The "A Story About Slavery, Quilts, The Underground Railroad & A Lancaster Columnist" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in my Sunday News about "quilt codes" and how they helped fugitive slaves from the South escape to the North.  Evidently there is a book, or perhaps several books, that show the different quilts and quilt patterns that were used in the South to draw slaves up North to freedom.  Seems like a woman wrote a letter to one of the Sunday News columnists, Jack Brubaker, aka 'The Scribbler,'  who writes a column in my local Sunday newspaper, asking him if he had any information on the book titled "Hidden in Plain View." She told him that the book shows the different quilts they used down South to draw slaves up North.  He returned a letter to her via the Sunday News telling her... "That sounds like a colorful project, and it will have value to your family, whether or not quilt codes were used here or elsewhere.  That's the good news.  The bad news is there is no evidence that anyone used quilt codes to guide fugitives in the 19th century."  Seems like Celine Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard revealed the so-called codes when they published "Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and Underground Railroad" in 1999.  Jack replied by telling them that neither Black Americans nor quilt experts nor anyone else knew anything about such codes until that book came out.  Jack told them that it is a lovely and inspirational idea, but supposedly has no basis in historical fact.  The codes that Celine and Raymond cited in 1999 include a "double wedding ring," which supposedly indicated to fugitives that it was safe to remove their shackles.  Another was the "log cabin" that informed runaways to seek shelter within because the people there were safe to deal with.  But, there is zero documentation for any of this.  And most, if not all, of those antebellum quilts have disappeared.  Seems that two scholars developed a theory, and many news sources and museums and quilters bought into that theory without checking out the sources, which don't exist.  There are plenty of questions about the theory such as.....How could an operation whose success depended on multiple factors, including timing and luck, be so carefully coordinated as to display coded quilts at just the right place at just the right time?  Two experts on the subject, who live in Lancaster County, Randy Harris and Leroy Hopkins, said they don't think such quilt codes were used here or anywhere else.  Nothing in any of the 18th, 19th or 20th century narratives mentions quilts and the underground railroad.  Seems as if the book "Hidden in Plain Sight" has been poorly researched according to Mr. Harris.  Why would two college faculty members write and publish a story spreading this myth?  Both Leroy and Randy agree with this and can't understand why they would spead such a myth.  Perhaps it was misinterpreted.  As far as any of these people go...nothing can be found that tells of quilts being part of slavery and the Underground Railroad.   Thus, I have absolutely no photos to show you in today's story!  It did make for a good story, but it sounds like much of the story is nothing but a myth!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.