A 1965 photograph of the cast members of the senior class play, Seventeen Is Awfully Young, at Trevorton High School, Trevorton, Zerby Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. One of the cast members, is in black-face.
The cast is identified as follows:
Front Row (seated, except for last): Beverly Harris; Tamie Wetzel; Mr. Yaralin, director; Janey Lucas; Jean Betzka; Ron Lucas (in black-face).
Back Row (standing): Vince Miller; Jim Barnhart; Cheryl Tressler; Doris Whary; Howard Ebersole; Donald Shipe.
This post is part of a series in which news articles, photographs and other “memorabilia” are presented to show how “black-face” was infused into the culture of the Lykens Valley area. Readers are invited to submit photos and recollections on how long this offensive “entertainment” lasted and what locals thought of it as part of the culture of the area.
Typically, white men and women blackened their faces, and performed while emphasizing negative stereotypical behavior that they attributed to African Americans. The primary purpose was to get laughs. The practice was supported by prominent people in the community and often found its way into school plays such as shown here.
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From the 1965 Adieu, the yearbook of Trevorton High School, available in digital form on Ancestry.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.
It is somewhat embarrassing to see someone in blackface; however, people were not aware that this was offensive at the time, for the most part. Also, I am interested in your comments on the Crabb family. A lot of research was done, which I appreciate ( I am related to them ) but their were many inuendos about everyone in the northern Dauphin County community being racist, which was not very nice, and also is untrue. I have a name for Peter Crabb’s wife, who was a relative, and have some family history, since her parents were slaves. As for the tombstones falling down, many tombstones fall down or re broken, that does not mean it was done as a racist act. Mr Gasborro, I know you are a professor, but everyone in Dauphin County is not a racist; it was unkind of you to suggest that.