Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "The Whistle Blows Once Again" Story

Saturday, March 10, 2018

The "The Whistle Blows Once Again" Story

Lancaster, Pennsylvania's Amtrak Station

It was an ordinary day. Heading into the Lancaster Amtrak Station to check on train tickets for a trip to visit our friends Pat and Dale who live in Bluffton, South Carolina. I never tire of heading up the marble steps that lead to the beautiful main level of the station. The brass railing in the center of the steps brings back memories from my youth when my friends and I would spend hours sliding down the railing. As I reached the top of he steps I noticed quite a few people in the distance looking at a long glass exhibit case that seemed to me to be a new addition. As I entered the seating area I saw the display was placed there for Black History Month which was in February. Since 1976, every American President has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme.

Upper level of the station. Through the doors is the
display titled "African Americans in Times of War."

This year the theme was "African Americans in Times of War," since 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI and honors the roles that black Americans have played in warfare from the American Revolution to the present day. Lancaster's train station was showcasing the African-American experience in Lancaster from the Colonial days to WWII with a special emphasis on the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape to freedom in the North.

The center section of seating is filled with display cases.

Case after case was filled with written information as well as photos and mementos. Highlighted were a number of locations and people which are as follows: (1) Lancaster's greatest track and field star, Barney Ewell who won three medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics at the age of 30.

The start and finish of the 100-meter race in the
1948 Olympics held in London. In the top photo
Barney is the 2nd from the right and in the second
photo he is the 2nd from the top.

He also set a world record of 5 seconds in the 50-yard dash held in Philadelphia's Convention Hall in 1940. (2) The Shreiner-Concord Cemetery at Mulberry and Chestnut Streets in center city was established in 1836 and was the only public cemetery at the time. Lancaster's Republican congressman and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens wanted to be buried there along with other Civil War Veterans and U.S. Colored Troops. (3) Frederick Douglass, famous orator and abolitionist, visited Lancaster by train in July of 1863 to speak to a gathering of African-Americans from the Union Army. As he was talking, he was told a white lynch mob was heading to the train station so he departed to prevent a riot.

A painting of St. James Church by Margaret Dana Lestz showing the
church on the right and the Cloister, Chapel and parsonage to it's left.

(4) Another gentleman featured was Samuel Evans who was a Civil War Veteran and journalist whose essays in May of 1870 told of anti-slavery action by means of the Under- ground Railroad. His work was used by other writers as a model for their work. (5) St. James Episcopal Church at the corner of Duke and Orange Streets in downtown Lancaster was known to minister to free blacks as well as slave owners.

The all-black WWI regiment renowned for courage.

As a member for almost 70 years now, I often sit in church and wonder what it might have been like to be a member during the Civil War era. Many of the African member of the parish eventually established the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church on nearby Strawberry Street a few blocks to the south of St. James. (6) And finally, a display which featured local African-American men who were part of the "100 Colored Troops Enlisted Men of the U.S. Army" who served during WWI. I recently visited the Bethel AME Church and saw grave sites of a few of these men. The display at the train station is very moving and I should note that anyone who can add to the display with photographs, diaries, old letters or any other items should contact the Bethel Museum at 512 E. Strawberry Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.