Erlene McGraw - Jerry Reminisces About a Dear Friend and Sacred Harp Singing

It was the summer of 1938 that I became a friend of Miss Erlene McGraw.

I had been living in Atlanta several months, had met very few people other than those at work and at the boarding house. I was not searching for acquaintances, but was happy to meet friendly persons anywhere I met them. Mama loved Sacred Harp singing and I had often transported her to sites where singings were taking place and thus had developed a modest interest in this unusual style of musical expression.

In the newspaper there was a story telling of a Sacred Harp singing that was scheduled at a Nazarene church on the outskirts of Atlanta on the next Sunday. I had not yet selected a church to attend and this one did not appeal to me, aside from the singing event. I rode the street car to the church locations and walked in as if I were and experienced singer. I found a seat a couple of rows away from the ‘square’ and enjoyed observing the singers as they arrived, greeted friends and assembled in their proper place in the square.

The ‘square’ was the place where the leaders stood as they conducted the singing. It was surrounded by singers with those of like voice, like Alto, Base, etc , seated on respective sides of the room. As a person’s time to lead approached he [or she] would enter the square, lead her song or two and then return to her seat. Apparently, the leaders were chosen and an order of leadership established prior to the start. The leaders were of all ages from pre-teens to old ones who appeared to be in their 90s.

The leaders and singers evidently were experienced singers. The meeting proceeded smoothly with everyone doing their parts well and happily. It was very similar to several such affairs I had attended with Mama in Alabama. I could not help thinking of how happy she would be and how much she would enjoy the meeting if she were there.

In the proceedings I noticed that the name McGraw showed up in the announcements and among the leaders. Mr. McGraw seemed to be a leader in the singers association and among those who planned the meeting. He was also among the first leaders, with the response giving evidence of trust in his leadership in and outside the ‘square’. Of even greater interest was a young female singer who later appeared as a leader. That was Erlene McGraw, daughter of the esteemed Mr. McGraw.

I could not help recognizing Erlene's superior talents as a singer and as a leader. At the morning break, in spite of my timid nature, I made the opportunity of introducing myself to Erlene. I complemented her and explained that I had not learned to sing Sacred Harp, but had learned a good bit about it from my mother’s interest in Alabama. She was very gracious and explained that the McGraw family had been much interested in the Association and participating in the leadership for several generations. Before the singing was over I learned that Erlene’s family were members of the Hapeville Methodist Church and was invited to participate in a smaller group of Sacred Harp singers there.

It was a small church and I enjoyed a few visits there. However, one of my roommates and I had been attending the Druid Hills Methodist Church which was near our boarding house and he persuaded me to stay closer to home. My further contacts with Erlene were to fulfill invitations to attend occasional special singings with her. Also, at this church I met Elsie Marie Andrews who became sufficiently interested to become my wife on November 20, 1940.

Erlene faded out of the picture, but not from my memory.

A friend, Dr. A. L. Jenkins, who attended the Fountain City Methodist Church and also worked as a fellow leader in Boy Scout work asked me if Elsie and I would like to accompany him and his wife, Ethel, on a trip to Alaska. Neither of us had even considered such an adventure and quickly agreed to go to Alaska with the Jenkins.

I knew that such a trip would require a lot of planning and asked what part he had in mind for us in the planning. At a meeting he told us of the general idea of flying part of the way, renting a car for the rest of the trip. Then his brief outline turned out to be a complete itinerary with details including motels, cruise lines, mileage, etc along with financial plans for equal sharing of the costs.

We flew to Salt Lake City, rented a car and took off on a really great 42 day adventure. We took turns driving, saw all the major sites along the way north into Canada and west to Seattle. From there we traveled by plane, ships and trains to see the sights in Eastern Alaska and back. From Seattle we flew back home with a two-hour layover in Atlanta.

It was there that Astor wanted to introduce us to a very close friend of his. The name of the friend never registered with me, but the friend’s wife was named Erlene. Sure enough, it was Erlene McGraw whom I had not see for over 40 years. I enjoyed talking with her and learning that her marriage had been altogether happy. She was happy to meet my wife, Elsie, and our brief visit ended with our boarding the plane for home in Knoxville. The Jenkins and Clements folks had much to talk about on the plane trip ending the 42 days of the Alaska adventure.

Erlene came back to mind during my attendance at the annual Georgia Sacred Harp Singers convention in the Decatur courthouse in June, 2005. Erlene’s uncle was on the program and I found an opportunity to speak to him about Erlene. He explained that Erlene had a stroke a few years earlier, had spent some time in a nursing home before she died. I did not ask him for exact dates, but was assured that she had a long and happy life and had made a great contribution to the Sacred Harp Singing program.

Erlene’s happy spirit will be with me whenever I hear Sacred Harp singing.

Jerry Clements 2-1-08