The "Coffee With A Bit Of A Twist: Part II" Story

Newspaper advertisement from
Thursday, July 25, 1912.

It was an ordinary day.  Staring back at me from my computer screen is an advertisement from "The Daily New Era" (Lancaster Pennsylvania) that appeared on Thursday, July 25, 1912.  It declared "Have you tried Mack's Pennsylvania Special" and featured a steaming cup of coffee.  So, just who is this Mack and how good is his coffee.  "Mack, the Coffee Man" was founded by Horace Mack in 1895 when he opened a coffee firm with a roasting and blending operation on N. Mary Street in downtown Lancaster.  The original business sold coffee and tea from horse-drawn wagons distributed from its 617-619 N. Jefferson Street warehouse.  In 1904 the company moved to larger quarters at 617-619 N. Jefferson Street on the other side of town.  It is the same warehouse I had a chance to visit a few days ago and talk to David and his wife who now live in the stable part of the old "Mack, the Coffee Man" warehouse.  

An old newspaper photograph showing "Mack's, the
Coffee Man" business at 617-619 N. Jefferson Street. 

In 1929 Horace's son J. Edward Mack took over the business and turned it into a larger enterprise that supplied coffee, teak, spices and hot chocolate to restaurants and hotels along the East Coast.  The business remained in that location until 1950 when it moved it's headquarters to 42 N. Water Street.  In 1967 the company was sold to the Brooke Bond Tea Co. of London, England, but Mack continued to serve as the general manager of the new firm.  

Recent photo I took of the location on North Water Street.

That location finally closed on June 1, 1972.  The large painted sign on the building still tells the story of where the business was located at one time on Water Street.  The property was donated to Lancaster's Fulton Opera House and is used to construct and store stage equipment and sets.  It is hard to find information about the now defunct business unless you access Lancaster Newspaper's Archives pages.  To do so you must subscribe to either the online edition or print edition of LNP.  

One of the "Penn Dutch Girl" menu
signs.  My host David owns this sign.

Well, it was about 20 years ago that a cache of advertising placards were discovered which were known as the "Penn Dutch Girl" menu signs.  These signs were from the early 1930's and were framed and hung in some of Lancaster County's restaurants.  My recent visit with David gave me a chance to see one of the signs.  The art-deco sign features a waitress in the center of the sign which lists offerings from the restaurant or diner.  "Mack, the Coffee Man" reached its peak during WWII when the company processed as much as a million pounds of coffee a year such as the Commonwealth, the Old State Capitol, Mack's Hit the Spot and the Pennsylvania Special.  Most sold for 25 to 35 cents a pound.  The blend known as The Pennsylvania Special was served on the Pennsylvania Railroad.  Big signs on the back of the train declared "Pennsylvania coffee by Mack, the Coffee Man."  

The sign telling of the J. Edward Mack Scout Reservation.

J. Edward Mack was also the co-owner and secretary-treasurer of the Lancaster Stockyard Inn which still exists today, serving some of the finest steaks in South-eastern Pennsylvania.  Edward had been a Boy Scout since 1910 and was the first Eagle Scout in Lancaster County.  

This is what the site at 617-619 N. Jefferson Street
looks like today.  The stable I visited is to the left.

In later life he purchased a 1,040 acre plot of woodland to the north of Lititz, PA in Brickerville which he donated to the Boy Scouts.  Today it is known as the J. Edward Mack Scout Reservation.  The "Mack, the Coffee Man" may not be a part of life today in Lancaster, but a piece of it lives on in the ephemera that remains.  The Lancaster Intelligencer Journal published the obituary of J. Edward Mack on August 26, 1985.  He died at the age of 84.  You can read part of the obituary from the newspaper below.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The founder of the "Mack, the Coffee Man" coffee business in Lancaster, PA on left.

Another neat sign owned by David.

Newspaper clippings from the collection of David.

Hope you can read this obituary from J. Edward Mack.

The "Coffee With A Bit Of A Twist: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just left the home of David and his wife who live in the 600 block of Jefferson Street in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Spent close to half-an-hour with them, kinda by mistake.  But, before I tell you more about my visit with David, I should tell you what led up to the unexpected visit.  All began January 1st when I opened my morning newspaper to read "The Scribbler" column.  "The Scribbler" happens to be a retired newspaper columnist named Jack Brubaker.  Even thought he is retired, he still composes a weekly column of folklore and Lancaster County history while answering letters written to him about happenings and events in the Lancaster area.  

Turned onto N. Jefferson from E. Frederick in Lancaster.

I love his column of quirky information and when he retired a few years ago I feared he would stop writing the column.  Never happened, luckily.  He recently answered a question from a reader about the "Mack, the Coffee Man" who ran a business in Lancaster beginning in the late 1890s.  After a few years the company needed a larger building and moved to the 600 block of North Jefferson Street in Lancaster city.  

The "Mack, the Coffee Man" building next door to the
garage where I parked and where David and his wife live.

Just so happens that is where I met David today.  I found the building that held the "Mack, the Coffee Man" Company and pulled in front of a nearby garage to take a few photos to share.  As I pulled my camera to my face I saw another car that wanted to get into the garage I had just parked in front of a minute before.  Lowered my camera, waved to him and got back into my car to move it.  

Behind David's fireplace are rings which keep the
horses, that lived here at one time, at bay.

