Bubble Gum

Through the pass 400 years African American’s have contributed much to the story of the American experience. In the last 150 years through unrelenting bias and racism we have pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps as conservative political ideologues like to say. Our history is littered with black hero’s who’s very existence have written entire chapters to the tale of the men and women who were slaves that built a nation, weathered the hot fires of bias and racism and proved to the world that the dark night will come to an end. I wanna tell you a story…

Joachim Pease was born in 1842 on Long Island, New York. He enlisted in the United Navy in 1862 as an Ordinary Seamen. An ordinary seaman (OS) is a naval rating of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman. The designation has been used for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount of time, gaining what is referred to as “sea time.” In other words he was a ship janitor. The next ranking up is “able bodied seamen.” These are janitors who have to stand watch too. Okay.. you Navy swabs.. I’m just messing with you… Anywho, Pease served on the USS Kearsarge during the Civil War. On June 19, 1864, off the coast of Cherbourg France  Kearsarge battled the Confederate sloop-of- CSS Alabama. Yes, those Southern racist were fighting the Civil War all over the world. The Confederate navy was charged with bringing and delivering cotton and supplies from Europe to aid in their traitorous war against the United States. Of course the hero’s of the US Navy was charged with stopping them. During the battle of Cherbourg, the Captain wrote the following in his log, “

But among those showing still higher qualifications I am pleased to name … also Robert Strahan (captain top), first captain of No. 1 gun; James H. Lee, sponger, and Joachim Pease (colored seaman), loader of same gun. The conduct of the latter in battle fully sustained his reputation as one of the best men in the ship.— D.H. Sumner, Acting Master” In other words he single handedly put that racist boat out of commission. For his conduct during this Battle of Cherbourg, Pease was awarded the Medal of Honor. He left the Navy at the end of his enlistment never having received his Medal of Honor. It is on display in the National Museum of the United States Navy, located in the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. There are no records of what happened to Joachim Pease after the war or when and where he died.

In 2013 an novel adapted for screen play exploded on the American conscience. It was the story of Solomon Northrup. He was a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before being released. For those who watched “12 Years A Slave,” the word racism hit differently from then on. The sheer brutality and angst described by Northup in his memoir was a life altering event. He remained a slave until he met a Canadian working on his plantation who helped get word to New York, where state law provided aid to free New York citizens who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery. His family and friends enlisted the aid of the Governor of New York, Washington Hunt, and Northup regained his freedom on January 3, 1853. After his release from bondage Northrup went on the talk circuit. He lectured on behalf of the abolitionist movement, giving more than two dozen speeches throughout the Northeast about his experiences, to build momentum against slavery. Now when he was set free, the slave owner who held him in bondage vowed he would get him back. Although the theory of him being enslaved again was never proven, it was never disproved either. The details of his death have never been documented. The whereabouts of the burial site of Solomon Northrup remains unknown to this day.

Peter Gordon is not a household name, but I am willing to bet millions of people know him. Gordon escaped in March 1863 from the 3,000-acre plantation of John and Bridget Lyons, who owned him and nearly forty other slaves at the time of the 1860 census. The Lyons plantation was located along the west bank of the Atchafalaya River in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. Gordon needed two months of bed rest after being whipped by Overseer Artayou Carrier. In 1863 after months of recuperation from being whipped, Gordon made his escape. Upon learning of his escape, Lyon’s organized with a group of neighbors to find Gordon and re-enslave him. In order to mask his scent from the bloodhounds that were chasing him, Gordon took onions from his plantation, which he carried in his pockets. After crossing each creek or swamp, he rubbed his body with these onions in order to throw the dogs off his scent. He fled over 40 miles over the course of ten days before reaching Union soldiers who were stationed in Baton Rouge. Upon arrival at the Union camp, Gordon underwent a medical examination on April 2, 1863, which revealed severe keloid scars from several whippings. Itinerant photographers William D. McPherson and his partner Mr. Oliver, who were in camp at the time, produced carte de visite photos of Gordon showing his back. The photo’s would later be shown to millions around the world. Gordon joined the Union Army as a guide three months after the Emancipation Proclamation allowed for the enrollment of freed slaves into the military forces. On one expedition, he was taken prisoner by the Confederates; they tied him up, beat him, and left him for dead. He survived and once more escaped to Union lines. Gordon soon afterwards enlisted in a U.S. Colored Troops Civil War unit. He was said to have fought bravely as a sergeant in the Corps d’Afrique during the Siege of Port Hudson in May 1863. It’s unclear what Peter did during the rest of the war, or what his life was like after the Civil War came to an end. Peter “Whipped Peter” Gordon died July 20, 1907. His burial place is unknown.

Peter” Whipped Peter” Gordon

Walter Diemer was an account and the inventor of bubble gum. Born in 1904 and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Diemer was working as an accountant at Fleer in 1926 when the company president sought to cut costs by making their own gum base. Although an accountant by trade, Diemer liked to experiment with gum recipes in his spare time. In doing so, he accidentally stumbled upon a unique recipe. The gum was pink because it was the only food coloring in the factory, which is the reason most bubble gum today is pink. Compared to standard chewing gum, the gum was less sticky, would not stick to the face, and yet stretched more easily. Diemer saw the possibilities, and using a salt water taffy wrapping machine, wrapped one hundred pieces of his creation to test market in a local mom-and-pop candy store. Priced at one penny a piece, the gum sold out in one day. Fleer began marketing the new gum as “Dubble Bubble” and Diemer himself taught salesmen how to blow bubbles as a selling point for the gum, helping them to demonstrate how Dubble Bubble differed from all other chewing gums. Sold at the price of one cent a piece, sales of Dubble Bubble surpassed US$1.5 million in the first year. However, Diemer did not patent his invention and competition soon arose as bubble gum became a popular and inexpensive treat during the Great Depression. According to his second wife, Florence, Walter Diemer never received royalties for his invention but he did not mind. He retired in 1970, and remained on the board for 15 more years thereafter. Following the death of his first wife Adelaide in 1990, Diemer rode around his Pennsylvania retirement village in a big tricycle, distributing bubble gum to children. Diemer died of congestive heart failure in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on his 94th birthday. He is buried in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

Its funny what’s important to people. This has been the story of four men. All of them writing a different chapter in the American experience. The only difference is that three of them are black and one is white. Well you know something? If I ever want to visit the grave site of the inventor of bubblegum, at least I will know where he is buried.