From: WHE_RHH at FLO.ORG <WHE_RHH>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 17:29:21 -0500 (EST)

On this last day to talk about the Logan family i want to suggest
"Gandy Dancers" which I saw on Public Television in Sept. Gandy dancers are the men who kept the railroad ties straight after the trains had passed and they also made necessaty repairs. A group of elderly Black men demonstr ated the songs and chants along with their work and in informal interviews discussed the status,conditions and meaning of railroad workers in the black community at about the time when David Logan was supporting his family by working on the railroad. These men spoke with such good humor, sang with such style and grace, and had the dignity which MIldred Taylor has written
 into the character of David Logan as the father of a fine family. It's

impossible to predict local tv listings! So keep your eyes out for "Gandy Dancers".

Ruth Heespelink, Curriculum Resources Librarian and children's literature instructor at Wheelock College, Boston, Mass.
Received on Tue 31 Oct 1995 04:29:21 PM CST