Letters to the Editor | Jan. 1, 2023

Associated Press reporter Marc Levy really had to go out of his way to not mention Democratic leader Joanna McClinton’s work on redistricting. He credited State Sen. Sharif Street and the minor tweaks he made to the Senate map. He also credited the nonpartisan chair of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, Mark Nordenberg, with major changes to the House maps. Creating maps that are fair and compact was a major task and it was taken on by a strong woman with a sense of decency. Several Democrats lost their easy majorities, and no one could say that McClinton took the easy way. Instead, the districts are clear with natural boundaries. They no longer break up districts to favor incumbents. Pennsylvania has never had a woman serve as governor or in the U.S. Senate. The contributions of women to important issues have continually been overlooked. This is just another example. Do better.

Christine Jacobs, Philadelphia

Jonathan Zimmerman’s suggestion to move the statue of Chief Tamanend to Marconi Plaza, to be placed opposite the statue of Christopher Columbus, is a good one. He is correct when he says it would promote education and advance social justice. Southern states should be encouraged to do something similar with all Confederate monuments. And anywhere there are monuments created in less enlightened times, the answer is to supplement them, not supplant them.

Robert M. Lipshutz, Wynnewood

I read with interest The Inquirer story on the canceled reenactment of George Washington crossing the Delaware River due to high waters. It reminded me of The Indispensables, a history of a regiment raised almost exclusively from fishermen from Marblehead, Mass. While a significant part of the book talks about the early part of the Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, the main part addresses this regiment. It was enrolled in the Continental Army at one point and had several different numerical designations. This regiment successfully evacuated Washington’s army from Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River when the British had them with their backs against the water. The only thing that stopped the British from overrunning Washington’s army was a severe thunderstorm. Later in the year, when the army and the nation needed a boost in spirits with a victory, the same regiment took Washington’s army across the Delaware in December, and, after the army won at Trenton and at Princeton, brought the army successfully back across the Delaware to Pennsylvania.

Peter C. Funch, Fort Washington, pcfunch309@gmail.com

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