“The Escaped Slaves and Black Civil War Soldiers in Clyde” is the subject of the monthly program at the Clyde Museum on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.
Curator Gene Smith will discuss those who escaped slavery and others who served in the Union Army and settled in Clyde before, during and after the Civil War. They are Lucy Fisher, Newton S. Fisher and their son, David, Elizabeth Anderson and her daughter, Cecilia, Peter Pointz; and Soldiers Edward Leonard, 54th Mass., and Rev. Lafayette DeRose, 27th U.S. Colored Infantry.
“There must have been something about Clyde that attracted them,” Smith said.
Of Lucy Fisher, Smith said, “People in Clyde revered her; “Clyde must have been progressive and compassionate.”
Newton S. Fisher was enslaved at birth and sold several times, but always escaped. Once he lived in the forest for three years without being captured.
Peter Pointz died in the Sandusky County Infirmary in 1898; his funeral at the Methodist Episcopal Church was well attended. Pointz was born into slavery on August 27, 1817, escaped to freedom in 1848 and later earned enough money to purchase his freedom.
Smith was fascinated by the history of these people escaping slavery and learned interesting details of their lives that he will share during the program. Four of the settlers were buried in McPherson Cemetery and the Fishers buried in Colwell Cemetery south of Clyde.
The Clyde Heritage League has obtained a headstone for Pointz, which will be dedicated during a public service on June 19 at 11 a.m. at McPherson Cemetery.
More: Clyde Heritage League will dedicate a headstone for men who escaped slavery
Assisting in planning the dedication is Regina Vincent Williams, past president of the Fremont NAACP Unit 3217, who also speaks at the ceremony. The public is invited to attend.
Heritage League offers free summer concerts
The Clyde Heritage League’s first free community concert is June 21 at 6 p.m. on the lawn of the Clyde Museum, 124 W. Buckeye St. Music will be provided by the Chris Buzzelli Jazz Trio of Toledo, which performed here in 2023. Bring a lawn chair or blankets for the lawn. There will be a food truck on site. Parking is available nearby.
Two more lawn concerts are scheduled: July 10 at 6 p.m. with the Bluegrass Country Music group and August 30 at 6 p.m. with Marquis 66.
Last year, the number of visitors on pleasant summer evenings averaged between 70 and 100.
The Little Fliers Food Program will grow in the 2024-2025 school year
The Little Fliers Food Program was started in 2019 by a third-grade teacher at Clyde Elementary School. She worried that some other students might not have food on the weekend. She sent a letter of request to the First Missionary Church next door for help. The food collected was stored there and distributed from a storage room in the church. Every Friday, the weekend food was discreetly placed in the children’s backpacks during recess.
The program started with 60 students and $500. This past school year, the number of students was 117. There are plans to expand the Little Fliers Food Program to include Green Springs Elementary School due to the realignment of the school district.
Financial or food assistance is being sought in anticipation of accommodating 200 students. Monetary donations can be made through the First National Bank in Clyde to benefit the First Missionary Church Food Program or by mail to LFFP, c/o Sam and Kelly Maynard, 369 Nathan Drive, Clyde, OH 43410. For information, call Sam Maynard at 567 -201-5133 or Kelly Maynard at 419-307-8730, or go online at littlefliersfoodprogram@gmail.com or on Facebook at Little Fliers Food Program.
Examples of food products include single-serve cereal, oatmeal, pop tarts, granola bars, juice boxes, ramen, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter jars and plastic jelly jars, fruit snacks, cheese and crackers, popcorn, fruit cups, jello or pudding cups.
Jeanette Liebold Ricker writes about Clyde and Green Springs. Contact her at 419-547-8177 or by email at jeanette.ricker@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on the Fremont News-Messenger: Museum hosting summer concerts starting June 21
