books Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Book review: African-Americans in the Wyoming Valley

Wilkes-Barre, PA

On July 7, at the Albany Public Library, I spoke about the book African-Americans in the Wyoming Valley: 1778-1990 by Emerson L. Moss, published by the Wyoming Valley Historical and Geological Society and the Wilkes University Press in 1992.

Why am I reporting on such an obscure book? In part, it’s because it’s been in my collection for a while. Also, it mentions by name a couple of my ancestors.

First off, what is the Wyoming Valley? “It is a historic, industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania consisting of Lackawanna, Wyoming, and Luzerne counties, with Luzerne being the largest in terms of both area and population. The region is historically notable for its role in fueling the American Industrial Revolution through its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan area, it is known as the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, after its principal cities. With a population of 567,559 as of the 2020 United States census, it is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania, after the Philadelphia metropolitan area, Greater Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem), and the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical areas.”

While not specifically an ethnography, it does “explore cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. It also… involves examining the behavior of the participants in a given social situation and understanding the group members’ own interpretation of such behavior.”

Breakdown

Chapter I is The Early African-American Experience in America, 1619-1896, which traces the timeline from the origins of slavery in the future USA to the dreadful Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case. It occurred to me that 35 years ago, knowledge about slavery, especially in the non-black community, was rather sparse. Most of them weren’t reading Lenore Bennett’s Before The Mayflower.

Charles Miner was a pioneer civil rights advocate, elected to the US House of Representatives in 1824 (yes, he was white).

Chapter II, The African-American in Pennsylvania, 1639-1887, noted that William Penn, who founded the future state, was a slaveholder. In 1700, PA passed Black Codes, though a few religious groups opposed the bigotry.

There is a fascinating debate in Congress, including by H.B. Wright from Luzerne County, about why blacks were unfit for war, and that black soldiers would make white soldiers leave the service.

Chapter III, Early African-Americans in the Wyoming Valley, noted that a 1798 census showed 11 slaves and 13 free non-whites in Luzerne County. Nevertheless, there was a strong anti-abolitionist streak in the area, as well as a vibrant Underground Railroad system. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made things even more troubled. Black people could not vote until after the Civil War.

Chapter IV, Religious Life, and Chapter V, Education, were often intertwined because state laws and local regulations made it difficult to establish schools, leaving churches to fill the gap. Chapter VI, Organizations, focused on social entities such as lodges and the NAACP. and certain YMCAs, where black folks could participate freely.

Relative

Chapter VI is titled First Families Remembered. The first listed was the Patterson Family. As I wrote about here, Samuel Patterson, my great-great-grandfather, who fought in the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry during the American Civil War. Oddly, neither his wife nor his mother is mentioned by name. S.J. later had a very successful tile company. Another family listed was the Patience family, a couple of whom married Pattersons, unsurprisingly.

The Afterward was titled “The Community Today,” which was rather critical of the lack of progress. Appendix A, Remembrances of Blacks in the Wyoming Valley, contained bios of several folks, including some 19th-century weddings. Appendix B (local black members of the US military) and Appendix C (Black business in the Wyoming Valley in 1910) both mentioned SJ Patterson. There were additional sections about medical, legal, religious, and sports figures.

The book is a robust look, especially at Luzerne County black life. Sometimes, one could extrapolate from the specific examples in this book to other northern communities with small but robust black populations.

Surely, the pride in local accomplishments applies to places I’ve lived.

Sunday Stealing Is Artificial

Essential American songs of the last 250 years

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Since it’s the 4th of July weekend, we’re going to keep this simple. On us all! The first question came courtesy of AI. Sunday Stealing Is Artificial.

4th of July Questions

1) If you could attend a 4th of July fireworks display anywhere in the United States, where would you choose?

I want to be somewhere with a great sightline, and not a lot of people setting off their own incendiary devices. In Albany, I used to have a great view in my former church’s parking lot on Lark Street. About 12 years ago, my daughter and I loved the view from the field behind Albany High School. But on the way home, only a half dozen blocks away, I felt as though we were going through a war zone. So, sadly, I settled for watching it on television.

