February 20, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 15 associated with Oberlin College, worked in the skilled trades, and founded a family. While living at Bell’s house, Brown headed a convention that chose a government of black and white abolitionists who pledged to destroy slavery once and for all. Bell introduced Brown to black men of valor without dependent families who would take part in the uprising. Despite some wavering among both blacks and whites, Brown came up with an “army” of 21 men. The group consisted of 16 white men, including his adult sons, and five black men. Frederick Douglass bowed out. He had a family to support. Bell was not part of the “army,” but donated money and never betrayed the cause. Harper’s Ferry was a spectacular fiasco, but one of Brown’s white supporters, John E. Cook, squealed to cheat the rope and everybody soon knew the names of Brown’s financial supporters -- including Douglass, who beat it for Canada and eventually for Britain, where slavery was seen as a brutal anachronism. Douglass would not be extradited. Bell went to California. He established himself in the San Francisco area as a builder and plasterer, continued to vocally advocate the end of slavery, and started to write poetry. Did he also become Olmstead’s guide? Let’s sift through the evidence. Olmstead never mentioned Bell’s first names. Bell may not have mentioned them, or Olmstead may have wanted to cover a man who, while not a target for the public at large, would have been a select target for a small band of slavery supporters. Bell’s take on what the Indians were saying can easily be read as a spoof of the beliefs of Southern churches of that era. His translation referred to a great white bird that came to take the dead to a meadow with clover that never dried out and lots of grasshoppers. This had nothing to do with the actual beliefs of California Indian tribes like the Miwok and the Maidu, which are mostly about mythical animal heroes and the prevention of incest, which all Indians hold in great dread. Bell clearly made it up. Bell was devout, but in a Romantic way like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He resented the use of Christianity to justify slavery. In one of his poems, he described the process of creation from “a shapeless heterogeneous mass” as a metaphor for the awakening of human consciousness. The entire surviving collection of his poetry shows a wide vocabulary and rhyme schemes that work without descending into doggerel. He was a first-rate poet, but the elegance of his work went far beyond what most people expected black people to write. His poems have all but vanished, though some of them are excellent and all are touching reminders of the era. Bell died in 1902, following his wife and four of his seven children and shortly followed by most of his reputation as a poet, though his obscurity is due more to a change of tastes than a lack of talent. He may have left a more lasting monument. If James Madison Bell -- builder, plasterer, abolitionist, and resident of California in the 1860s -- was Bell, the cook and guide, he played an important role in helping to establish the National Park System. That is one more reason we should preserve the parks. They are both glorious and relevant to one of the key chapters in American history.
Black History Month may be the right time to ask a pertinent question: Did the black poet who passed up a chance to take Harper’s Ferry with John Brown later help found the National Park System? “Revisionist” is sometimes used as a synonym for “bad” among people whose brains hurt when they try to use them. We are all expected to wrap the flag around our heads and believe John Wilkes Booth was a crazy actor who acted alone – four other conspirators were hanged -- and that one man with a junk rifle shot John F. Kennedy twice from two different directions. (Robert Kennedy’s son recently went public and said nobody in the Kennedy family believed the Warren Commission report and its lone gunman theory.) We are expected to believe that Pearl Harbor was a complete surprise even though Oahu was gridded with slit trenches and civilian air raid wardens had been deputized long before the attack. Intelligent people may enjoy the exercise of putting facts together and weighing evidence. They do not get many chances. Here is a good one. Frederick Law Olmstead, the man who designed Manhattan’s Central Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, and a number of other public parks and college campuses, got his first look at Yosemite on a vacation with his wife and children, his English governess Miss Errington, his German nanny Meta, and family friends Mr. and Mrs. Willam Ashburner. The Olmstead-Ashburner party stopped off with white settlers to the region but the mainstay of the trip was “Bell,” a black man who served as cook, wrangler, and guide. He was generally indispensible. Bell was the first man to get out of his blankets, start the fire, and serve the party breakfast. More importantly, he helped keep everyone else from getting lost. Bell also talked to the Indians. Olmstead and Bell watched as the peaceful Indians -- winnowed down to mostly women and children by early sightseers who wanted to say they had shot one -- used soapweed to poison the fish that floated up and were captured in great numbers. When Olmstead wanted some fish, it was Bell who talked the Indians into trading for them. Bell also wryly translated what the Indians were saying for Olmstead’s benefit. Bell was undoubtedly the point man for the expedition that inspired Olmstead to urge that the Yosemite area be preserved from logging and ranching and kept natural. That suggestion resounded through the California legislature, and reached the Lincoln White House. Under Lincoln and other presidents, most notably Theodore Roosevelt, the present National Park system, the jewel of the continent, was launched. But who was Bell? On May 8, 1858, blacks and whites from the United States and Canada converged in Chatham, Canada, opposite Michigan. The stated purpose was to found a black Masonic lodge. The actual purpose was to organize John Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry and a slave insurrection in the South. Brown’s host was James Madison Bell, a free black man who had graduated from a black high school
