12/25/2025
Excerpt from "Things we Like to Remember about Williamsport," author unknown:
But we are sure the high light of memory, to those who were privileged to hear them was the singing of Christmas carols and hymns by the negros of the local church led by Uncle Caesar Peters, a negro preacher from the deep south, who started the custom during the Civil War. It continued without interruption until some time during World War I. Through cold and snowy weather, the negros would march through the town on Christmas morning singing the hymns of praise. They would stop at every square, and kneel to pray, led by Uncle Caesar, and Mr. John Conley, their white class leader. Many were the children who lay wide-eyed and breathless in their warm beds, waiting to hear the negros sing at 4 o'clock on Christmas morning. When we heard the lovely voices singing "We Shall Be Like Him" and "We'll Arise In That Morning", we knew Christmas Day had really arrived. This is a memory that tugs at the Heartstrings.
The Caesar Peters House on Church Street....
