A photograph that appeared in the West Schuylkill Press & Pine Grove Herald‘s “Down Memory Lane” feature on April 26, 1962, featured two unidentified men in black-face. The photo was taken at a Tremont Rotary Club Halloween Party, about 20 years earlier, in Tremont, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
The complete caption that appeared with the photo:
This picture, loaned to the Press-Herald by Mrs. Alfred J. Tobias, will bring back happy memories to the members of the Tremont Rotary Club which went out of existence some years ago. “Twas taken at a Halloween party in the Methodist Church social hall and the event probably was close to 20 years ago. The men and women we can identify, starting with front row, left to right, are: L. T. Jones; Alfred J. Tobias; Amos W. Zerbe; Prof. Llewellyn Edwards; Floyd W. Kalb; Michael Robinson; Prof Charles E. Chaffee; Ralph Kreis; Mrs. Ralph Kreis; Dr. G. V. Kalb; Mrs. Floyd Kalb; Mrs. Thomas Fitzpatrick; Mrs. William Moyer; Mrs. Albert Miller; Mrs. Alfred J. Tobias; Mrs. Norman C. Smith; Mrs. Helen Wenrich; Dr. Guy L. Barr; Mrs. Paul Schick; Mrs. Joseph T. Foulds; Mrs. G. V. Kalb; Mrs. John Harner; Mrs. Ralph Imschweiler; Walter Schelpe; Mrs. Guy L. Barr; Mrs. Walter Scheipe; Albert O. Miller; Paul Schick; Joseph T. Foulds; John Harner; William Moyer; Thomas Fitzpatrick. Perhaps some of the former Rotarians or their wives will be able to fill in the missing names. We have no idea of the identity of the black-face comedians in the second row.
White men and women, who blackened their faces, and performed emphasizing negative stereotypical behavior that they attributed to African Americans, for the purpose of getting laughs were often the most prominent people in the community. In the case of this Halloween event, it was supported by the Rotary Club of the Tremont community and performed at Methodist Church there.
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.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.