Hoosick Grange News For April

April was Grange month all across the United States. At Hoosick Grange on April 27, the night started with a covered dish supper at 7 pm and the program at 8 pm. Many guests were present. The Lecturer introduced Scott Christianson from Sand Lake. He is the author of the book Freeing Charles. This is a story of an escaped slave and the history of the Underground Railroad.
Charles Nalle was born in 1821 into slavery in Stevensburg, Culpeper County, Virginia. It begins on a plantation at a time when slavery was a way of life supported by most churches in Culpeper. This was the eve of the Civil War and how Troy, NY, and the surrounding areas were involved. Charles Nalle escaped with the help of the Underground Railroad to Troy. His story tells about Charles’ life as a slave and how difficult it was to free a slave before the Great Emancipation. Harriet Tubman heard of Charles’ arrest, and the story tells how she helped, via the underground railroad, to set him free.
Scott Christianson as a boy found Civil War letters in his home in upstate NY about slavery. All the letters and dates got him interested in investigating and writing a book. Scott is a journalist and human rights activist. If you want to know more about that time he has his book, Freeing Charles, for sale.
The Lecturer thanked Scott for a very interesting talk and slides. She made a few announcements. On May 4 Rensselaer County Pomona Grange will meet at Hoosick Grange for a covered dish supper at 7 pm and a meeting at 8 pm. Hoosick Grange will meet on Wednesday, May 11, at 8 pm. Program and Refreshment Committee are Louise Slingerland and Mary and Elsie Marpe.