Northeast Michigan Oral History and Historic Photograph Archive

Carol Witherbee Interview

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Oral Interview Part 2: Oral Interview Part 2
Transcription: in half with the closing of schools and the cutting back of funds. So, I was still busy, and I was still able to teach up until my retirement in 2004. Um, I did take three or four years off with my boys. I waited until they got into school and then, fortunately there was an in for me, again, which I was grateful for. CK: So you experienced the decrease… CW: Yes. CK: …in hours, and students, and the program itself. CW: For awhile, in fact, when I was hired back in, it was um, it was just part-time, as I remember, just for a year or two I did the music, the vocal music at Thunder Bay. And also um, took part of Bruce McCombie, he was basically the instrumental teacher at the high school, but had a choir class which I took over for him at that time. So I was able to take my boys to the child care program at Alpena High School, and have the choir class, pick them up, and CK: It worked out. CW: Yes it did! Oh my goodness, it did. CK: How did the elementary school program work? I know you said you went to different schools; but how was the class itself set up? Did kids get to choose if they wanted to take music, or was it mandatory? CW: No, that was physical education, art, and music was part of their elementary schooling. And so, classes were set up on a half an hour time period once a week, or twice a week for a while, for classes to see you. And then, um, as it was cut it was only once a week for a half an hour for each area- art, music and physical education. CK: And, was it vocal? I mean, how did you teach your class? Give me a picture… CW: I taught the vocal music. CK: Okay. CW: Ah, and there was a band, instrumental music program for sixth graders at the time, ah, could sign up to begin a band program that hopefully would carry through the junior high and high school. And ah, unfortunately for the children I think more than anything I think was that, when they cut the program, we had a choir program in each elementary school too for fifth and sixth graders; but in sixth grade, we became almost, it wasn't an adversarial position by any means, but we were struggling for the same kids to be in both, because musical kids are musical all the way through, you know, usually all the way through. And in a way, we were trying, you know, to get those same kids to participate in our programs. And, ah, it was difficult because in junior high they started limiting the, what they call the elective classes for kids, so. Of course we wanted to start them in something musical, in one kind of class or another, but ah, just so they went on into music. CK: Yeah, right. To keep the flame burning there, right? CW: And I certainly spent a great deal of time introducing children to the sounds of instruments and telling them that if they hoped to play they should start thinking now; because you didn't want to play an instrument you didn't like the sound of. So, I had units on instruments as a general music teacher. I tried to give them a listening opportunity every week within that half an hour, listening opportunity, a rhythmic exercise, and then, a study of our folk music history. CK: Oh that's great. It gives them kind of a broad… CW: That was a lot. I got to know and I still can guesstimate the passing of a half an hour pretty exactly, because I lived on half hours for so long. CK: Do you see any of those students? CW: Oh yes, I see many, many. And in fact, um, one of my little students cuts and colors my hair for me and I think, oh my goodness, I'm so glad I had a good relationship with this girl, or she could do me dirt! Every once in awhile give me a horrible haircut or... CK: a streak of purple… CW: Yes, right. But I do, I see so many of kids I've had, and they seem genuinely happy to run into me. So I did have fun with my kids mostly. CK: Yeah, that sounds like success right there. CW: Even a couple of little pips see me now and seem glad to see me. You know, and one in particular, ah, became a physician's assistant. And, I went to see him, and he said to me towards the end, he said, of the examination, I was having, ah, edema problems, and he said, "I would like to say something. " And I said, "Well what's that?" And he said, "Well, I know I was a little pip in your classroom. And I said, "Well, I said, you were just a little boy too." I said "don't give it to much worry." Ah, so kids sometimes do, if they remember being a problem once in awhile and then afraid that's that what I remember, they'll apologize. CK: That's funny. CW: Yeah. CK: Um, I also have in my notes that you have directed and performed large works with the Alpena Choral Society. CW: Yes. CK: Would you explain to me what exactly a choral society is? CW: Well, society of course is made up of people of all vocations and interests and, ah, that sort of thing. And, we had a fairly large choral society group, back when probably, even before I came. I can't remember who was the director at the time that I came but I remember that we met at Thunder Bay. I was just out of college and I was given a solo opportunity, at that time, right away. So a chorale society is just a group of people that love to sing and want to sing; but as a, not as a vocation. CK: Okay. And is there any instrumentation? CW: Sometimes. Depends on the work and ah, so, what is available here. And there have been times in most recent years when the choral society has done performances of The Messiah. We would sometimes hire the larger solos out to, I remember we had one particular tenor that came over from Traverse City and ah, the Harts, Jim