Today we interview Erica Slason about THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, by James McBride, and its setting in Pottstown, PA. Erica Slason holds degrees in Literature and German Studies from American University, Washington, DC, and a Masters in Library and Information Sciences from Clarion University with a concentration in Local and Archival Studies. She joined the Historical Society of Montgomery County as archivist in 2022. Prior to her life as an archivist, she worked close to ten years in the language localization industry in Massachusetts. The pandemic put things into perspective for her, leading to a change in careers and moving her family back home to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania where she is Archivist at the Historical Society of Montgomery County. Pottstown is in Montgomery County. Erica has written about the historical Pottstown portrayed in THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE. Erica tells us her path was to becoming an archivist was a twisty path, like most archivists. When she was considering a graduate degree, she kept getting pulled into thinking about library and museum sciences. Like Nancy, Erica spent her recesses working in the school library. When she discovered archives concentrations, it felt like a good fit because it combined paper and electronic databases. She enrolled in an online program offered by Clarion University, where Nancy studied for her first two years of her undergraduate program. Because of COVID, she never even visited Clarion and had no graduation. Erica and Nancy both play the piccolo. We are finding Nancy and Erica may be twins. Erica tells us that archivists blend the research and touch-ability of libraries and the artifacts of museums. Both institutions often have archivists who collect and preserve items for research and display. Recently, COVID-related materials are being collected. When COVID was first appearing, libraries and museums received lots of inquiries about what happened during the pandemic of the late 1910s. Erica wrote two articles about THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE for the Historical Society of Montgomery County. Her decision to write about this book was predicated on her interest in Ann Patchett’s THE DUTCH HOUSE which is set in Montgomery County, and which led her to write a blog post about it. She found that taking fictional works and connecting them to the community is a great way to engage the community. THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE has generated interest in and beyond Pottstown. The local bookstore had displays. Erica received a call from California, looking for photographs and other information about Pottstown. Erica tells us that Chicken Hill, where much of the book takes place, did exist and was a diverse neighborhood. She liked that the novel focuses on the stories of people who are often not highlighted. Typically, history focuses on white, male, Christians. Pottstown had a Jewish community, as in THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, and still does. Immigrants came to Pottstown for jobs in its industries. There was an inflow of newcomers into Pottstown during the 1920s and 1930s: both from the south and from other countries. Like in THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, the formerly enslaved people often found that the area was not hospitable. Montgomery County had an active KKK. Indeed, during the Revolutionary period, there were Montgomery County residents who owned slaves. Linny notes that her part of PA, does have a problem with hate crimes, even now. Erica says her community has had incidents of antisemitism, also. Music plays a large role in this story. Moshe, one of the main characters, owns the All-American Dance Hall and Theater. Moshe brings in jazz and klezmer acts, name checking actual musicians, such as Chick Webb and Mickey Katz. Erica tells us there were dance halls like this in Pottstown. Indeed, in any towns, there were entertainment centers, like opera houses. Nancy agrees, saying that there were opera houses in small towns in Nebraska were famous acts came through. Erica says her town often hosted John Philip Sousa, back in the day. Linny loves the story of Dodo. Erica tells us there was the Norristown State Hospital, which was an institute for persons with mental disabilities. Though, these were generally places that weren’t great, there were some caring people, including a doctor who insisted that women patients be seen by women doctors. This was wonderful for the patients, but also for the female doctors, who otherwise may have had difficulty practicing. Nancy did some research, too, and found that there was a Pennhurst institution, opened in 1908 in Chester County, right next to Montgomery County. Its official name was the Eastern Pennsylvania Institution for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic. At the time, many social scientists felt people with intellectual disabilities should be removed from society and segregated into state institutions. It was built to house 500 patients but from the start was overcrowded. By 1957, it had 3500 residents. In 1968, a television news station aired a hard-hitting, multi-part documentary called “Suffer The Little Children.” The expose showed caged and restrained half-clothed children and adults in a decaying institution that spent less per day caring for their needs than zoos spend feeding their animals ($.75/day). The staff are mostly shown to be inept, uninformed, and uncaring. A few patients are interviewed who tell hard-breaking stories of inhumane care. Some children were sent there simply because they had parents who were deemed delinquent. Within two years, Pennhurst was slammed with lawsuits including a landmark case taken all the way to the US Supreme Court. However, the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that PA should provide case-by-case evaluations of all persons in state care for intellectual disabilities. The Supreme Court based its decision on the Eleventh Amendment principle that federal courts cannot order state officials to comply with state laws. This decision yielded a doctrine on states’ rights known as the Pennhurst Doctrine. Regardless, the lawsuits became a turning point in the care of people with intellectual disabilities and the move away from segregated institutions toward community-care settings. Pennhurst lost patients and eventually closed in 1987, with 1156 people still housed there. For a while, the VA used some of the cottages for homes for veterans. Eventually, though, it was sold to developers, and parts of its campus and many buildings have been used by a recycling company for a while. Other buildings have been demolished. The Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance is working to ensure Pennhurst is not forgotten. The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, a worldwide network of historic sites specifically dedicated to remembering struggles for justice, named Pennhurst is one of the most at-risk Pennsylvania properties. Controversially, it is now a site for haunted and paranormal tours and events. Several films have been shot there, most well-known, Pennhurst was the basis for a fictional asylum (also named Pennhurst) that appears in the fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things. Pennhurst and its role in disability rights is detailed in a book titled PENNHURST AND THE STRUGGLE FOR DISABILITY RIGHTS, edited by Dennis B. Downey, James W. Conroy. Erica tells us some of the scenes from THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK were filmed at Norristown State Hospital Linda notes that the book opens with Hurricane Agnes hitting Pottstown and wiping away a skeleton found at the bottom of a well. Erica tells us that Hurricane Agnes was devastating to Pottstown. Montgomery County is surrounded by rivers and low-lying riparian land. She doesn’t believe any bodies were discovered wearing a revolutionary war costume with a mezuzah nearby. For people who are interested in learning more about Pottstown, Erica recommends THE CHICKEN HILL CHRONICAL: MEMOIR OF A JEWISH FAMILY. She thinks, actually, THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, as a fictional work, does a good job describing Pottstown of the 1920s and 30s, too! Linny is determined to visit Chicken Hill. Erica tells her, a good guide for finding that part of town would be to visit the neighborhoods around the two Jewish synagogues. Also, the St. Aloysius Catholic Church is mentioned in the book and is a good marker. People interested in learning more about the Historical Society of Montgomery County may visit their website or Facebook pages and Instagram. Next episode we will discuss I WILL BLOSSOM ANYWAY written by Disha Bose.