2) What book are you currently reading?

Nothing. I’m doing a book review on Tuesday, July 7, at 2 pm at the Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Ave. The book is African-Americans in the Wyoming Valley, 1778-1990, by Emerson I. Moss. I picked this book because I have an ancestor, and indeed, a whole family to whom I am related, mentioned substantially in this book. Preparing a book review involves rereading, taking notes, and the like.

CCL

3) What have you been listening to?

Last week, CBS Sunday Morning offered up Essential American songs of the last 250 years. The presentation featured Sara Bareilles singing “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” made famous by Aretha, and Jon Batiste performing “Georgia On My Mind”

Here’s the Spotify roster. Lists like this always generate a certain controversy. “Where’s X? What about Y?” The missed choice I read about most was “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. A guy named Mike Smith had a list of 15 alternatives; I totally agree with Midnight Train To Georgia, probably 16 Tons, and El Paso.

4) What shows or movies have you been watching?

I finally watched Idiocracy, an absurd 2006 film which is becoming more believable by the year. “Corporal Joe Bauers, a decidedly average American, is selected for a top-secret hibernation program but is forgotten and left to awaken to a future so incredibly moronic that he’s easily the most intelligent person alive.” Will stupidity win out? One fan on Rotten Tomatoes wrote: “The most prophetic movie ever created. It predicted Trump’s America in an amazingly accurate and satirical way!”

My wife and I are FINALLY watching The American Revolution. We’re 2/6 of the way through the Ken Burns documentary. It’s amazing how little we knew about the period between Lexington/Concord/Bunker Hill and July 1776.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Sunday Stealing Goes to the Mall

This week’s meme is inspired by Melanie at This Ain’t New York. We’re indulging in a little retail therapy. Tell us what you would pick up at each stop. Sunday Stealing Goes to the Mall.

Shopping Day. What’s on your shopping list from …

First, let it be known that I HATE most shopping. I remember one winter that my wife was going to buy me a coat. We went to J.C. Penney, and I tried on two coats. The second one fit and looked fine. “I’m ready.” She wondered, “Don’t you want to keep looking?” “NO!” Did I mention that I hate most shopping?

1. Target or Walmart, or other superstore?

My disdain for Walmart is well-documented here from 2013; it’s too big, as I was reminded the last time I went there. It is the largest supercenter in the United States. Target has been subject to a boycott, described here. A Costco is coming to the area on August 6, and it will have a massive footprint.

2. Dollar Tree or Dollar General, or poundstretcher/99p store?

Dollar stores tend to creep me out, with a bunch of stuff that I don’t really need. If I really need to shop, I’ll go to Lodge’s, a downtown Albany store that’s been around for nearly 160 years! I wrote about it here in 2018. The last time I went there, I bought socks, shirts, and sunglasses.

NOW we’re talkin’!

3. Best Buy or any other electronics/appliance store?

I have gone to Best Buy for electronics and, more pressingly, to get stuff fixed. The last thing I bought there was a boombox with a two-year warranty; it works better than some cheaper ones.

4. Book/music store?

I used to LOVE to go to record stores in Albany. Blue Note, Strawberry’s, World’s Records, et al. Last Vestige is the only one left, as far as I know, because I ain’t going to Walmart et al.

I went to several bookstores as well, but my favorite has long been The Book House in Stuyvesant Plaza. Oh, I was reminded that my good friend Norm Nissen, who worked there and provided great book selections, died ten years ago this very month; I miss him a lot.

Bonus question! Where do you want to stop for lunch?

There’s a stretch of places less than two blocks from my house: Junior’s (especially between 11 am and 2 pm), Cafe Madison, and others. Also, across from the Washington Avenue library, the Iron Gate Cafe.

Sunday Stealing — Thunking again

Scheherazade and Other Stories by Renaissance

Once upon a time, in a blogosphere far, far away, there was a popular meme called Thursday Thunks. Alas, the thunking stopped back in 2011.