When I had moved the car I walked back and met David who happened to live in what at one time was the stable  where "Mack, the Coffee Man" kept their horses which pulled their coffee wagons.  What a lucky turn of events it was for me.  He offered to show me through his beautiful home and the rings on the wall where the horses were hitched at one time as well as the pulley that was used to retrieve hay from the upper floor to feed the horses.  

On the second floor, in a space that is
now his office, was a winch that at one
time was used to transport hay from
the upper floor to the horses below.

Also had many souvenirs from the "Mack, the Coffee Man" era which he shared with me.  A few I had seen in the Lancaster newspaper's archives files, but he also had a few I had not seen before.  During my search for information on "Mack, the Coffee Man", I  Googled "Mack, the Coffee Man" and found very little except the recent column written by Jack for the newspaper.  In the newspaper story, Jack suggested using the newspaper's archives.  I did just that and found quite a few stories, one dated August 18, 1910.  The story told about Wall Street paying tribute to the owner of "Mack, the Coffee Man" as being a pioneer in the coffee business in Lancaster County.  It told of the variety of brands of coffee that he had created and being an outstanding businessman.  

Hanging from a first-floor wall is this original neat sign.

Well, my visit today with David and his wife was both lucky as well as very interesting.  His house is amazing with working antique plumbing fixtures as well as a variety of fabulous guitars that he had on his wall.  Oh, yeah!  Forgot to tell you that David is a musician who still entertains in Lancaster city.  May have to take in show or two in the future to thank him once again for his hospitality.  The second half of my story will follow tomorrow, so check in to see how coffee filled the cups of Lancasterains for ages.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Large, framed sign hangs from a wall in his home.

Another sign that may have been found in an restaurant in Lancaster, PA.

Three more items from David's collection.  A small type-high engraving that may have
been used at the newspaper office for ads for the business, a large circle that is metal, but
he nor I know what it may have been used for and a 12" ruler from Mack The Coffee Man.

The "Perspectives On The Afterlife" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Hanging some lighted icicles along the front of our garage to brighten the place in anticipation of the Christmas holiday.  When I finished I needed a few large staples or clips to hold the electric cord against the side of our garage door opening.  

A memory from my dad.

