Class of 1920 as a Chemical Engineer. After graduation, he served as the Class of 1919 correspondent for the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin. Keim was a prominent businessman in Bethlehem serving as City Treasurer from 1952-1956, as president of the Board of Realtors for 1969, and was a member of the Redevelopment Authority and the Chamber of Commerce. 

At the time of construction of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge he was employed by the Bridge’s contractors Rodgers & Hagerty Inc. With the support of the Chamber of Commerce, Keim recorded every step of its progress and produced handsome souvenir publications that documented the detailed pictorial histories of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge and the bridges of Bethlehem.

Keim was later employed by Bethlehem Steel Corporation. He also was one of the founders and first members of the Bethlehem Natural Science Association. He died in Bethlehem in 1969. The RR Keim related items displayed here are from the Rollin Rueben Keim and Hill-to-Hill Bridge Collection in the Libraries Special Collections.