[CHORAL MUSIC] [CLEVELAND] [SCRAPBOOKS] Three scrapbooks containing original notes, personnel records, ephemera, and photographs covering three decades of activities of the Lakewood P. T. A. Mothersingers, a female singing group

[Lakewood Mothersingers]

Published by [Lakewood, OH], 1979

About this Item

Three binders of varying sizes, containing well over 200 leaves of documents, about thirty photographs, and dozens of mimeographed or xeroxed programs, all relating to the Lakewood P. T. A. Mothersingers. The contents are mostly in very good condition; most photographs are taped or glued to the scrapbook leaves, as are a number of documents, while others are laid-in. The scrapbooks appear to have been kept in an attic, leading to some insect damage, and the bindings are stressed (particularly on the largest album). but, for the most part, the archive itself is clean and presentable. The Mothersingers were a volunteer choral group, mostly consisting of women in the Lakewood area (it's an inner-ring west side suburb of Cleveland) who had children in Lakewood schools, though that was not a strict requirement. Of particular interest are the yearly "Historian's Report," which gave a 1-2 page single-spaced summary of the singers' activities during the previous school year. The group performed mostly at various church and civic functions, and while they played plenty of non-denominal Christian music, they also performed sho tunes, popular music of the period, and jazz. One program that caught our eye (with "playbill" and tickets present here) was the "Musical Love-In," held in April 1969 and no doubt a tongue-in-cheek reference to the counterculture of the period. Some songs performed during that concert: "I Enjoy Being a Girl," "Misty," "Good Ship Lollipop," and "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." A Love-In for the Silent Majority, no doubt. Kidding aside, this is a rich and detail-heavy archive of this long-lived civic group, the kind that is discussed in Robert D. Putnam's book "Bowling Alone," a study of how American civil society changed between World War II and the year 2000. In the middle of the 20th century, almost any middle-class suburban husband and wife would have belonged to a social club or hobbyist guild geared towards their interests or values (such as bowling leagues, gardening clubs, Knights of Columbus, and - yes - choral groups). This phenomenon has been almost totally been replaced by online communities, but also by nothing, contributing to a general alienation and individuated social experience. Beyond that, it's a great piece of local Cleveland history. Seller Inventory # 7963

Bibliographic Details

Title: [CHORAL MUSIC] [CLEVELAND] [SCRAPBOOKS] ...

Publisher: [Lakewood, OH]

Publication Date: 1979

Condition: Very good