Found the bottle of staples that I brought home with me when my father died eight years ago and I had to clean up his basement work area.  The bottle is one of the few items that I still have that are a reminder of my dad.  Another vivid memory is of my dad as he lay in his bed at the retirement community known as Moravian Manor with a young man by his side talking with him.  That young man, who was about 50 years my dad's junior, was Rev. Tom Purdy who was a member at St. James Episcopal church where we all were members.  Tom was summoned to dad's bedside and as I listened from the hallway, I heard my dad ask Tom what he could expect to happen when he died.  My dad, as well as all of his family, were Christians and he was anxious as to what he could expect in the very near future. Tom talked to dad about the Bible verse, John 3:16.  The verse from the New Testament tells you that "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believed in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  The "eternal life" to which the verse refers is the Christian version of heaven, a good place populated by God, his angels and the souls of the faithful.  Those that believe that Jesus is the one, true God, ascent to heaven after they die; the souls of those who do not believe are cast into the Christian version of hell; a fiery pit of despair.  Dad wanted to know if his brother, who died in an automobile accident when dad was only six, would be there waiting for him.  Some of what Rev. Purdy was telling dad was hard to hear from a distance, but I'm sure dad was happy with the response for after Tom left, I went back in his room and he had this peaceful look about him.  Wasn't long after that he died with mom, who was also a resident at Moravian Manor in Lititz, Pennsylvania, by his side.  Shortly after, I received a call and before long I was with her as we sat next to dad.   So, what do you think happens to you when you die?  I recently read an article that tries to explain what the four main religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism believe happens to you when you die.   A few other items that some Christians believe is that you have to be baptized  before you can reach heaven and that after death a soul must wait in an intermediary space, known as purgatory, for purification before traveling on to heaven. Some Christians also believe in the reincarnation of your soul in another body.  As far as Judaism, one local rabbi in Lancaster, says that many are content with the knowledge that they are not going to know until they get there, if there's a "there" (heaven) to which they ascend.  Some Jews contend that a Messiah is coming, and that the dead will be resurrected and stand in judgement before the Messiah in Jerusalem.  Islam conceives of life as a proving ground for the afterlife and anyone who has done an atom's weight of ill will also face its consequences.  Upon death the soul leaves the body and experiences an intermediary processional of reward and punishment before a final judgment day.  Buddhism focuses on compassion and composure in life.  With respect to death, the standard terminology doesn't really apply to Buddhism.  Instead, Buddhists believe in the immortality of the mind.  Instead of an afterlife, the belief is in the perpetual refinement of the mind across time in a continuous series of lives.  Will any of us ever be immortal?  Will we ever know until it happens?  No matter what religion we believe in or if we may be an athiest, death is inevitable.  And, will we all spend it the same way?  Are these questions for another lifetime?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Story Of The 'We Are...Penn State' Motto: Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day. My story yesterday told the story of Wally Triplett who was one of two Negro (I use Negro rather than African American or black, since that is what he preferred to be called) players who played for the Penn State Nittany Lions in the late 1940s.  Their team had been invited to play in the 1948 Cotton Bowl, but the Cotton Bowl, which is played in Dallas, Texas, didn't allow Negroes to participate since they were a segregated state at the time.  They asked Penn State to come to Dallas without Wally and his teammate Dennie Hoggard.  The players took a vote and voted unanimously that the entire team would go or they would stay home.  They declared that "We are Penn State" and wouldn't go without their teammates.  The Cotton Bowl relented, with the approval of Southern Methodist University, their opponent in the game, but the two Negro players weren't allowed to sleep in the same hotel as their white teammates, so the entire team stayed at the nearby Dallas Air Naval Training Base.  The 1948 Cotton Bowl was the first interracial football game at the Cotton Bowl in Texas.  During their stay in Dallas, the team found a nearby nightclub and decided to make a visit...with Wally.  The owner said, "We ain't never had no n---- in here, but you come on."  The game ended in a 13-13 tie.  This all happened 17 years before Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.  Wally's last visit to Beaver Stadium was in 2018 when he visited with current coach James Franklin and made a documentary called "We Are".  He died November 8, 2018. An historical marker is outside Beaver Stadium near the museum entrance telling about Triplett and his accomplishments and the team chant..."We Are" was alleged to have been born during that time.  The student publication, "Onward State" ran a "Penn State History Lesson" claiming that the origin of the iconic "We Are Penn State" phrase and cheer was from the actions of the 1947-48 football team, who admirably stood up to racial prejudice.  The same story has been published in The Daily Collegian, Penn Stater alumni magazine and the local newspaper, the Centre Daily times.  But, it that true?  Penn State historian, Lou Prato, in the publication Town and Gown, said that isn't true.  He agrees that it is an inspirational story and proud moment in Penn State history, but it's not true!  The real source of the phrase and cheer was told first in 1999 by Lou in Town and Gown.  In that article, which has been reposted several times since, Prato details how the Penn State cheerleaders in the mid 1970s and early 1980s created the cheer.  Now it has grown into an iconic statement for students, alumni and others, even in airport lounges, connecting everyone to Penn State.  Lou says he even has evidence.  First: Between 1948 and the early 1980s there was no mention of "We Are Penn State."  Second: Lou's 1999 article in Town and Gown, says that there were no cheerleaders who mentioned the events of the Cotton Bowl in '48 and the use of "We Are Penn State".  Third: Penn State athletics marketing created a video in 2008-09 where they mentioned the use of "We Are Penn State" for the first time.  Fourth: 2 years before that video, Mr. Triplett did another video for Penn State in Motion and never once mentioned the phrase "We Are Penn State."  So, Lou Prato claims that the cheerleaders created the phrase and cheer exactly as they described it to him in 1999.   Even Mr. Triplett emphasized many times that the important phrase to him was "We play all or none," rather than "We're Penn State."  Mr. Prato says what the team did in 1947-48 is a great an honorable part of Penn State history and never received the attention it should have, but the effort is dishonored by an effort to make a mythical link to the phrase and cheer where none exists.  Furthermore, to make that link steals the legacy of the cheerleaders who actually created the phrase and cheer.  I guess each and ever person will have to make their own conclusions, but for me...well, I will still yell "Penn State" when I hear someone else yell out "We Are!"  What else would you yell?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Story Of The 'We Are...Penn State' Motto: Part I" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Listening to my son-in-law Dave tell about his experience while walking through the Baltimore & Washington Airport.  He said someone yelled out, "We Are" and almost instantly others yelled back "Penn State."  I have also heard the same response, but as I was walking along one of the streets in downtown State College, Pennsylvania where Penn State University is located.  Seems that those four words are synonymous with the Penn State University football program.  And...when were those words first uttered?  Story goes way back to 1947 when a young Negro man named Wally Triplett played for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team ( I have used the word Negro rather than African American or black, since that is what Wally preferred).  Wallace Triplett was born April 18, 1926 in La Mott, Pennsylvania.  La Mott is a small community in Cheltenham Township which is north of Philadelphia.  Wally was a natural athlete who played mostly baseball as a youngster. He grew into football when he played it when it was too cold to play baseball.  As an athlete at Cheltenham High School he played football, basketball and baseball and finally caught the eye of college coaches.  At the time he was a 5-foot-ten, 170-pounder who was quicker than he was fast.  The University of Miami recruited him for football, but when they found out he was a Negro, they rescinded the offer, as the school and city were segregated at the time. Didn't matter anyway, since Triplett earned a state-funded senatorial scholarship for academics to Penn State, where he became the first Negro player ever to start for the Nittany Lions football team.  He is in the record books a few times for his football prowess.  But, he is probably best remembered for the "We Are Penn State" phrase which is often attributed to All-American Steve Suhey who was the captain on the unbeaten 1947 team.  Well, when Miami was to play Penn State in 1947, they refused to since Penn State had two Negroes in Triplett and Dennis Hoggard.  The Penn State team stood strong and didn't play the game.  At the end of the season  Penn State was to play in the Cotton Bowl.  The team was asked to consider the possibility of leaving Triplett and Hoggard at home because Dallas, were the Cotton Bowl was played, was segregated at the time.  The Penn State team united and said, "We are Penn State, there will be no meetings," in reference to the meeting they had when playing Miami.  Wally Triplett was eventually inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.  In 1949 he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 19th round.  That year he set a team record for the longest run from scrimmage with an 80-yard touchdown at Green Bay.  Then on October 29 of the following year he had 294 yards on four kickoff returns, including a 97-yard touchdown.  That total was an NFL record that stood until 1994.  The Cotton Bowl which was held this past December 28 had Penn State pitted against Memphis and the Penn State team had a special white decal on their helmets with blue lettering with the letters WT in the middle and "We Are" on the top and "1948" on the bottom in memory of Wally Triplett.