and Mary Louise Hart who directed it and were involved in over twenty-some some Messiahs, had a daughter-in-law, ah, Martha Hart, who was just a lovely singer, and she came over to do, and I was lucky to do, um, the ah, he shall, no let's see, come, ah, hmm, "He Shall Feed His Flock" and "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth", ah, two arias from The Messiah, that are slow and sustained tones, and that's my forte. I did not have a very acrobatic voice-the flitter flutter all over the place. CK: But you can carry something for a long time. CW: Yes. CK: So would, like, the Besser Male Chorus, would that be, kind of an example of a choral group? I don't have any sense of that. I'm learning something here. CW: The Lumberman's Chorus we had for many years that liked to sing barbershop, Sweet Adelines was a chorus that I happened to direct for awhile, during their activity here in Alpena. And so, it's a recreational type group but, for people who want to, who want to be able to perform some things. Not just a for laughs kind of thing. CK: Right. Right, right, right. And so then who, who, do you perform for? CW: The community. CK: Do you just get asked to perform at different events, or do you have concerts…specifically for the group? CW: The major concerts for the Community Chorus were at Christmas, and then again a spring concert in May. CK: And where were they usually held? CW: At the high school. CK: You played the hammered dulcimer. CW: I did. CK: And I understand you participated in competitions with … CW: I did CK: …that instrument. What are the origins of the dulcimer and what styles of music is it heard in? CW: Well um, there are two types of dulcimers. There's the mountain dulcimer, which is sometimes called the lap dulcimer. It sits on the lap and you fret with these two fingers and strum with the right hand or I suppose you could switch if you're left-handed. Everything would seem backwards to me with that. And then there is something called the hammered dulcimer, and this is a trapezoid- shaped instrument, it has bridges on either side and it's, the strings are strung horizontally, across these two bridges, they're stretched. CK: What's the distance? CW: Oh. CK: Between the two bridges. I mean is it… CW: It's trapezoidal, so the bridges go this way. CK: It varies. That's what gives it its different… CW: Right and they are different sizes. I've seen some really huge dulcimers and then some not so big. But, both, my first dulcimer was made in Michigan by Kurt Sanders and Linda Foley and they lived in Muskegon, as I remember. And, I ordered it made for me, I saw them at an art fair and I ordered it made and got it shipped to me. So when I opened it up, I thought, " Oh, I wonder what I should be doing with this?" But the sound was so enchanting! I heard my first hammered dulcimer player on Mackinaw Island. And, I think I stood there for an hour at least while my kids and husband climbed that awful ascending walkway to the fort. Do you remember that? I couldn't do it now with the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. But, um, it's just so bell-like, and of course, there is no damper pedal or dampening of the strings. Once you strike a string you have that tone sustained until the string stops vibrating and in some cases, when you hit a wrong string, unless you are quick enough to dampen it with the outside of your hand it will stay for a little while. CK: And remind you of your mistake. CW: It has its origins, actually back to, um I think, ah, Bible times when it was, or there are, there are, examples of instruments that are like the hammered dulcimer in several different of the Oriental cultures too. It was referred to as a cymbalum… and, in some cultures. And, it just kind of became a folk-type of an instrument because of its portability. And in this country it was known as the lumberjack's piano because they could pick it up like a suitcase and take it right to the logging camps with them. And a good dulcimer player will not only play a melody, but the harmony around it. And so, they could have quite a full sound of music with just one player. It developed as more of a folk instrument in this country.
Creators: Cindy Kus; Carol Witherbee
, Interviewee
Media Type: Audio
Item Type: Interviews
Description: Carol Witherbee is a vocalist, music educator, choir director, plays the dulcimer and has directed local theatrical productions. She began her career in the Alpena Public Schools teaching music in the elementary classroom in the late 1960s.
Place of Publication: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library
Date of Original: June 2015
Date Of Event: 1960s-2015
Playing Time: 01:02:52
Subject(s): Music education
Musical instruments
Operas & operettas
Theaters
Theatrical productions
Oral histories
Personal Name(s): Witherbee, Carol
Corporate Name(s): Alpena Civic Theater ; Thunder Bay Theater ; Three On A String
Collection: Musicians of Northeast Michigan
Language of Item: English
Copyright Statement: Protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Copyright Date: 2015
Copyright Holder: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Library
Recommended Citation: In Text- Witherbee, C. (2015)
Reference- Witherbee, C.(2015, June 2)Retrieved from http://www.nemoha.org/3235701/data?n=2
Contact: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library
Email:specialcollections@alpenalibrary.org
Website:
https://www.alpenalibrary.org

Agency street/mail address:
211 N. First Ave.
Alpena, Michigan 49707
USA
(989)356-6188
Transcription: Cindy Kus

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Oral Interview Part 1

Oral Interview Part 2

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