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Charles

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Today — Juneteenth — is the American emancipation holiday. On June 19, 1865, Union Army troops marched into Galveston, Texas and officially proclaimed freedom for enslaved people there. From its origins almost 150 years ago, observance of Junteenth has spread across the country.

The National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign  is an organization that is working to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Rev. Ronald Myers, Sr., M.D. is Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation , as well as the Holiday Campaign. When he contacted me last year about Juneteenth, "Doc" wrote, "Juneteenth is America’s 2nd Independence Day celebration. 29 states  recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or state holiday observance, as well as the Congress of the United States." Since last year, two more states are on that list.

There are ample reasons to observe Juneteenth. The main one is plain: It's an Independence Day , as significant as the one we celebrate on July 4th. 

I also believe, without trying to be trite or simplistic, that another holiday in summer is good for the soul. Summer holidays are the best. We are outside, we gather as family and friends, we laugh a lot, cook great food. Old guys show young whippersnappers that they can still get wood on the ball, and someone learns the secret ingredient to that blue-ribbon sauce. Juneteenth comes just as school gets out for the summer, so everyone has high hopes and big plans. It's Solstice , so the day lasts till 9:00 p.m., and the kids sleep that perfect sleep after playing hard, all day. It comes a couple weeks before the 4th, so the two become inextricably connected, a "liberty period," if you will, where Americans live their independence spirit as much as they mark it.

And when you think of the hows and whys of Juneteenth and July 4th, you get the sense that the observance is a celebration in common, that we come together, with all our differences, to share a singular experience. At long last.

Charles

When I wrote about Wells Fargo's 1916 office in the Philippines a couple weeks ago, I got this response:

Thanks for this entry. My wife grew up in the Philippines and I just eat up anything I can regarding FIlipino [sic] history, especially pre WWII. I think it is very important for me to learn as much about Pinoy history and culture as I can so I can help my childeren [sic] understand and be proud of their own heritage and see Filipino culture as something deeper than what we see on ASAP & The Buzz (popular Filipino TV shows). So, thanks for the post. A question: how long did Wells maintain a presence in the Philippines and what were the reasons for their exit from the island?

Thanks!
Dave

Before I answer Dave's question, this is a great example for why we celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month. (Indeed, all diversity.) Not only have people from different places and cultures contributed to our national parade, as it were, they also have — are! — contributing every moment. As with Dave and his family, they get married, move to new places, have kids and send them to school. They do everything that everybody does. Recognizing diversity isn't about calling out the differences one day or one month each year, it's about seeing all we have in common, beneath the physical and cultural differences.

From there, sharing any differences makes everybody better off. I mean, how can you be suspicious of Southeast Asian differences after you've eaten cuisine from the region? How can you dismiss Latin Americans' differences after you learn Spanish and discover its poetic genius, maybe the loveliest expression of being human?

OK, I'm getting all worked up about the potential of One World , so I'll stop. Just promise me you'll go to the next local ethnic festival , eat the food and listen to the sounds. It's a day well spent, and I stake my good looks on it!

Back to Dave's question about Wells Fargo in the Philippines. Wells Fargo & Co.'s Express opened offices there starting in 1902. In 1918, the Express was absorbed by the U.S. Government as a wartime measure, but Wells Fargo Bank continued operations in San Francisco. With dozens of correspondent offices worldwide, including 16 in the Philippines, Wells Fargo Bank transacted financial services around the globe.

In 1935, Wells Fargo Chairman Frederick L. Lipman declared, "The Bank of the Philippines at Manila is an old correspondent." Since the 1960s, relationships with other international financial services companies, and Wells Fargo's own remittance services, continue Wells Fargo's global reach.

Short answer: Wells Fargo is still there!

Marianne Babal

Sometimes when writing on a subject of history, you become totally immersed in the subject at hand — and don't even know when you accidentally touch the ALT   (as in alternate) key.

