Peterboro is a small town between Utica and Syracuse New York. l was born and grew up there and was aware of some of the history that the town was known for. We learned the estate that was across the main street from the village green had been owned by Garret Smith who had been a famous abolitionist. After moving away and finally ending up in West Virginia for the last 45 years I have returned each year to see my parents until their deaths and then my sister that still lives in Rome, NY which is about 30 miles from Peterboro. Each year now my sister and I visit our parents' graves in Peterboro and this year we learned that there was going to be a ceremony and induction into the Abolition Hall of Fame in Oct. We also learned that the Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum were housed in the building we had gone to school in for our first 5 grades. It was a National Historical site as was the Garret Smith estate. Peterboro was on the map and its history of being part of the Underground Railroad was being recognized. I wrote a blog about abolition when I returned home from this trip but have now just returned again from another trip to observe some of the ceremonies around the induction of 3 abolitionists into the Hall of Fame. I had time to renew some older friendships with the people that were aiding and working to make this ceremony a success and others that were working hard to restore the membership in the small Church across the street.
The ceremonies were attended by people from all over the US and a presenter from Wales. A walk from Canastota toward Peterboro (9 miles) was done to remember those that walked that road to attend the first Antislavery Society meeting in 1835. They had been chased out of Utica by a mob and Garret Smith welcomed them to Peterboro. They had to walk to Peterboro after a boat ride on the Erie Canal. The walk only was for 2 miles and back last Sunday but was led by the Syracuse Womens' basketball coach. Anyone that is interested can contact the: www.NationalAbolitionHassofFameandMuseum.org or www.AbolitionRoad.org or www.PeterboroNY.org.
Talking to the people in Peterboro brought back a flood of memories of my childhood and teen years. We were black and white with most of the blacks that could trace their history to the Underground Railroad. There was ever any thought about skin color, but we were all equal and friends that loved each other. I had the same feeling now and apparently nothing has changed to cause anyone to feel they are a victim, and I wished the race baiters like Joy Reid, Whoopi, Don Lemon and others could visit and find out how and why they are able to make millions in a country they proclaim to be racist. Jesus asked each of us to love our neighbor as ourselves and that is what seems to be happening in Peterboro. It's a little bit of American History at its best and I am so proud to have been able to grow up there.
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