A liberty Bell: An unknown hero
Ramsey Review
Juniors to meet The Junior Woman’s Club of Ramsey will meet on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. The session will be held at the Ramsey Ambulance Corps Building at 41 South Island Avenue. New members are welcome. The Junior Woman’s Club of Ramsey serves and supports the community through volunteerism, fundraising, and social events. Parent group hosts program Dr. Debra Fagan, Ph.D. ABSNP MS Ed., will address the support group for Ramsey and Saddle River parents of children with special needs on Monday, Feb. 25. The 7:30 p.m. program will be held at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer at 55 Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey. Dr. Fagan, who has been working with children in educational and psychological settings for over 30 years, will discuss “Children and Stress: What’s Normal, When to Worry, and Whom to Turn to for Help.” For more information, contact Stephanie Doyle or Christine Mazzola at RSRPSNC@gmail.com. Redeemer offers Lenten services, class The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer at 55 Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey will hold special Lenten prayer services on Feb. 20 and 27 and March 6, 13, and 20. These evenings will begin with a simple potluck supper at 6 p.m. followed by a Service of the Word at 7 p.m. Themes for the worship service come from “Embracing a Life of Meaning: Kathleen Norris on Discovering What Matters.” During the season of Lent, a special offering will be collected for the Lutheran Malaria Initiative, which works through local partners to educate families about malaria, increase access to treatment, and provide prevention tools such as bed nets. On Monday, Feb. 25 an adult education class will discuss “What is Christian Meditation?” This session will explore the history of both ancient and contemporary forms of Christian meditation. Call (201) 327-0148, e-mail office@redeemerramsey. org, or visit redeemerramsey.org. Filing deadline for board candidates nears Candidates for the Ramsey Board of Education are reminded the deadline for filing to have their name on the ballot for the annual school board election is 4 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2013. The election is set for April 16. For more details contact the board of education at (201) 785-2300. Prospective school board candidates can obtain a School Board Candidate Kit or online a www.njsba.org/candidacy. The kit includes a sample nominating petition, information about the legal qualifications for school board candidacy, and the role of the school board member. Information about the New Jersey Ethics Act and important dates in the school election process are also included. DARE takes on Harlem Wizards The Fourth Annual Harlem Wizards Basketball Game, featuring the Wizards and representatives from Ramsey DARE, will be held Feb. 24 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Don Bosco Prep, 492 North Franklin Turnpike in Ramsey. The Harlem Wizards perform a rare combination of individual athleticism, teamwork, entertainment, and community involvement. Featuring some of the top basketball talent in the world, the team’s exciting brand of “Trick Hoopz and Alley Oops” is so engaging that, after five decades, they are still packing gymnasiums all across the globe with fans eager to laugh and be amazed. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased at www.ramseyrocks.org. Brancato offers tips on healthy eating On Feb. 20, the Valley Hospital’s Janet Brancato, M.S., R.D., will share recipes and ideas for cooking for one or two at the Ramsey Public Library, 30 Wyckoff Avenue. During this 7 p.m. program, Brancato will offer tips to get past the “why bother” factor and learn how to eat well by spending less time in the kitchen. Pre-registration is encouraged. Call (201) 327-1445. Association sets Devils fundraiser The Ramsey Hockey Association has tickets for the New Jersey Devils vs. Winnipeg Jets game that will be held at Prudential Center at 7 p.m. on March 10. The program will include a special appearance by the Ramsey “Mites on Ice” during the first intermission. Tickets are $42. Proceeds will benefit the association. To request tickets, e-mail sdiamond@ramseyhockey.com or call Steve at (201) 394-3731.
Sports fan
(continued from page 4) Ramsey Pool or from ShopRite, where he has been a loyal employee for 16 years. Pagano recently celebrated his own achievement in sports, earning a gold medal for bowling in the Special Olympics. He will compete again on Feb. 23 at the Wallington Lanes in the state sectional finals. All of Pagano’s fans are welcome to attend the bowling tournament.