Erica and Glenn Hamilton tune Rosie the piano at history center 06-13-2023
Erica and Glenn Hamilton came to the Cape Girardeau County History Center in Jackson to tune “Rosie,” an 1879ish Brazilian Rosewood piano, Serial Number 17919.
Rosie getting ready for Sallie Ann
Erica and Glenn Hamilton tune Rosie the piano at history center 06-13-2023
Rosie is getting in shape for the Welcome Home Sallie Ann tea party on June 17, at the history center at Jackson. The doll, which dates back to the 1840s, passed through the family for generations before coming home to Jackson and the History Center. (Sallie Ann is on display in the background of this photo.)
The tea party will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Special refreshments will be served, and Antebellum textile expert Hope Eddleman will talk about the doll’s clothing.
Lots of pieces and parts
Erica and Glenn Hamilton tune Rosie the piano at history center 06-13-2023
Mother always wanted me to learn how to play the piano so I’d be the life of the party. I demurred, grumbling that I hardly knew how to play the radio, let alone a complicated musical instrument. Besides, being the life of the party was the last thing in the world that would appeal to me.
Because of that, I never had much occasion to peer into the innards of the music machine. I was surprised at how modular it all was. The keyboard, with the hammers that hit the strings, pulls out like a kitchen drawer, for example.
Tools are relatively simple
Erica and Glenn Hamilton tune Rosie the piano at history center 06-13-2023
I didn’t stay for the whole process, but the tools I saw being used were things that most of us have in the kitchen junk drawer – basic screwdrivers.
Most of the rough tuning seemed to involve hitting a key and seeing if it caused the hammer to hit the right combination of strings.
Once the striking part was on target, it was a matter of a trained ear getting the string tensions where they made the right sounds. If Erica and Glenn used any fancy electronic gizmos, they wheeled them in after I left.
Memorial Day weekend is the time when I usually stroll through the area’s cemeteries looking for men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. (You’ll find some of those at the end of this post.)
My ramble through the New Lorimier Cemetery in Cape landed me at this intriguing grave stone in Section 4, Lot 195, Grave 4. I figured that there had to be a story behind the sassy-looking woman on Leola (Doll) Twiggs’ stone.
I had no idea what a remarkable woman is buried there.
The first stop was Find a Grave, which had her obituary embedded in the listing.
Born in Luxora, Arkansas
Leola (I hope she’ll forgive me for using her first name) was born August 31, 1937, in Luxora, Ark., to Johnny and Hattie Mae Mack. The tiny town is sandwiched between the Blues Highway (Hwy 61) and the Mississippi River.
It had a population of 1,178 in the 2010 census, and only 942 ten years later. The satellite photo is from Google Maps.
She was one of 24 Black students to attend Central High School in the fall of 1954. She was the only student of color in many of her classes, and felt separated even within the integrated school, a Missourian story by Callie Clark reported in 2004.
Worked the fields in the fall
She entered Central as a senior, but, because she joined her father and siblings working in the fields for several months in the fall, she was required to attend an extra semester and graduated in January 1956. (Note: this is a picture of a man and his daughter in Immokalee, FL, on their way to the fields, not Leola.)
“My expectation was teachers are teachers, and they treat children alike. I found out they didn’t,” Twiggs said.
In one class, she remembers watching her white classmates gather around the teacher’s desk, laughing and joking. When she approached to ask for help with an assignment, the teacher asked her to sit down.
“I started thinking, ‘They don’t want me here,'” Twiggs said. “When they’d ask me a question, I didn’t want to answer anymore. It didn’t seem quite worth it.”
She lived in a number of places, including Dayton, Ohio, before returning to Cape Girardeau in 1969.
She joined East Missouri Action Agency in 1969
She took a job with East Missouri Action Agency, where, over the years, she worked as a site manager, bus driver and teacher. (Note: this was a picture of a Girl Scout Head Start volunteer in 1967, not Leola.
Head Start, created in 1965, is considered the most successful, longest-running national school readiness program in the U.S., providing comprehensive education, health, nutrition and parent involvement services to low income children and their families.
In 2009, she was honored by the agency for 40 years of service.
Taught Sunday School and volunteered at Civic Center
She taught Sunday School at New Bethel Baptist Church, and before starting with Head Start, she volunteered her summers to work with children at the Cape Civic Center from 1965 to 1968. (Note: this was a Civic Center baking contest in 1967. Leola isn’t in it.)
She served her church in many roles over 60 years: Sunday School teacher, mission president, choir president, youth women’s group leader, and prayer meeting coordinator.
The Bridge – a community project
Second Baptist Church 428 S Frederick 09-03-2015
New Bethel Missionary Church – a predominantly Black church – and the largely White La Croix Methodist Church joined forces to launch a community outreach program in 2004.
In 2006, after the two congregations had been meeting in a vacant lot at the corner of Henderson and Jefferson, La Croix purchased the former Second Baptist Church at 428 S. Frederick so that a program called The Bridge could be open to the community.
A five-block processional along Jefferson Ave. preceded the building’s dedication. Leola was quoted in a Missourian story by Jennifer Freeze as saying she hoped the march would send a message to the community.
Campaigned for safer Indian Park
After a young child dashed out into the street from Indian Park and was killed by a passing car, Leola, who lived three blocks from the park, had some suggestions for the city Parks and Recreation Advisory board to make the area safer and more pleasant.
Reduced speed limits on William and Lorimier in the areas of the park.
Signs warning motorists that children are playing nearby.
Parking restrictions on one side of the street during peak hours.
Improved or permanent bathroom facilities
Installation of a drinking fountain.
It’s been some time since I took a close look to see if any or all of her recommendations were accepted.
Links to information about Leola
I have confessed that I committed research in pulling this together. I learned in school that if you steal from one source, it’s called “plagiarism,” and you’ll get a failing grade; if you steal from a bunch of sources, it’s called “research,” and you’ll get an A.
Several months ago, I parked on Broadway to take some photos of the old Broadway Theater after it was damaged by fire.
When I walked back to the car, I saw something that looked vaguely familiar.
When I got home, I looked in the City Directory for the street address, and confirmed that the sign marked where Hirsch-Tinsley Appliance Co. (later just Tinsley Appliance Center) was located.
It’s funny how the ghost of a sign can bring back memories.
We might have bought TV there
Steinhoff family Christmas 1966
The Zenith television in the corner of this Christmas 1966 photo might very well have been bought at Hirsch-Tinsley.
Kermit Tinsley
Mr. Tinsley died in 1979. Here is a copy of his obituary that ran in The Missourian on February 21, 1979.
A water main break in Cape Girardeau led to boil water advisories and an actual shutdown of the city’s water supply for almost a week.
I used that as an excuse to go to Wib’s in Jackson to keep from having dishes pile up at the house, and to swing by Harp’s Food Store to see if they had water (they did).
When I got back in my van, I looked up to see this guy staring at me.
He was probably clean-shaven when his significant other said, “You can stay in the truck if you like. I’m only going to be a minute.”
(You can click on the photo to get a closer look.)
