July 10, 2005 - Lebanon, PA (Hershey area)
Just got back from a great Sunday service here at the Hershey Thousand Trails park. Preacher wasn't a preacher, just a guy from a local church. His last name was Hershey, and the answer to the first question is yes, and the answer to the second question is no. He is related to "the" Hershey, and, no, he got none of his money. Great guy and excellent message on the blessings this country has enjoyed. The question was, will the Lord continue to bless us. The answer was "maybe." Met the people who first told us about SOWERS while we there too.
Been a busy time here in Hershey. Today is the first "at home" day for us. We got here Wednesday night from Ohio and then took off Thursday to tour the Harley-Davidson factory (no cameras allowed) and a candy factory. Friday was full with a visit to Gettysburg, Saturday we attended the funeral of a friend and President of SOWERS, today is catch-up day, and we leave tomorrow for Derry, NH, and Barb's family. So, I'd better do some work to get this caught up or it'll never happen!
We meet the neatest people as we go around this country! Becky has been following us for several years on our website (unbeknownst to us), and when she learned we were in Wilmington, OH, she dropped us a line to arrange a visit. In addition to a very nice Holiday Rambler motorhome, she and Bud are motorcyclists (wonderful older Venture) and they rode up to see us. What fun we had with them! I think she was protesting having her picture taken, and didn't want to watch it happen so she closed her eyes. Just kidding. Barb gave me the dickens for only taking one picture, of course. They live not far from here and take the motorhome out whenever they can to NASCAR races and such. They're looking forward to fulltiming when they retire and this winter plan be in Florida where we hope to hook up with them again. We feel so privileged to have people go out of their way to visit with us.
Next day it was off to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, built less than a year ago--3 or 4 floors of exhibits, actors playing bit parts regarding "their" escapes, etc., wonderful art, and great videos.
One video began with the words: "The struggle for freedom...As old as humanity. Unfreedom takes many forms, American slavery among its darkest. The Underground Railroad was an idea, a truth, a light unto freedom's path. The conductor is calling, can you hear it?"
A volunteer explained much about this mural depicting the kidnapping, shipping, arrivals, and work of the slaves from Africa. In the close-up above the people lying head to head, you can see the artist's interpretation of how the people were stuffed into some of the ships for transport. A gruesome, inhumane, dirty business.
The "quilt" above is really not a quilt. It is called a Raganon--yes, constructed with rags. It took Aminal Robinson 35 years to make it. It is called Journeys I and II and its size is 23' x 30'. It depicts the journeys that slavery took from kidnappings in Africa, the trip across the ocean, slavery years, underground railroad to freedom, etc. It's quite an amazing piece of artwork--none like it anywhere else.
Christopher J. Miller "Historical Re-enactor" did a magnificent job of telling of "his" (the Reverend J.W. Loguen) story about watching a slave being beaten while he was just a boy, and his subsequent escape to Canada and eventual return as a Pastor to visit his mother in the South after the end of the Civil War. The theme of the act was to admonish the young people in the audience to be careful about the choices they make today, as those choices will form who they will become as adults. We saw brief segments of some other presentations and the theme was the same regarding the choices we all make.
The Slave Pen was actually a building inside a barn. It had been dismantled very carefully and re-assembled here for the exhibit. The male slaves were chained on the upper floor (which has been largely removed for display purposes) while the women and children were on the lower floor to prepare meals, take care of children, etc. The women were unchained, but still in a jail-like environment. There had been a fireplace at one end that served for providing heat as well as cooking.
John W. Anderson was one of the largest slave brokers in the area, and his brand appeared on the inside of one of the beams. At the entry to the exhibit is a sign letting us know that the words used in the various displays were not meant in any way as derogatory words, but would simply be shown in original forms to retain the authenticity of the history.
The accuracy and details of the various displays showed us the strong desire on the part of the builders to be as truthful as possible. Most of the funding for the Center came from private sources along with a grant from the Federal Government. Ophra Winfrey contributed $20,000,000 to the project according to a volunteer we talked to. She was also the narrator of one of the videos. The slaves were simply a commodity and treated much like any livestock would be treated. Just enough food, water, and sanitation to keep them alive until they could be sold either to the end user or to a broker.
The air-conditioning in the building works real well. So well in fact, that we needed to step out onto a balcony to thaw out! And from there, we looked over the Ohio river into Kentucky. Ohio was a free (more or less) state and Kentucky was a slave state. Crossing this river was simply the first of many steps taken by the escaping slaves on their way to Canada. You see, even if they were in a "free" state, they really weren't free. An "owner" could come north and claim his "property", and take the slave back. And, of course, the stadium where (I think) the Cincinnati Reds play ball.
A view of the Center with its beautiful stone imported from Italy along with some other buildings in Cincinnati. Back inside I couldn't resist a shot of this violin. Made from a gourd! Must have been tough to tuck that under your chin!
One of the encouraging things I came away with was regarding our government, including the Supreme Court. Of late, I've been terribly discouraged by some of the actions (and lack of action) of our Congress and some of the decisions handed down by the Supreme Court. My encouragement came because I was able to see just how long our government and courts have been messing things up and getting it all wrong (legally declaring that a slave was 5/8 of a man, for example, and other decisions just as insane) and yet we're still here. Functioning more or less as the greatest place on earth to live. No other country in the world has as many people trying to get into it as we do. So, regardless of the fact that we get it all messed up on a fairly regular basis, we get it right once in a while too. There's hope that we can get it right yet again.