I recently wrote a historical feature extolling the accomplishments of two people from Wells Fargo's history, George S. Roberts and James A. Walker, both of whom trained and flew as combat pilots in the famed "Tuskegee Airmen"  squadrons in World War II. After retiring from distinguished military careers, both Roberts and Walker came to work for Wells Fargo as bankers. We at Wells Fargo Historical Services are very proud of their accomplishments and of their association with Wells Fargo.

I described the establishment of the U.S. Army Air Corps pilot training program at Tuskegee Institute  that the military had back in 1941 as an "experiment," testing whether African-Americans had the ability to perform as combat pilots — a reticence that indeed sounds ludicrous to us today. A reader pointed out to me that the word "experiment" in conjunction with Tuskegee has an alternate and more sinister connotation.

In 1972, a news reporter uncovered one of our country's most vile episodes of government-sanctioned racism — medical experiments carried out on unknowing African-American men with latent syphilis. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, or formally the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male,"  commenced in 1932 and involved 600 male subjects. The U.S. Public Health Service's goal for the study was to track the natural progression of the disease in the subjects. Told only that they were being treated for "bad blood," the Black and mostly poor "patients" received no curative treatment, even after penicillin's introduction in the 1947 brought the first real cure for the disease. Test subjects were even discouraged from seeking other proven treatments. By the end of the experiment in 1972, 128 of the men had died from syphilis or related complications, and dozens of their wives and children had been infected as well.

My description of the military's training program at Tuskegee as the "Tuskegee Experiment"  touched a disturbing chord with some readers — even though the National Park Service , who now administers the historic airfield at Tuskegee Institute as the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site , uses the same terminology  in its exhibits and brochures.

Sometimes you can write history and not quite understand all its nuances or see it clearly it through a wide-angle lens.

Historians will occasionally write something about a person or place that contradicts family lore  or local tradition. When information that we believe is sound is refuted or rejected out of hand, we can be taken aback. The lesson learned is that we are not merely writing about a person, or a place, but someone else's life, someone else's experience. From time to time it does us good to be reminded that others may view the subject through a different lens. This writing assignment has reminded me once again that history is not just facts and context — it is indeed very personal. 

Charles

While rummaging in the historical collection the other day, I came across a clipping from the San Francisco Examiner  (Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1960, to be exact). The paper had a "Women Today" section, and the story was about a local photographer.

Johnnie Dell Pope lived in Berkeley, California, and commuted daily to San Francisco, where she worked as a window dresser. Arguably, someone with that position has an artistic eye – Ms. Pope proved hers as an amateur photographer.

She took an old Kodak  with her to construction sites to document changes in San Francisco's skyline. She was particularly interested in the construction of the innovative bank building emerging on a plaza at Market and Sansome  Streets.

Turns out Ms. Pope was interested in architecture, but was unable to develop her interest with formal education. Her alternative was to keep a daily photographic record of new buildings that interested her, as well as the rapid changes to San Francisco's downtown in that era.

After a while, construction workers helped her get unique shots at the site, and executives from the "bank in the round" at Crown Zellerbach provided a higher quality camera for her photo log.

The round building that centered the Plaza was opened in October 1959 by the American Trust Company. That bank and Wells Fargo merged five months later, and the award-winning building continued as a Wells Fargo branch till the '80s.

This is a good story to share during Black History Month, because it's an excellent example of the contributions of ordinary people over time.

Ms. Pope never received formal training in her field of interest — whatever the reasons, she was able to pursue that interest by force of will. She lived her life within her circumstances, but pushed the boundaries to make herself happy. She is a wonderful person, an example for us all.

Charles

February is Black History Month  and it's especially vital this year: The United States inaugurated an African American as its President.  There is no better demonstration that Black history is all our history.

There's lots of celebration and activities  over the course of the month. We here at GBH plan to write about a few things on Wells Fargo's history, and a thing or two on Black pioneers in our many communities. Stick around!

We're big fans of history, you know. And Black history is cool.

Charles

Today is Inauguration Day, as the nation swears in its 44th President of the United States. It's a big day on all levels, which I needn't detail here — everybody knows them because everybody feels it. Politics and government are very personal.