The logo on the Penn State helmets as seen this year.

 So, I guess it is safe to assume that the "We Are...Penn State" all began in the 1940s.  But, not so say others.  But, that's a story for tomorrow.  Follow along...  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Wally Triplett died Thursday, November 8, 2018...too late to see his initials on the helmets of the winning Penn State team during this year's Cotton Bowl.  
   

The "Oh, How I Wish I Had Been A One-Hit Wonder!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an article written by Anthony Castrovoince who is a well-known writer for Major League Baseball.  I recently published a story about a gift I matted and framed for my grandson, Caden.  The entire time I spent working on the project brought back fond memories of my baseball playing days as a youngster in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  I began my career at the age of 12 when I played for a pretty good team known as the Schick Midget-Midget team.  Played first base since the only glove I owned was a first baseman's mitt.  Played well enough that I was invited at the end of the season to play for a team known as the Young Republicans the following year.  We too were very good and were the Jr. Midget Champions of the state of Pennsylvania.  The entire season I played first base for the team.  The following year I decided to play for a team that had most of my friends on it where I went to school.  

The Grandview Heights Midgets.  I am middle row,
second from the left.  

We were the Grandview Heights Midgets with an age limit of 16 years old.  I happened to be only 14, but managed to be the second best batter on the team with an average of .374.  Since they had an older guy who was about a foot taller than me, he played first base and I was moved to third base.  I managed to play in the All-Star game 2 of those 3 years I played for Grandview.  American Legion Ball came next and I played for the Elks.  Once again, I was the third baseman.  Baseball was the love of my live...until I learned to drive!  Then I just had to have a car so baseball took a second seat on my list of things that were important.  Needed a job to have a car so that's what I did instead of baseball.  Made the high school team as a Freshman, but quit when I was offered a job at the local supermarket.  Worse mistake I ever made in my life, but no one ever tried to change my mind for me.  I think back on those day and the only thing I would have changed was giving up baseball.  Perhaps I may have had the chance to live my dream and be a professional baseball player.  Never happened for me.  Both my sons played baseball with my oldest receiving a full scholarship to Villanova to play baseball.  In his senior year at college he was told by the San Francisco Giants that they were going to draft him, but a couple of weeks before the draft he tore his rotator cuff in his pitching arm and that was the end of his professional career.  Well, today after reading an article by Mr. Castrovince about one-hit wonders, it brought back so many memories once again.  In modern Major League Baseball history, 154 position players (those that do not consider pitching their best position) had only one chance to bat in their major league career.  And, only 16 of those can claim to have had a hit.  Their batting average in their lifetime was 1.000.  Of those 16, only five are still living.  Mr. Castrovince wrote about each of them and told about their hit in the major leagues.  I found them all fun to read, but when I read about a fellow named Roe Skidmore, it made me feel as if it were me in his position.  Roe was a first baseman in the Cubs organization.  Well, his dad, a shoe salesman, happened to be working the day his son was called up to the Cubs from the minor leagues.  As he was in the back room looking for a pair of shoes for a customer, he heard his son's name on the radio that was in the back room.  He was announced as the next batter.  Roe was picked by his manager, Leo Durocher, to pinch hit, since the Cubs were getting hammered and he didn't want any of the regulars to get injured.  

Card for Roe Skidmore.  Click to enlarge.

The year was 1970 and the 24-year-old Roe stood in the batter's box, more than likely with knees shaking, looking for a pitch to hit.  He knew the pitcher, Jerry Reuss, since he had played against him in the minors.  The now 73-year-old Skidmore followed a breaking ball to the plate and hit a line drive to left field.  It went over Joe Torre's head and centerfielder Lou Brock fielded the ball, threw it to second to keep Roe at first.  Roe was immediately replaced in the lineup the next inning by a fellow by the name of Jim Dungeon and never got into another Major League Game.  Funny how one tends to remember EVERY detail when it only happened once in his lifetime.  So, what does it mean to go 1 for 1?  Means his name will be in the annals of  Professional baseball for ever!  Oh, if only I had been able to have been Roe for one at-bat.  Just to see my name in a Major League Baseball book would have been fabulous.  That's something that can never be taken away from him.  As for me, my name is in the little pamphlet I have been saving with the statistics from my playing years with the Grandview Heights Midgets.  Hey, I was their No. 2 batter during my stay with them.  But, I would have traded being #2 in a heartbeat to be able to say I batted just one measly time in the Majors!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Members Of The Underground Railroad: The 'Reverse Underground Railroad' " Story

Preface:  This is the final story in my Underground Railroad series, written primarily since my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was one of the stops on the Underground Railroad.  One of Lancaster's most prominent residents of that era, Thadeus Stevens, was allegedly a conductor on the Underground Railroad.  But, my story today is a bit different and tells the story of the "reverse" Underground Railroad.  Read on...

Sign warning of kidnapping and slave catchers.

It was an ordinary day.  Reading "The Scribbler" in the November 6th edition of my LNP newspaper.  It was the headline that first caught my eye.  It read "The Gap Gang's exploits on the 'reverse Underground Railroad'" and I was hooked immediately.  So what was this all about.  Seems that the "reverse Underground Railroad" is the name given to the pre-American Civil War practice of kidnapping in free states (states that didn't allow slavery) fugitive slaves that had escaped their slave owners as well as free blacks.  Those that used that term were more than likely pro-slavery and angered that an Underground Railroad was helping slaves to escape.  Lancaster County had a gang of men who were part of the reverse Underground Railroad. They got their name since most lived in the Gap hills, an area to the east of the city of Lancaster.  They frequented the Gap Tavern where they would plot their activities to catch escaped slaves as well as steal free African Americans with the intent of taking them south to sell or auction them to Southern slaveholders.  

