A roller skating craze swept the country in the 1880s. Opinions were divided on whether roller skating rinks provided the public with “healthful amusement” or were “pits of perdition” as some preachers claimed.1 Regardless, roller skating was so popular that rinks were built in Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Mt. Holly and Shippensburg.
Even though John Butcher learned to read but couldn’t write and Charlotte Butcher never learned to read or write, all of their children had at least some schooling. Mary Butcher graduated from the colored high school in 1884. She became a seamstress and lived at home with her parents along with two of her sisters-Agnes, a cook; and Hattie, a seamstress.
A pamphlet entitled “Milestones of Carlisle Schools 1836-1986” was issued for the sesquicentennial of the school district's founding. It includes the following information:
Transcriptions of newspaper articles by Mark W Podvia and Joan McBride. On April 7, 1893, the Evening Sentinel reported that Frederick Douglass was making his first visit to Carlisle when he addressed the students at the Carlisle Indian School. His presence at the school was also subsequently reported in the school's publication, The Indian Helper, on April14, 1893 and April21, 1893.
Interview of Faye Hodge at the Black History Festival in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Hodge discusses racism in Carlisle as well as Segregation in schools, restaurants, and churches. Additionally, the sense of community which has been lost over time with the closing of shops and the lack of activity in the downtown due to less people walking. Hodge mentions in her childhood playing softball and attending dances at a community center.
Interview of Wanda Hunter for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Hunter discusses growing up as a Black Woman in Carlisle including the history of the Carlisle School District's segregation and integration policies, and Lincoln Cemetery.
Emma Louise Thompson McGowan was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1876. When she was thirteen years old, McGowan moved with her family from Winchester, Virginia to Carlisle, Pennsylvania escaping the devastation of the South and seeking a new life in the North.
This transcript includes portions of the tape that relate to the migration of African-American families to Cumberland County or the Underground Railroad. Donald Owens stated that he heard many of these stories from his grandmother, who raised him. Other portions of the tape contain his memories of events in the 1930s, visits to his uncle’s farm where he helped with butchering, going to school, and jobs that he had.