A photograph of a minstrel show held at Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1963 The cast was made up of students from the school and several of the students performed in black-face.
The photo caption stated:
“Smile! Smile! Smile! Come to see our show and we guarantee a million laughs. We promise to keep you happy.” This is the speech of these merry minstrel men. United with the Varsity Club these young men do splendid job and keep their promise of making everyone happy.
Minstrel: An annual event in the lives of the boys at Lourdes is the Variety Show, presented in the spring. This year’s production was the composition of Mr. William A. Conway.
The musical numbers consisted of popular airs, and the accompanists were members of the band. Novelty numbers added to the Show, and the participants delighted the audience by their unusual performance.
No minstrel show would be complete without the End Men. The present show was no exception, for the antics of the End Men had the audience convulsed.
Although many hours of practice absorbed their time, the members of the Varsity Club felt amply repaid by the reception accorded them.
The description included that the “End Men” would have the “audience convulsed.”
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.
Typically, white men and women blackened their faces, and performed while emphasizing negative stereotypical behavior that they attributed to African Americans. The primary purpose was to get laughs. The practice was supported by prominent people in the community and often found its way into school-sponsored minstrel shows such as shown here.
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From the 1963 Grotto, the yearbook of Our Lady of Lourdes High School, available in digital form on Ancestry.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.