Kidnapping of free black citizens to be sold into salvery

They were a bunch of truly bad guys.  The gang's numbers changed from time to time depending on how many might be arrested and jailed or how many new recruits they could get.  This gang was primarily active in the months before the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which required anyone who caught a fugitive slave to return them to their rightful owner.  The key word here is required since they weren't going to get paid for their labors of snatching a runaway slave.  The bad deeds of the Gap Gang were frequently published in Lancaster's newspaper for all to read.  

Drawing showing a free black woman being kidnapped and
her papers showing she was a free black being kidnapped.

At one time the city of Philadel- phia was a particularly vulnerable area for free blacks to live since the gang known as the "black-birders'" regularly captured men, women and children, sometimes with the support and help of policemen and city officials, and sold into slavery in southern states.  Black newspapers in Philadelphia ran missing children notices due to the gangs stealing them and taking them south for sale.  One child who was stolen was the 14-year-old daughter of the newspaper's editor.  In one two-year period, about 100 black children were abducted.  

A slave market in Virgina.

From 1811 to 1829, Martha "Patty" Cannon lead a gang that kidnapped runaway and free blacks from the nearby Delmarva Peninsula of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay area and transported them south where they sold them to plantation owners located further south.  "Patty" was caught and placed in prison where she died by suicide.  Free black sailors who may have been on a ship that sailed south, were at times kidnapped and sold into slavery.  South Carolina passed the Negro Seamen Act in 1822 which required black sailors to be detained on ship at ports of call, since they were afraid the sailors would inspire slave revolts or perhaps be captured by gangs and sold into slavery.  Many kidnapped were marched to the South on foot, chained together to prevent them from escaping.  When the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and the Fourteenth Amendment gave them full citizenship rights, kidnapping and sale of blacks into slavery began to end.  But, has it totally ended?  I'm not so sure!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Members Of The Underground Railroad: The St. James AME Zion Church" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching for information on what was said to have been the oldest standing church in an upstate New York college town that happened to also be a stop of the Underground Railroad.  St. James AME Zion Church was built in 1833 and is believed to be the oldest AME Zion church structure in Ithaca, New York as well as the United States.  To top that off, it was said to have been an Underground Railroad station, since Ithaca was an important transfer point for fugitive slaves en route to Canada.  Many of the slaves, known at the time as freedom-seekers, impressed with the treatment they were given in the community, decided to stay in Ithaca and built homes in the area surrounding St. James.  The pastors of the church often preached about slavery and its abolition.  One such pastor, Rev. Thomas James, was known to have provided assistance to fugitive slaves.  At one point abolitionist Harriet Tubman played an important role in AME Zion church affairs.  Frederick Douglass also visited the church a few times in 1852 and Jermain Loguen, an active participant and likely conductor in the Underground Railroad was St. James' third minister.  After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, harboring freedom-seekers was illegal and keepers of safe houses were at great risk.  But, it is said that as many as 75,000 to 100,000 slaves fled the South during the early to mid-1800s and more than 100 of them found their way through the St. James AME Zion church.  Throughout the history of the church it evolved in many ways and has seen many uses, including as a job placement center for African-Americans and as a location were soldiers enlisted for the Civil War.  The church was a welcome home to many escaping slaves who found help in their quest for freedom.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Follow along tomorrow as I finish my investigation into our country's  Underground Railroad.

Built in 1836, St. James AME Zion in Ithaca served as an
Underground Railroad stop for fugitive slaves.
St. James was also one of the first AME Zion churches 
n the United States, as well as one of the oldest
churches in Ithaca. St. James AME Zion is located
on Cleveland Ave. in Ithaca, Tompkins County.

The "Members Of The Underground Railroad: John W. Jones" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The Underground Railroad in the United States was a system that existed in the Northern states before the Civil War by which escaped slaves from Southern states were secretly helped by sympathetic Northerners, in defiance of the Fugitive Slave Acts, to reach places of safety in the North or in Canada.  Lancaster County was known as a stop of that railroad as I have written about the past few days.  One of my favorite early Lancasterians, Thadeus Stevens, was not only a member of Congress, but a member of the Underground Railroad.  Another such person was John W. Jones.  But, what makes Mr. Jones so special was the fact that he was once a slave.  The story of his escape to freedom began one evening in late June of 1844 when this 26-year-old slave told his mother that he was leaving to attend a party.  

John W. Jones

He was living near Leesburg, Virginia and was part of a family of slaves.  Jones slipped outside, grabbed a pistol and met with four other enslaved men who crept through the Virginia woods, toward the north.  The men dodged slave catchers in Maryland and finally crossed into Pennsylvania.  They followed one of the major routes along the Underground Railroad and passed through Harrisburg and Williamsport, finally resting in a barn near the New York border.  The others slept while he kept guard with a shotgun.  He understood the situation and took it upon himself to protect the others.  Finally, when the barn's owner, Nathaniel Smith, found them, he invited them into his home.  His wife Sarah served the group hot biscuits and butter and cared for them until they had gained their strength back.  On July 5, 1844, Jones crossed a toll bridge into Elmira, New York with less than $2 in his pocket.  He decided to stay in Elmira where he eventually became a conductor on the Underground Railroad.  Living in the North wasn't always easy for him.  He could not vote and was denied an education at local schools.  A local judge took a liking to him and helped him study at an all-woman's seminary, exchanging janitorial work for reading and writing lessons.  He joined a church with abolitionist leanings and became its sexton, maintaining its cemetery.  In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was created giving financial incentives to report runaway slaves.  Jones became vocal about his part of the Underground Railroad and published a message in the newspaper about colored citizens protecting themselves against slave catchers.  The Elmira Underground Railroad was the only stop between Philadelphia and Ontario.  During the next nine years he aided in the escape of about 800 runaway slaves.  These same railroad tracks brought Confederate soldiers to Elmira's new prisoner of war camp.   Prisoners in Elmira were considered part of the camp known as "Hellmira."  