Most important for all of us — I'm speaking historically, now — is the great Change we embark upon. Not just in the person of President Obama himself, but in the dramatic break with where we were, to where we are headed. Whether or not we actually get started (politics and government are as cumbersome as they are personal), a historic shift in attitudes has taken place. The gift of our system is that a collective will makes itself known. Your will.

Congratulations, everybody. It's YOUR day!

Charles

I watched a movie last night called Talk to Me , starring Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Taraji P. Henson. It's about a street-wise guy who dreams of being a DJ in 1960s Washington D.C. There is a scene where the staff at the radio station learns of Dr. King's death — while the city around them burns, the DJ expresses sadness and rage at the same time.

It's funny I picked up that movie as we approach the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday  weekend. King's life was so eventful: marches, speeches, organizing, traveling. A lot of really hard work, and all of it with everyone's safety at risk.

His accomplishments are many, but I just thought about how one doesn't become great without extraordinary effort. We should remember his actual labors as an organizer, Minister, and family man — Dr. King worked very hard, pretty much non-stop, for several years.

Appropriately, the very next day after the Martin Luther King holiday  we will inaugurate Barack Obama as our 44th President. Mr. Obama has quite a bit of non-stop work ahead of him, too, and the results of that labor will determine his measure as a President. But if not for Dr. King's hard work and sacrifice, it's likely Mr. Obama would never have had the opportunity to be elected to office, therefore limiting his measure as a person to just his physical appearance.

This Monday and Tuesday are very important days. We have the chance to experience — actually hear, see, feel — how far we have come. Just by keeping your heart open, you can be a part of an important moment in history. You can be great.

Casey

I left Sedalia, Missouri   this morning (Sept. 17, a little behind schedule), en route to Warsaw and Cassville, Missouri. We made a brief stop at the Starbucks on Highway 50  and were served up coffee and pastries by a friendly and interested crew led by Dena. I don't know if Dena is actually the crew leader, but whoever the leader is, let me say — what a friendly crew you lead! Thanks guys! (I hope the picture turns out, Dena, and that you're following along.)

From Sedalia it was a quick ride down Highway 65 to Warsaw , a great small town on the Osage River . I discovered much to my embarrassment (and too late to change it in the videos) that it's pronounced "oh-SAGE" with a long 'a' — not "oh-SAZH" like it's French or something.

My humble apologies to Warsaw and to the great State of Missouri!

Warsaw, Missouri  is very proud of its heritage, and particularly proud of its connection to the Butterfield Overland Mail Route. There are no less than three markers on the grounds of the County Courthouse that mention this connection. Although Waterman Ormsby  wrote of crossing the Osage in Warsaw, at a ford in the river, Lewis Bledsoe's ferry  had been there since 1831.

After some filming, I had a few minutes to walk around the town. I stopped by the Warsaw Antique Mall (which I highly recommend if you ever find yourself in Warsaw), where I purchased a gold Butterfield Overland ornament with a date of 2006 inscribed on it. Not exactly an antique but it was just the kind of thing I was looking for.

I waited for Juan outside the RV for a few minutes. I began to wonder if he'd fallen in the Osage, when I discovered him enjoying a Hibiscus Jamaica and a salad at the Common Ground Tavern. What a cool place this is! The building is fully restored, and the attendant believes it was a "safe house"; for escaping slaves  prior to the Civil War.

Pressed for time, as always, I took my salad and Jamaica to go. They were great, by the way, another "must-stop" in Warsaw.

We were soon on the winding road that headed south to Cassville . The landscape is much the same as in Ormsby's day, aside from the houses and little towns, with rolling hills, green prairies, farms and cattle.

A stop for refueling led us to Teresa and Lucy, who work at the Cargo Bay Market . What friendly ladies these were! They were genuinely interested in our journey, and Eddie and Charlie in particular. (Who can blame them?) I hope they are following us along, and if so, hello and thanks again!

After another couple hours of some roadside filming, we finally arrived at our campsite where we met John and Jenny, owners of the Oak Hill Court and RV Park . What a great couple they are! I love KOA and all their hosts are very polite, but John and Jenny really care that you’re staying with them, and treat you like family. It's is a relief to a weary traveler to meet folks like them. Come on! Jenny actually called me when we were running 45 minutes behind schedule to make sure we were safe! They even met us at the front and led us to our site and provided us with a hanging light to make sure we could connect in the dark. Now that's a WOW experience!

