The Minstrel Show

When I was young, possibly as young as five or six, my parents were friends with some people who lived in Millville, the next town over. 

I remembered this morning going to a community theater event there as a kid that ended with a minstrel show.  Blackface, lots of banjos, Mr. Bones, the Interlocutor, the whole thing.  I’m pretty sure my parents’ friends were in the show, and that’s why we went.

For some obscure reason, I woke up this morning with the tune "Heart of My Heart" running through my head and the memory came back to me. From 1965 or 1966.  I’m assuming they did the song in the show.  I know we sat through the whole show; I know this is all I remember of it.

That’s all I remember; the music, the banjos, the tambourines, the singing.  Would I have felt that anything was wrong at the time?  I doubt it.  I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it without thinking much about it.  Did anyone feel outrage or even discomfort about such a thing in a New England mill town back then?   I imagine the event made it into a local newspaper, maybe with photographs…

I wonder.  I wonder if somewhere in Millville, people recall being in the show and regret it now…or do they simply recall what a great time they had at a community event, the camaraderie, the joy of performing? 

And where are all those banjos now — gathering dust in attics, in closets, in basements; are they unstrung with busted heads and broken necks, or have they found new life playing other songs…or the same songs delivered in new contexts?

Maybe someone in Millville regrets only that times have changed and they couldn’t do that show today, and it’s a crying shame that that’s the case.