Memories from the Homestead: Area Singing Schools taught rudiments of music in Gospel form

     In the late 1890s, as educational opportunities began to improve here in our area, one of the regular events that was enjoyed by children and adults was an opportunity to attend Singing School. This tradition was popular in our region for over 40 years, and in some areas, these events still take place.

Looking back here in our Roark neighborhood around Garber, one of the first Singing Schools to occur happened in 1897 in the one-room Roark School, located not far from the present day Sycamore Log Church. Members of the Garber, Cox, Fronaberger, Stewart, Walden, Vining, Cochran, Hawkins and Jones families participated, learning how to sing from a "Song Master," a music educator who taught how to sing by reading shaped notes - where different notes of the scale were represented by different shapes.  

Paperback booklets which featured this technique were handed out to all participants. Today these are quite rare, but show up occasionally online. 

When a song master would come to a community to conduct a class, it usually lasted no more than a couple of weeks. Two sessions seemed to be the most common; that would last as an all- day event.

As time went by, a number of Gospel publishers released printed booklets in this shaped note singing format. At the Old Branson School for instance, their song master used the works of music teacher and composer R.E. Winsett, who owned and operated Winsett Publishing in Fort Smith, Arkansas. 

As a young man, my great grandfather Lige Fullerton was introduced to the works of Winsett at a singing school event at Old Branson. He began to collect the series of paperback Winsett hymnals when the song master would host a class. Lige became so comfortable with this style of singing that he passed this on to his children as they grew up. My Grandfather Wallace had many fond memories growing up in the 1930s, attending the same singing school events, and recalled his dad leading the congregational singing at many of the Old Branson Church services. 

Winsett would leave the Ozarks after the death of his wife Birdie in 1929 and would move back to his birthplace in Tennessee, settling in Dayton. He married Mary Ruth Edmonton in 1930, and together they remained in the ministry for the rest of their lives. Winsett Publishing would thrive for decades as one of the leaders of Gospel publishing, and Mr. Winsett would compose over 1,000 songs.

The Singing School events at Old Branson and other area churches and schools would fade away as schools consolidated in our area in the 1940s and into the ‘50s. But Old Branson Church continued their regular services in the original one room Old Branson School, and never turned away from the works of R.E. Winsett. My Uncle Rondo and Aunt Ruby (Grandpa Wallace's brother and sister) collected the Winsett booklets, too, and combined with what my Grandpa Wallace had. Today I greatly treasure their collection of these Winsett rarities, and I still use them often.

In the 1930s, the church at Old Branson purchased Winsett's popular release, "Soul Inspiring Songs." Released in 1929, this hard bound 146-page booklet sold for $1.00 apiece, and the church was still using them in 1966 when they were forced to leave the original building after it had been damaged in a storm.

When I was little, there were still stacks of these in our church, and that was my childhood introduction to R.E. Winsett. My grandparents sang his songs for over fifty years. Granny for decades kept a copy of "Soul Inspiring Songs" in her guitar case, and I can remember many area preachers requesting my grandparents to perform Winsett's "When I Reach That City." An upbeat shaped note experience, I learned the third vocal harmony part by ear and performed it trio style with my grandparents in the final years of their singing career. Granny once stated that if there was ever a theme song that they associated with their long career in Gospel music, that particular Winsett composition was definitely it.

R.E. Winsett's final paperback release was a shaped note hymnal from 1951, "Best Of All."

It sold over one million copies. Perhaps his most recognizable composition is "Jesus Is Coming Soon," published in 1942. This song was recorded by the Inspirations in 1968, but it was the Oak Ridge Boys recording from 1969 that took it to the top. It was awarded Song of the Year honors at the 1969 Dove Awards.

Winsett passed away June 26, 1952 in Dayton, Tennessee. His wife Mary Ruth would continue the publishing firm until her death. Today, Winsett Publishing is still active, based out of Kendallville, Indiana. Since 1903, some seventy song books have been published. 

As I said, I greatly treasure our family's collection of Winsett hymnals. His booklet from 1912, "The Standard Rudiments of Music," is definitely a rare one. Granny and I rescued one on eBay almost twenty years ago. I'm also honored to lead our Sunday singing at Old Branson Church, and quite often, an R.E. Winsett classic from those days of Ozarks Singing Schools gets featured.