The Elmira, New York Prisoner Of War Camp

The camp had no hospital or medical staff and about 25% of the prisoners died from disease.  Supposedly 2,973 Confed- erate prisoners left Elmira in a coffin.  And, the job of burying them belonged to the town's sexton, John W. Jones.  Each person who died was buried in an individual grave, not enmasse as in other prison cemeteries.  His record keeping was also meticulous which led to Woodlawn Cemetery becoming a "National Cemetery" in 1877.  He had a crew of 12 who dug each grave and buried each body, treating it as if that person had been a member of his own church.  He also kept detailed records of each soldier and created improvised dog tags that he placed on the dead soldiers.  This was a man who had escaped slavery and took great effort to bury those who might have killed him had they had the chance.  One big plus for John was that he got $2.50 for each soldier he buried and after burying 3000 Confederate dead, he had become one of the 10 richest African-Americans in the state of New York.  So, he bought himself a 12 acre farm where he built a house using wooden scraps from the old Elmira prison camp.  That home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  For the rest of his life he continued to work as a sexton and usher at his church.  When he died he was buried in the same cemetery he had worked in for years.  For nearly two decades after his death, fresh flowers appeared on his grave from time to time.  Finally the flowers stopped arriving and it was at that point that it was determined that the flowers were put there by a woman named Sarah Smith.  The same Sarah Smith who, 56 years earlier, had invited John W. Jones and his friend into her home for butter, biscuits and a good night's rest.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Members Of The Underground Railroad: Ezekiel & Eliza Baptiste!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about a husband and wife who were part of the Underground Railroad in the mid-19th century.  Ezekiel and Eliza Baptiste lived on a farm in Newberry Township which is located in northern York County, Pennsylvania; about 25 miles from my home in Lancaster.  They had a two-story sandstone farmhouse with an addition in the back.  

The Baptiste farm in York County, Pennsylvania

Their outbuildings were kept in good condition as was their large barn.  The farm at one time had been overworked and played-out.  It was infertile, dilapidated and just about worthless.  It soon became a showplace of farming acumen.  And, what made it very different was that the family that lived in it was black.  Few black families owned farmland at that time in history.  The Baptiste's welcomed visitors, entertained them and showed off the lush results of their toil and that of their equally hard-working children.  They even had a white farmhand who lived in a small cabin on the property.  Ezekiel's grandfather had been a slave in Maryland, but saved enough money to buy his freedom and then saved enough to buy the freedom of the woman that he married.  Ezekiel hated the injustice around him so he began assisting runaway slaves in their quest for freedom.

Image of Harriet Tubman

He worked with two Quakers as well as a black businessman and Underground conductor who lived in downtown York, Pennsylvania.  At one point he and Eliza met Harriet Tubman who had escaped from Dorchester County on Maryland's Eastern Shore.  They became friends as he helped her with freeing other slaves.  Then in 1875 the couple sold the farm for $4,500, a very respectable sum for that time in history.  They moved to the Mechanicsburg area of Pennsylvania.  Eliza died in 1878 and is buried in a free black graveyard known as Lincoln Cemetery. Ezekiel died five years later in 1893.  Another great couple who despised slavery and worked as Underground Railroad conductors.  South-eastern Pennsylvania is rich in farming heritage and many of those farms were stops on the Underground Railroad for those escaping the awful and dreaded background of slavery.  It is hard to imagine what it must have been like to be a slave.  Movies, newspaper articles and even novels written about slavery can tell the story of slavery, but experiencing slavery first-hand is something that most of us have never had to endure.  Only after reading and visiting locations associated with the Underground Railroad, as it was called, has it made me appreciate those who were conductors on that railroad and risked their lives to provide an exit from slavery to those whose lives were consumed with the evil of slavery.  These conductors were heroes and the epitome of sainthood.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Members Of The Underground Railroad: Harriet Tubman!" Story

Harriet Tubman

It was an ordinary day.  Reading another article telling about an Underground Railroad conductor and hero who has stated more than once that "Running is as brave as fighting."  Her story began in 1822 when she was born Araminta Ross along the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  She lived through and witnessed the violence of slavery thru the selling of her sisters, the brutal beatings of enslaved people and the death and destruction that clung to slavery's cloak.  She married a free man, John Tubman, but that marriage was threatened in 1849 when she learned she would be sold.  She tried to run away with her brothers, but was unsuccessful.   Eventually, she escaped across the border to Pennsylvania.  

Harriet Tubman image.

