April 28, 2013
04/29/13 The Marshall County Melody Makers of Indiana recently entertained at Miller’s Senior Living Community in Plymouth. The twenty-two member ladies chorus is under the direction of Eileen Wright of Culver with accompanist Cindy Taber of Argos. Other members of the group hail from Bremen, South Bend, Warsaw, Plymouth, LaPaz, South Bend and Koontz Lake.
Sharing the history of the singing group Wright explained that during the depression in 1934 a singing group was formed in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. They called themselves the Farm Ladies of Indiana and their purpose was to lift the spirits of those suffering through discouraging times of the depression. More and more lady’s singing groups popped up in counties throughout Indiana and the Marshall County chorus formed in 1939. The name may have changed over the years but the mission remains the same; lifting people’s spirits through music. Each year in June all the choral groups travel to Purdue where they perform as individual choirs. They then join together as one large group singing the music they have practiced all year long.
The Melody Makers opened their concert with a peppy tune titled “I Can Feel the Rhythm”. They also shared familiar tunes including “New York, New York”, “This Little Light of Mine”, “Dream A Little Dream” in which Marcy Eckoff-Wagoner opened with a solo, “One Song at a Time” and Michael Jackson’s “Heal The World”.
A popular portion of a Melody Maker’s concert is always the sing-a-long in which the ladies stroll throughout the crowd and shake hands while the audience joins them in well-known songs such as “April Showers”, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, “God Bless America” and several others.
Following the concert residents and guests were invited to stay for refreshments. Volunteers were served homemade cookies, coffee and iced tea. Door prize winners for the event were Anke Humphrey of Plymouth and Betty Hummel of Bremen.
Photo: Melody Maker Chorus members Norma Kizer and Nancy Bannon share a tune during a recent concert at Miller’s Senior Living Community.