FAIRY & MUSIC

 

Across the Fence     

1981         

 

By Arvord Abernethy

 

The sound of music still comes from the hills of Fairy.

 

It was not a long time after I came to Hamilton County in 1938 that I attended a function at Fairy. At it was a well trained group from the Fairy school singing with such confidence and harmony, one couldn’t help being impresses by it. Over the years, it was my pleasure to hear the school group sing several times. Mrs. Hazel Hill was the Fairy teacher who took such an interest in the young people and trained them to sing in such a grand fashion.

 

The Fairy school was combined with the Hico and Hamilton schools several years ago, but singing is still a part of the life at Fairy. This was very evident last Sunday when the Baptist churches of Hamilton County got together for their annual singing, and the Fairy Baptist Church had a fine group of young people there to represent it. Robert Ray has been pastor of the church for about 15 years, and his wife Roselyn, has led groups of young people in developing their talents of singing. Like I said last week, it gives us all a lift to see young people developing that God given gift of singing.

 

The sound of music still echoes in the hills of Fairy.

 

I was talking with Lucile Brummett who has lived in the Fairy area for a long time and she was telling how singing has been a characteristic of that community for a long time. Sunday afternoon get-togethers in someone’s home for singing was a common practice, and since the churches did not have full time services, often singings were held on Sunday nights. Lucile didn’t say so, but I would guess that such gatherings often produced some sweet words from a young lover’s tongue to a fair young maiden’s ears. Singing schools with their do, ra, me shaped notes were also held to encourage better singing.

 

Alma Corrigan was born in Fairy while her father, George Blakley, was in business there. She didn’t live much of her childhood in Fairy, but does well remember Fairy, the little lady for whom the town was named.

 

The town of Fairy was first known as Martin’s Gap, but when a name for the post office had to be submitted, Capt. Battle Fort (yes that was a man’s name) submitted the name of his little daughter, Fairy. “Little” well describes her; even though she was a very intelligent, mature person, she was only three or four feet tall and weighed around fifty pounds. Fairy was many years older than Alma , but Alma remembers lifting her when she was about twelve years old.

 

Shared by Roy Ables

 

ACROSS THE FENCE