CHAPTER IV
Prior to his marriage, he studied, organized and conducted singing schools over much of the county. He hauled a reed organ on a wagon to school houses where the singing schools were conducted. By the way, that organ is in the possession of my niece Mary Ruth Watson, and is still in good condition.
My Dad was a skilled organist as well as a vocalist. The singing school at that time was both a social and educational event. When I was growing up it seemed like every adult in the county had gone to singing school to my Dad. He was a natural entertainer, and had extensive repertoire of songs and readings appropriate for most occasions. I can still hear him singing "Ha Ha, you and me, little brown jug don't I love thee", or "sauerkraut am goozley, sauerkraut am fine; I surely ought to know, cause I eats him all the time."
In addition to singing school, Dad gave organ lessons and he was indeed a strict teacher. He sat beside his pupil with a pointer in his hand poised to rap the knuckles of an errant hand in the event of a mistake.
I started to take lessons, and ran afoul of the pointer early, which terminated my music lesson very suddenly. My Dad bribed me by offering to buy me a badly needed bicycle tire if I would sing with my two sisters at a Church function. I sang alto, but cannot remember that my vocal debut was acclaimed a success. Judgment may be reached when you consider the fact that I was never invited to sing again.
To be continued
