Music and Family

      For my "Music and Family" assignment, I interviewed my eighty-four-year-old Great Aunt, Anne. Who our family calls "Ninny." Ninny is very special to our family, almost like the glue that holds each one of us together. Born on May 25th, 1941, in Robinsville, North Carolina. Life has not always been easy for "Ninny", but she had a plan for her purpose.

 At a young age, she was surrounded by music, more so Christian and Country. She knows how to play guitar, bass guitar, drums, and the piano. So, who introduced her to music, you may ask? She just had it in her. Her family sang and played different instruments. Her Aunt and Uncle sang. Her dad played guitar and was the most influential. Her dad and her brother (my great-grandfather) would take their dad's guitar. They would go into their old bathroom, one would pick the guitar, and together, they would sing songs. They became an inseparable duo. 

Together, they grew up, moved to Woodruff, South Carolina, and played Country music in nightclubs. They became popular, so popular that they were invited to perform on local television right here in Spartanburg, South Carolina. They performed on many episodes of the Farmer Gray Show for four years. They did that until around age thirty, then went on to create a full band, played at the local Opry in Woodruff, and eventually went to Nashville, Tennessee, to sign a record deal. Around that time, Ninny went through a lot. She lost her then-husband, Thurman. She then began to feel conviction through her pain and heartache to be saved in Jesus Christ. She went to church, got saved, and then went on to fulfill her calling, singing and performing Gospel music... her favorite being, "Amazing Grace.''

 She then met her now husband, "Papa" Don. He felt that he was called to become a pastor and preach the Gospel to the small town of Woodruff. They bought a tiny, small building on the edge of a highway. They turned that small building into a church. Close friends and family helped to buy Ninny a piano to play. They brought chairs, Bibles, and blankets, and they had church together. (Fun fact: my grandmother and mom became the first members of the church!) They continued to use the church there for a few years, then started to outgrow the tiny building. So, they started to pray and search for a bigger building. They waited and waited, and eventually. found a building (their now church) big enough for the community to come and worship all together.  

Today, the church still stands and holds services every Wednesday and Sunday. Papa Don preaches, and Ninny plays the piano. Together, they sing and invite people in to worship and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of their favorite songs to sing together is "It's Me Again, Lord.''

Bonus: Ninny and Papa still visit Nashville from time to time to attend the annual Music City Gala! 

Here's a picture ↓ 😁 ↓