In late 1955, the American Legion John Jacob Fisher Post in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, attacked the local library in their newsletter and in a letter presented to the borough council. The catalyst for this attack was the adoption of the Library Bill of Rights by Punxsutawney Free Library’s board.
In the December 1955 issue of the Legion News published by the John Jacob Fisher Post, Legion member Pete Wehrle wrote an editorial attacking ALA as a communist front. The editorial questioned if the American Legion Post would stand for the library board to “tie up with a Red Front organization” such as the ALA, to which it said no. The editorial used combative language against the library board, saying: “In short folks we are going to do a job on this matter. We will pick the field and the time and place of the fray. We will also pick the method – these things are always the prerogative of the assult (sic) force.”[1] Continue reading ““The Gross Misrepresentation”: An Accusation of Communism in Punxsutawney”