In 1856, a man named Addison White found himself just about where I am now, Mechanicsburg, Ohio. He wasn't a pudgy college professor sitting in the comfort of his home, running once in a while for exercise and pleasure. He was a runaway slave, who feared for his life. He worked on a farm there for a while, but eventually the slaveholder tracked him down and called federal marshalls to take him into custody, no doubt to drag him back to Kentucky, where he could legally be beaten and even killed.
The people of Mechanicsburg did a remarkable thing. They stood up and fought the feds. Four townspeople were arrested for harboring and protecting a fugitive slave, and the Clark County sheriff was shot by the U.S. marshals. Eventually, the case was settled when the people of Mechanicsburg bought White for $900.
White's story (in brief) can be found here and here, and has been made into a play by the Mad River Theater Works of West Liberty, OH (which isn't all that far away from Mechanicsburg.)
Oh, yeah. I ran 5.5 miles today.
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