Thursday Thunks again

1. Is there anyone whose home you enter without knocking? Does anyone (who doesn’t live with you) have permission to enter your home without knocking?

Not currently, but back when he lived in Albany in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a bunch of us would go to Walter’s house to play hearts (a card game). There would be a game going on four or five nights a week, with a rotating crew of players. Everybody knew where the key was, so there were people often coming in and out. I remember specifically May 4, 1988, when Walter wasn’t even there, having been delayed at work. The house was physically constructed so that his wife, in the main bedroom upstairs, didn’t even hear us.

2. Tell us about a school trip you took.

The parents of our friend Carol had a cottage on a lake in northern Pennsylvania, which our whole class was invited to go to several times when we were growing up. It was a lovely time. Carol’s older sister was there, often with a couple of friends, one of whom I had a mad, unrequited crush.

In reach

3. Name three things within arm’s reach right now (but they can’t relate to your phone, computer, or laptop).

A large red Dixie cup, which I use for drinking water. A compact disc player – currently playing Try A Little Tenderness from The Three Dog Night Story, 1965-1975; in the queue, Scheherazade and Other Stories by Renaissance (Song of Scheherazade) and Reload by Tom Jones (Burning Down The House with the Cardigans). And, of course, a slew of books on the shelf in front of me, mostly music books from Record Research, edited by the late Joel Whitburn, such as Across the Charts: The 1960s.

4. Weather permitting, do you dry your clothes outdoors on a clothesline?

The clothes dryer. But when we first bought the house in 2000, we quickly discovered that the existing dryer was totally inadequate. It would dry four items in about two hours. So until we could afford a new machine, we dried clothes, usually on a clothes rack in the spare bedroom, or occasionally outdoors.

5. If every flower in the world only bloomed in one color, what color would you like to see?

Purple. Our daughter’s name is associated with the color.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Sunday Stealing says, “C’mon, Get Happy!”

walls of books

We found this one at CreativeGene. It’s designed inspire “happy thoughts on a frigid January day.” Obviously, temperatures vary based on locale, but it’s a lovely sentiment, so let’s go.

Before answering this, I should note how much the title “C’mon, Get Happy!” resonates with me. I was in a production of Boys in the Band in 1975 in Binghamton, which I wrote about here. The only music cue I can recall was Judy Garland singing Get Happy, from the 1950 movie Summer Stock.

This should not be confused with the Elvis Costello album. Get Happy!

Here are 10 things that make me happy:

1. Having enough money to pay all of my bills. I’m not one of those people who balances his checkbook. (What’s a checkbook?) I just want the money in (Social Security plus some other sources) to be greater than the money going out. It got out of whack in 2025 because some medical reimbursements were less than what they should have been. (It’s too complicated to describe here.) But it has been resolved as of February 2026.

The usual

2. Listening to the music, which should be no surprise. It’s just TOO HARD to wash the dishes, clean the office, etc., without listening to music. (Currently playingMega Hits Dance Classics, including Let’s Get Serious by Jermaine Jackson, which features Stevie Wonder.)

3. Knowing stuff. I will freely admit that I fare less well watching JEOPARDY these days because I’m less up on current popular culture. (How can I keep track of all the shows on all of the streaming services and the big hits on Spotify?) But I know a lot of other things. I keep up with current events. My wife and I do the New York Times news quiz each week, and generally get 10 out of 11 right. The 11th question is usually in the “who cares” category.

4. My office, specifically the wall of books therein, built-in bookshelves in every direction. Many I’ve read, but more I have not. But there are a couple of rows I refer to often, books on music (of course), movies, and television.

5. Singing in the church choir. It’s an oddly collegial thing, especially after retirement.

6. Living in a place with accessible mass transit. The CDTA buses will get me downtown (to the library and church), to the nearest hospital, and to the Best Buy, which is the only store in Crossgates Mall I actually shop at.

7. Reading scripture in church. I’m told I do it well.

8. Reading the newspaper, the physical manifestation, not online.

9. Writing this blog. It’s my therapy and, increasingly, my memory aid.

10. There is a 10th.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.