The "Everybody Has An Uncle Billy, Don't They?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at the weekly column written by Jack Brubaker, aka "The Scribbler".   Today's column has two stories; one being a story about a fellow who worked at Armstrong Cork Company and the other about an ex-slave known as "Uncle Billy."  Now, Uncle Billy's story is much more exciting and takes you back to a time when the United States had the institution known as slavery.  Uncle Billy Adams was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1845.  At the age of ten his parent's were sold by their slave master to another slave owner. Shortly thereafter, Billy walked off the plantation and headed north.  The slave master took after him with his hounds, but Billy rubbed onions on his shoes to deaden his smell and got away from them.  About a half dozen years later Billy watched the Battle of Antietam at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland.  The battle pitted Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Nothern Virginia against Union General George McClellan's Army of the Potomac and was the culmination of Lee's attempt to invade the north.  At some point during the battle, Billy was chased from the battlefield by soldiers.  He was later freed by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation enacted on January 1, 1863.  In Billy's younger days, after gaining his freedom, he was a circus hand and a roustabout at sea.  He vividly recalled "rounding the horn" in a windjammer and working on the railroad for a few years.  He also said he visited all of the 48 states.  At the age of 85 he was employed as a day laborer on the Lancaster-York inter-county bridge at Columbia.  That historical bridge is still standing today.  Wonder if I searched whether I could find Billy's initials on one of the concrete pillars.  During his lifetime in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he was known widely as Uncle Billy, the quiet and gentle ex-slave whose pleasant philosophy of life, humor and age made him one of Lancaster's most widely known residents.  He lived in a small, specially constructed house on the rear of the Snavely Lumber Mill in Landisville.  On Monday, October 31, 1955, "Uncle Billy" Adams died at 2:10 PM at Lancaster General Hospital. He was 110 years old.  Uncle Billy's hobby was gardening and he worked on the properties of Jess and Ralph Snavely until he became ill and had to give up his gardening.  Uncle Billy was a long-time baseball fan and would listen to games on his radio, but when he became ill and had to go to the hospital, he didn't take his radio with him, since he was worried he would disturb the other patients.  When he first entered the hospital he entertained his room companion as well as the nurses with his knowledge of the Bible. He always said he tries to lead "a Christian life" although he knows he isn't perfect.  A few days into his stay at the hospital he was treated to a birthday party by 15 Brownies from Troop 103, Landisville, PA for his 109th birthday.  They sang Happy Birthday as well as the Brownie "Smile Song" to him and each gave him a birthday card which they had made.  As the Brownies left the hospital, he stood and shook hands with each one.  Records from the old-age pension bureau bear out the fact that he was 110 years old when he died.  I never knew Uncle Billy, but felt I knew him just a bit by writing this story about him.  I don't know if I liked him because he was a big baseball fan or because he was a hero to many, both adults and children.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click to enlarge photograph.