She found her way to the home of Ezekiel and Eliza Baptiste who were known sympathizers who had a farmhouse in northern York County which is about 25 miles from my hometown of Lancaster.  The couple was one of a very few black families who owned their own farmland.  During the next ten years she traveled back and forth across the border trying to rescue her friends and family.  Her first trip back to Maryland was to save her niece from a slave auction.  Her success during that adventure began a string of successes in leading the enslaved out of bondage.  She used her trusty pistol to help in her rescues.  

US Postage Stamp in her honor.

She often claimed that she had the right to liberty or death; if she couldn't have one she would have the other.  She became known as "the Moses of her people."  Then in 1850 the federal government passed the Fugitive Slave Act which gave slave owners the right to travel to any state in search of their human property.  Harriet knew that the only way to save her friends and family was to make them disappear.  She knew it would take a war to destroy the system of slavery, but until that day she helped to steal away those entrenched in slavery.  She made 12 or 13 trips to Maryland and was said to have rescued about 70 slaves.  

Her image as it will appear on the $20 bill.

She began giving speeches where she  condemned the law of the land and took aim at the system of slavery and the lawmakers who continued to condone it.  She knew that in the absence of justice,  running away is sometimes the only way to save a life.  It has been written that "People other than white men built this country."  Harriet Tubman's image has been chosen to replace President Andrew Jackson on the U.S. $20 bill.  But, recently it was reported that the former slave, abolitionist, "conductor" on the Underground Railroad will not become the face of the $20 bill until President Trump leaves office.  He is not a big fan of previous President Obama's choice to replace Jackson.  Some day "Moses" will get her due!  They can't keep her from it!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Lancaster Unearthed: Attempting To Visualize The Underground Railroad" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just got back from the Marriott Hotel in downtown Lancaster.  A few years ago Lancaster's Watt & Shand Department Store, that was designed by C. Emlen Urban and built in 1898, closed in 1995 and was eventually demolished except for the historic facade.  In 1999 plans for a new hotel and convention center were unveiled.  In 2006 the site was cleared and construction began on a new Marriott Hotel.  It reopened as the Marriott Hotel in 2009.  To the rear of the hotel was constructed the Lancaster Convention Center and during the construction of the center, a special part of Lancaster's history was exposed.  

To the the right of the Convention Center stood this
double house, 45-47 South Queen Street,  which
was owned by Lancastrian Thadeus Stevens.
Click on images to enlarge them.

Sitting to the south of the convention center in the first block of South Queen Street were a few historic houses with one belonging to Thadeus Stevens.  He moved to Lancaster and acquired a home at 45-47 South Queen Street.  Mr. Stevens was a member of the United States House of Representatives and one of the leaders of the Republican Party doing the 1860's. He was a fierce opponent of slavery and discrimination against African-Americans and sought to secure their rights during Reconstruction, in opposition to U.S. President Andrew Johnson.  

During the Civil War he played a leading role, focusing his attention on defeating the Confederacy, financing the war with new taxes and borrowing, crushing the power of slave owners, ending slavery and securing equal rights for the Freedmen.  

The property as it looks today in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

On March 28, 1864 he introduced in the House the 13th Admend- ment to the Consti- tution which would abolish slavery.  Stevens employed a young woman by the name of Lydia Hamilton Smith to care for his residence in downtown Lancaster. Her mother was an African American and her father an Irishman.  She moved into the residence at 45-47 South Queen Street with her two young sons.

Information about the double home.

It was thought that Thadeus and Lydia were part of the Underground Railroad which supplied a safe place for escaping slaves to stay after crossing into Pennsylvania from the South.  When the convention center was being built, they found an underground area that would have been connected to the basement of the house at 45-47 South Queen Street; or the home of Thadeus Stevens. The Convention Center is trying their best to preserve this special part of our country's history and at present has begun to excavate parts of it.  I was able to take a few photographs, but nothing that was very good due to not being able to access the site.  

Photograph taken from the lower level of the Convention
Center.  The old building is allegedly the underground
cistern of 45-47 S. Queen. Part of the Underground Railroad.

For safety reasons I was not allowed to get any closer than anyone else.  But, standing above this historical site was amazing.  Just thinking of what must have happened in that enclosure in the mid-1800s was mind-boggling.  To stand this close to history and hear voices in my head and see visions in my brain of slaves encamped in this underground place to escape capture and perhaps death was thrilling.  This cistern, as it is called, will hopefully be preserved for a lifetime and beyond for it is part on local history as well as the history of our United States.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A shelf hold glass remnants that came from the excavation.  Were they used by runaway slaves?

Another view of the excavation.

Another view of the 45-47 South Queen property.  This
view is looking North from the corner with the Convention
Center in the background.

The door at 47 South Queen.  Not only did Thadeus Stevens and  Lydia
Hamilton Smith use this door, but perhaps many slaves heading north to
escape slavery in Southern States.

The "A Keepsake For A Lifetime" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Christmas morning and we have just returned from our oldest son's home in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County.  Had a great time watching them open their myriad of Christmas gifts and enjoying breakfast with the family.  It is now time to prepare for the entire family to arrive at noon to have a snack and open more holiday gifts.  There will be ten of us to exchange and open gifts before we celebrate Christmas with an evening meal which will be attended by a few additional guests.  My wife and I decided that this year we would enjoy being able to see each person open their gifts instead of everyone opening gifts at the same time and miss the expressions on faces as they view their gift for the first time.  Most agreed, but it was decided that two people, sitting next to each other, would open their gifts at the same time.  Fine with us, so the onslaught began.  After close to an hour of enjoying smiles and laughs as packages were opened, there was one final package left to open.  

