Letters from the Underground Railroad

This piece was created for the Little Beaver Historical Society in Beaver County and first performed on July 14th, 2012, for a tea held in Enon Valley, PA.

In some regards there is a great deal of material on the subject of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. On the other hand, much of the local history of the abolitionist has been lost due to the secrecy that the abolitionist had to keep about their work.

For much of the local history I used for this project, I am indebted to the work of the local historical society, for the work of Peggy Townsend, and others who helped me with the research for this performance.

The piece is created around a fictional character named Hannah, who I imagined moving to Darlington, with her husband in the midst of the Underground Railroad. I pieced together stories both locally and in the larger cultural context of what was going on and wove it together with what I imagined it would have been like living during that time.

I am inspired by the courage of the abolitionists who risked their lives to stand up against the evils of slavery. It is my hope that in some small way this piece would honor their memory and encourage those who work as modern day abolitionists to know that they are not alone in this fight. There is so much to be learned from the courage shown by the ordinary people of our country who chose to do something about the wrong they saw happening around them. I am thankful for their work and for their sacrifices.