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Events in Jena conjure up memories from the 50s

With all the renewed stir about race relations in the wake of the student flare-up in Jena, La, I was reminded of my own days when racial relations were a concern, when I was starting a Brownie troop in the mid-1950s in an affluent neighborhood of Philadelphia.

My only daughter was seven years old, and I decided it was time she had some female playmates. Having four brothers, she needed opportunities to enjoy the friendship of other girls.

I started the Brownie troop as an after-school activity, and we had a mixture of white, black, Christian, and Jewish. The girls were rich and poor and in-between. All the girls in the school wanted to join the troop.

Some girls whose fathers were doctors and business executives were black, while some of the white girls were among the least wealthy. Sometimes when we had cookouts, we had two separate fireplaces going so that the Jewish girls could keep kosher.

Even with this melting pot mixture, everyone always had a good time, and