After chatting with our hosts for a few minutes and hooking up the RV, I sat down to relax a moment and collect my thoughts about the trip so far. One thing I notice is the increased enthusiasm that is building, not only in myself but in the people I encounter. From Dena to Teresa, and Lucy to John and Jenny, to the school kids I'm meeting, to the folks posting comments at this blog, people seem to be really engaged in our journey. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised and gratified that all the hard work leading up to this trip — and the trials since! — have been worth it. The Overland Mail Co. story is often-overlooked, yet it's a monumental event in American history.

The sheer excitement our trip has created calls to mind one of my favorite Ormsby quotes, which he wrote while traveling on the very same leg of the journey I'm on now:

There seems to be a catching enthusiasm about the whole trip, which excited more interest — I know for myself — than I ever supposed could be mustered out of the bare fact of a common coach traveling over a common road, with a common mail bag and a few common people inside.

P.S. To Ms. Decker's class: The mail is safe and sound and is about to meet up with mail from Lowell Elementary School in Arkansas  in Arkansas, en route to its final destination — California!

Ileana

A few months back we began selling a new book in our museums, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking. Published in 1881, this happens to be the first known African American cookbook and a very rare work.

Cooking 125 years ago? Without the Food Network , the guidance of celebrity chefs  or Alton Brown ?

It was certainly a different world then, one in which cooking required more time and labor than it does today, as well as that all-important cook's touch. Those people really had to know what they were doing.

Mrs. Fisher certainly did.

Abby Fisher was an ex-slave from South Carolina who moved to San Francisco in the 1870s. She and her husband began a pickle and preserves manufacturing business. Mrs. Fisher was so well-known for her skill in the art of cooking (she was awarded medals and diplomas in many fairs in California) that she was asked by her "lady friends and patrons" to write a cookbook sharing her knowledge. Unable to read or write herself, she dictated the information (which explains her "Circuit Hash" [succotash] and "Carolas" [crullers] recipes).

Her cookbook was published by the Women's Cooperative Printing Union  — a union that came into existence with the support of Wells Fargo Bank superintendent James Latham, 50 years before women won the right to vote. Way to go, Mrs. Fisher and way to go, WCPU!

What Southern dishes does Mrs. Fisher share with us? Recipes for sauces, pickles and preserves abound, as these were her specialties and her line of business. The rest are recipes for various meats, breads, cakes, pies and other dishes — from turtle soup to ice cream.

And just to clarify, "Beef a la Mode"  is not served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Let's get cookin'!

Charles

If family is the root of Black culture, as Ebony surmised in 2002 , then family reunions strengthen those roots. With a goal of preserving the family, Black family reunions have become very popular over the past decade, and many families look forward to Juneteenth as a time to reconnect.

Parades, barbecues, fishing and baseball are traditional Juneteenth activities , but the holiday is traditionally focused on education and self improvement — speakers are brought in, and elders recount events of the past. A true Juneteenth celebration leaves families and friends heart-warmed from a day of fellowship and proud of a rich history of struggle and achievement.

These days, Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom, family, education and community. There are many ways to celebrate : from an outdoor cookout with traditional foods, to a special family gathering in the home.

To learn how Juneteenth celebrations have endured and evolved, start with a reading of its history . Plan a special event, and gather the family to acknowledge the importance of the holiday. Discuss your family's history. It is important to build a connection to your past. Separation is a fact of African American history, so genealogy is more than a hobby — it is the search for identity and the establishment of legacies.

Alex Haley said , "In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness."

Juneteenth is a day for everyone to celebrate history and freedom, as well as an opportunity for you to understand and appreciate your family's role among the generations. History is basically events in time, but it's also so much more — it is a force (like weather, maybe?) that affects how we move forward with our lives every day.

When we help each other understand who we were and what we’ve done over time, we can each understand a little better who we are and who we can become over time.