Portrayed here is the family of John Dorsey. The Dorseys were also related to the Biggs family, whose Sonny Biggs is also in the photograph. John Dorsey was an avid hunter and the owner of Dorsey's Chicken Shack on Pine Avenue.
Tommy Lee and Bobby Cleggett
Shaking hands in this photograph are, on the left, Tommy Lee, while on the right is Bobby Cleggett. Robert W. "Bob" Cleggett, Sr. was born in 1941, was a graduate of Fort Hill High School, and passed away in 2005.
Tommy Lee's father was Major Thomas Lee, a well-known area musician who is depicted playing the piano elsewhere on this website. His grandfather was Major T. Lee who was the subject of the following excerpt from Cumberland, Maryland Through the Eyes of Herman Miller:
Black history museum opening
Heritage society wants to raise awareness of culture
MARIA D. MARTIRANO
Times-News Staff Writer
CUMBERLAND —
Represented by La Soleil Noir, the black sun, the African American Heritage Society of Western Maryland wants to raise awareness of black culture in the tri-state area.
A new museum at 183 N. Centre St. will meet that need.
Just a few blocks from downtown, the two-story brick building with a red roof sits on the corner of Centre and Hanover streets.
African-American gallery opens Dedication coincides with start of Black History Month
MARIA D. MARTIRANO
Times-News Staff Writer
CUMBERLAND —
February 2, 2002
Even in rough times, blacks showed a dignity and knew they were God's children.
That's what the Rev. Alfred Deas, pastor of the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church, sees when he looks at the various photographs and biographies in the African American Gallery & Gift Shop.
Young winners honored with recognition dinner July 24, 2003
A recent banquet at the Park N Dine West restaurant honored winners of the Black History Contest and those chosen as Outstanding Youth. The contest was sponsored by The Allegany County Library and Community Unity in Action Inc. The contest and banquet were funded by Church Women United of Tri-Towns. Winners were presented with a money-order, as well as a $20 shopping card.
Community Center now has Carver deed
May 31, 2002
Carver School will finally belong to the Carver Community Center Inc. after the deed transfer was approved by the Allegany County Commissioners on Thursday.
The transaction represents a milestone in the organization's efforts to preserve the school for the community. The city of Cumberland and Carver Community Center Inc. plan to renovate the school, which closed in the mid-1950s, as a small business incubator facility.
MLK Day Jamboree packed with activities
All-day event set at Williams Street church
MARIA SMITH
CUMBERLAND —
Pastors Alfred and Carrie Deas
On May 21, 2016 Pastors Alfred and Carrie Elizabeth Deas were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Allegany County, Maryland NAACP Branch 7007. The following biography appeared in the ceremony program:
Community can take pride in tunnels
Escaped slaves likely sought refuge beneath downtown church
Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Fleeing slaves finding their way north likely found a resting place and a bit of food and drink beneath Emmanuel Parish of the Episcopal Church in Cumberland. The low-ceiling, often-narrow tunnels are all that remain of Fort Cumberland, and over the years, an abolitionist rector turned the tunnels into a stop on the Underground Railroad, the route that escaped slaves followed to freedom.
Romaine Franklin, 1917 - 2016
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded 1909. This Cumberland News photograph from the late 1950s or early 1960s, depicts an early meeting of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Depicted here are, from left to right, Harold Banks, Romaine Franklin, James Hurt, and John Gordon.