The Mountville Angels.  Click to enlarge
My grandson Caden is standing, center with sunglasses.
My son, Derek helped coach and is on the left.
This was another tournament they won in the summer.

Our grandson Caden was the  recipient of that final gift which was about three feet high and four feet long.  His eyes opened wide when he pulled the paper from the one corner of the package to the other side.  He had the biggest smile when he looked at the entire gift and called for his dad to take a look at it.  Caden has played baseball for several years now and this year was part of the 14U (14 years old and under) Mountville Angels.  They won their division in the regular season and qualified for the LNP (Lancaster Newspaper) Tournament at the end of the year.  This is similar to the World Series, only on a much smaller scale.  Well, his team won the tournament with Caden hitting a homer in one of the games and laying down a perfect squeeze bunt in the bottom of the last inning to tie the game in the finals.  Two innings later his team won the game!  I played in the same tournament in the mid-1950s and Caden's dad played in the tournament in the mid-80s and again a couple of years later and Caden's uncle played in the tournament several times as I coached that team.  

The matted and framed Christmas gift to my grandson Caden. Click to enlarge.

It's a big thrill for anyone to win something such as the LNP Tournament, but to have three generations do so is pretty remarkable.  And, Caden will have a chance once again next year.  Well, the framed momento that I made for Caden was admired and appreciated by everyone.  I was thrilled that I had the opportunity to make the momento, which is filled with mostly newspaper stories from the tournament  and a photo I took of Caden and his mom and dad holding the trophy as well as a few photos taken of him during the tournament.  This will be a great keepsake that he will treasure for his lifetime.  And, I think he just loved it!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Have You Heard Of These New Year Traditions?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Opening my end-of-the-year emails and came across one that I was about to discard when I hit the wrong key and it opened on my desktop.  Found it was a few rather interesting customs, legends, superstitions, etc. relating to the first day of the New Year.  Some were interesting, some were crazy and some I should have hit the correct button and deleted them.  Will share with you some of each category and let you decide for yourself in which category they should belong.  So here goes....

1. Paying off bills:  The New Year should not begin with the household in debt, so checks should be written and mailed off prior to January 1st.  I know...it's a bit late to be telling you this today!

2. Kissing at midnight:  At midnight you should kiss the one most dearest to you at the moment the New Year begins.  It is to insure that those affections and ties will continue throughout the next twelve months.  If you fail to give your sweetheart a kiss at midnight, you will be in for a year of coldness!  Once again...I'm sorry I didn't tell you this yesterday.  And, don't try to make up for it by spending the next hour or so kissing your sweetheart for she or he may have already kissed someone else.

3. As far as the meal you will eat today...if you are having pork, legend has it that it's because a pig roots forward, which is good luck for the new year.  Probably also practical if you are a farmer, since you want to eat the fresh meat first that you butchered before it spoils and save smoked meats for later meals.  

4. The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight will influence the year you are about to have.  Hopefully he or she will be good looking and bearing special gifts such as a silver coin, bit of bread, spring of evergreen or some salt.  Why, I'm not sure!  For me a good looking redhead, blond or brunette would be helpful.  Oh yeah...probably best if you are married to them, as in my case!

5. The "First Footer" or "Lucky Bird" (first person in your home in the New Year) should knock on the door rather then enter with a key, even if they live in the home.  After greeting those in the house and dropping off whatever small token of luck they might have brought, they should exit the home through another door.  And, no one should leave the house before the first footer crosses the threshold of the home.

6.  First Footers should not be cross-eyed or have flat feet or eyebrows that meet in the middle.  Wow...that's just about everyone I know!

7. Nothing Goes Out, not even garbage, of the house on the first day of the year.  If you have plans to give gifts to someone on New Years Day, put then outside the day before so they won't have to be taken out on New Years Day.  Also, don't shake out a rug or take the trash out.  UNLESS...you bring in something first to replace what you plan to take out.  What sense this makes I'm not sure.

8. Make sure to do something related to your job on the first day of the year, even if you don't go near your place of employment that day.  But, don't get too involved with your job for it is unlucky to engage in serious work on the first day of the year.

9. Do not do laundry on the first day of the year lest a member of the family be 'washed away' (die) in the upcoming months.  For some, that even means doing dishes.  

10. Don't pay back loans or lend money on New Years Day.  To do so means you will be paying out all year.

11. Wear something new on January 1 to increase the likelihood of your receiving more new garments during the year.

12. Avoid breaking anything on the first day of the year or it will continue all year.  Also, avoid crying lest that activity will set the tone for the next twelve months.

14. Avoid using the unlucky number 13 if at all possible.

15. At midnight, all the doors of the house must be opened to let the old year escape unimpeded.  

16. Make as much noise as possible at midnight!  You're not just celebrating but scaring away evil spirits; so do a damn good job of yelling!  I personally know that the Devil hates loud noises.  That's also why Wedding Bells are rung on a couple's wedding day.

17. If the weather directly after the New Year enters has wind blowing from the south, there will be fine weather and prosperous times in the year ahead.  If it comes from the north it will be a year of bad weather.  The wind blowing from the east brings famine and calamities while the wind blowing from the west will give plentiful supplies of milk and fish, but will also bring death of an important person.  If the air is still, a joyful and prosperous year can be expected.

18. If you are lucky enough to be born on New Year's Day you will have luck with you for the rest of your life!

Happy New Year from our house to yours and open your door, eat pork, make some noise, but don't break anything today!  And, just in case...throw me a kiss.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.