In 1952, the Tremont Community Organization presented a play entitled, “Mama’s Baby Boy.” One of the characters in the play was in black-face. The photo (above), that appeared in the West Schuylkill Press & Pine Grove Herald on May 2, 1952, had the following caption:
GROWN-UP KIDS… left to right, seated, Mrs. Milton Kimmel, High School Coach James Clouser, Mrs. Robert Kimmel. Standing at rear in black-face make-up is Mrs. Frederick Maurer.
The article that appeared with the photo was entitled, “Mama’s Baby Boy” One Of Best Local Stage Shows.
“Mama’s Baby Boy,” produced by the Tremont Community Organization on Wednesday evening was one of the finest home talent shows ever staged at Tremont.
It was comedy, but not slapstick, and the audience reaction was enthusiastic throughout.
Well-staged, expertly directed and appropriately costumed, the production won new acclaim for the actors, who have appeared in several of the TCO-sponsored shows and brought to light a few new outstanding stage performances.
Not only was the play well received, but the specialty members were also roundly applauded. The Chinese Auction [see below], too, provided a good share of the evening entertainment. Miss Anna Salen, assistant Tremont school principal won the cake that was given away in the auction.
Taking part in the play were Mrs. Albert Kutzer; George G. Lindsay; Andrew Maurer; Mrs. George Lindsay; Mrs. Martin Renninger; James Clauser; Mrs. Milton Kimmel; Mrs. Joseph Bowers; Mrs. Robert Kimmel; Mrs. Fred Maurer [in black-face as per the caption]; and Rev. Neal Bachman; Rev. Bachman substituted for Donald Oswald who was unable to take his part due to an attack of ivy poison.
The specialty numbers included musical selections by Rose Marie Marx and William Connell, vocal soloists; Rosemary Leininger and William Jones; Fred Lehr, trumpet; Diane Kemfort, Clara Mae Precise; Fay Fulmer, and Dolores Lehman, black-face quartet singers; and a reading by Mary Minnig.
Mrs. Earlin Lutz was the director and Mrs. Dorothy Lash was make-up director.
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 production, it was presented by the Tremont Community Organization and included employees of the Tremont schools as well as a quartet of girls in black-face who were an official Tremont High School organization.
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.
One final note: The “Chinese Auction” that was conducted at the event was a common way to raise funds. It was a cross between a raffle and a silent auction. The term “Chinese Auction” was first used in the 19th century when prejudice and racism against the Chinese was prevalent. Today, there is still a debate as to whether the term should be used to describe a “chance auction” and whether the reference to the Chinese has a racist connotation.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.