Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

We’re closing in on the end of February now, which means we’ve celebrated another Black History Month. And as I’m always saying, Clinton County has connections to practically everything—I promote this on a lot of my tours. There are connections to historic worldwide events, famous people….And, yes, we have black history to promote, too.

Let me tell you about William Raymond, who has been credited with being America’s first modern integrated soldier—The first black man to join a white military unit.

William Raymond Jr. was born December 9, 1892 in Lock Haven. His father died in 1897, when William was about five years old. His mother went to work as a servant for some prominent families in town, and she taught her son how to cook, a skill everyone should learn anyway. Raymond seems to have been one of those people who are talented at much of what they try, and he rapidly became an excellent cook, assisting his mother with making the meals.

This was a skill he drew upon when World War I began. The 305th Ambulance Corps was organized largely of Clinton County soldiers, and led by Major George Green, a local doctor. Raymond was assigned to this unit in 1917, in spite of the military separating the white soldiers from the African-Americans in those days. Within a few days, orders came down from the top, directing that Raymond instead be sent into a black unit immediately.

However, he’d been cooking for the men. And he was such a good cook that they didn’t want to let him go.

Major Green went to discuss it with General Summerall in Washington, and insisted that the team needed Raymond for his cooking skills. Green won out, and Raymond wound up staying with the 305th for the duration of the war—The first African-American soldier to be permanently assigned to an otherwise white unit.

Raymond, after the war, became a famous opera singer. According to one anecdote, this happened more or less by accident.

The group was training in New York, and Raymond was cooking for them. As he flipped pancakes, he was singing, and he was as good a singer as he was a cook. His voice attracted the attention of a talent scout walking past, and he handed Raymond a business card and told him to give a call after the war was over. Which Raymond did, in May of 1919 when he was discharged.

That one moment led to a career in the opera. Raymond performed at the New York Met, and became friends with Ethel Barrymore. (That’s Drew Barrymore’s aunt, in case I have any younger readers.) He became a famous opera singer, but stayed true to Lock Haven, returning to visit his sister and his family home. He performed on holidays at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, singing to the crowd.

In 1950, he returned to Lock Haven to care for his older sister Eva, who was sick. She passed away in 1958, and was buried in Highland Cemetery. Raymond stayed in the family house at 911 East Church Street, and lived there the rest of his life.

He died of cancer on May 14, 1966. He was buried in Highland Cemetery, way up at the top in Soldiers’ Circle. If you’ve never been to Highland, this is a set of graves in concentric circles, honoring many of our military. Raymond is in the same area as an honor guard at Lincoln’s funeral, and many other distinguished military members.

It’s Black History Month, and I wanted to take a moment and remember William Raymond, who made history—Not just local, but nationwide.