A lifetime of memories which began in Dexter, Missouri

I walked into an elementary school yesterday to vote and was immediately transported in memories, back to Southwest Elementary School in Dexter, Missouri. The art projects covering the walls. The table full of percussive instruments in the music room. The foldable tables in the cafeteria. And I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for the love I felt from teachers and for the healthy environment I was raised in while walking those corridors 40 years ago.

It was in the library room, fifth room on the right hand side of the hall, that I learned how to pull out a book to the right of the one I was looking at, so that when I replaced it, I'd put it back in the correct spot. I checked out the books to take them home by standing at a counter watching the librarian stamp a 3-by-5 card with its due date and slide the card back inside the cover -- a process I thought so special, I imagined being a librarian one day. It was in Mrs. Williams class, next to the last on the left side of the hall, where I lost the spelling bee because I spelled the word "busyness" with an "i" instead of the "y." Right outside that classroom I played tetherball for hours and hours during recess. In Ms. McKinney's class, was awarded commendations from the Daughters of American Revolution for my essay. And in the cafeteria, ate the best lunch every two weeks: chili, carrot sticks and cinnamon rolls.

By far, the absolute best memories were of the days making music in music class. The singular most important experience there was when the music teacher called me to the front one day to strum her auto harp, in beat and in coordination with the early American folk songs she was teaching us to sing. And the next week, the delight I got just from playing the triangle! It was magic.

The chairs we sat in were blonde oak, hardback chairs, spaced perfectly apart with music books -- from the series called "Singing on our Way" -- neatly stored underneath at the beginning of each class. At the time, twice a year, I was winning blue ribbons and trophies at Geneva Acord's piano recitals at Second Baptist Church. And by the time I was 10, I was the school's accompanist for the Christmas play in the cafeteria that smelled of chili and cinnamon rolls. Playing the piano for others to sing with was such a big event, mother made me a smashing red velvet dress to wear.

It was the combination of music lessons from Mrs. Acord and exposure to music-making at Southwest that most greatly would contribute to enthralling times in my life. The exposure propelled me into annual three-week summer trips to perform music as an accompanist for choirs, for each of my high school years. Literally, music took me, a young girl from the bootheel of Missouri, to the west and east coasts and a total of 25 states before I was 18 -- which, back in the 1970s was quite alluring. I then obtained a music teaching degree at the University of Missouri, St. Louis and a certification from the American Guild of Organists, which afforded me opportunities to play organs in cathedrals in the U.S. and in England. I've sung under the tutelage of internationally renowned choirs and instituted citywide and cross-continental partnerships for "singing cities." European connections then opened doors for me to land a cottage on the English Channel where I can go for respite and relaxation, when needed. While I'm there, I hop the bus back inland to attend Choral Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral, where, hearing the boys' choir sing makes me feel like I've made it to heaven.

I was lured into music, literally beguiled to build a life around it, by the early childhood experiences I had within a one-mile radius of 28.0140° N, 81.9601° W GPS coordinates -- Southwest Elementary School and Mrs. Acord's home. (She lived walking distance from the school and piano lessons were $3 each!)

Legislators funding schools, school administrators hiring teachers and educators, the formative years in a child's life matter. Those who could be hooked by music need to have access to instruments, performance opportunities and dedicated teaching. My deepest and sincerest thanks are given to the people who funded, directed and taught music in the 1960s and 1970s in Dexter, Missouri.

Sherre Waggoner is a subscriber to the Southeast Missourian who grew up in Dexter. She resides in St. Louis.