DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987 | 1985-02-25 ""Here's to you Porgy and Mary""

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Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987

1985-02-25 ""Here's to you Porgy and Mary""

QUAD-CITY TIMES Monday, Feb. 25, 1985  31

[[Photo caption]]Shirley Davis[[end caption]]

Here's to you, Porgy and Mary

"We Loves You, Porgy," was one of the catchy headlines in last week's Newsweek. The writer was talking about [[italics]]our[[end italics]] Porgy, Simon Estes of Centerville, Iowa, and the nephew of Cecile Cooper of Coralville, Iowa. Cecile, who moves back to Davenport next month (she'll live at Spring village), is keeping up with the accomplishments of her talented nephew via national publications these days.
Estes, of course, plays the title role in the new four-hour New York Metropolitan Opera version of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." The Newsweek writer says the folk opera "shines brightly as a one-of-a-kind American masterpiece."
Estes, 46, who has homes in New York City and Zurich, Switzerland, has been singing te role of Porgy in Europe since 1977. In Zurich he uses "high English" -- saying "children" instead of "chil lun' " -- so Europeans who speak only a smattering of English will understand.
Estes sings most of the major operatic bass-baritone roles-- "Tannhauser" and "The Flying Dutchman" as examples.
Cecile Cooper, who resided in Davenport for many years and helped sponsor a St. Ambrose College concert by Estes a few years ago, was here for his appearance last year with the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra. She opes to be in Centerville in May when his hometown honors its famous son.
She says he's started scholarships for students in Centerville, as well as a music scholarship for a University of Iowa student.
Estes grew up in Centerville, the son of a coal miner. He remembers having to sit in the balcony at the movies because "coloreds" weren't allowed on the main floor. What a thrill it must be for him to be on stage at the Met.
He worked his way through the University of Iowa scrubbing floors and washing dishes. "It was here I got my first taste of freedom," he once said about his eight years at the university. His concerts there help support the scholarship in his name.
When Davenport educator Mary Baker was asked to speak at the February meeting of Delta Kappa Gamma, the teachers' sorority she's been affiliated with for nearly half a century, she went up in her attic and pulled out the same speech she'd given the group 47 years ago.
Her message involved seven gifts from the faries of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea - things like beauty and courage - and she recalled to the group that shed been to the Isle of Man herself during her travels over the years.
But what Mary Baker didn't know was that the request for the speech was only a ruse to get her to the meeting; they wanted to honor her on her 90th birthday with a "This is Your Life" type program.
Mary has great praise for the committee who planned the surprise event. She asks, "Have you ever seen statues to committees? Oh, there are statues to men and to horses and to dogs, but I've never seen a statue to a committee.
"I think [[italics]]this[[end italics]] committee should have a place in the park."
Among her gifts was a corsage of red roses (the sorority's official flower), a birthday cake and a big gold box trimmed with red roses and filled with "happy birthday" drawings from youngsters at Wilson School in Davenport.
This naturally pleased the former teacher who described two of the pieces of art:
"One was the drawing of a slate, and the youngster had written '89 plus 1' on once side of the paper and '90; now wasn't that easy?' on the back."
Another younger wrote, "I don't know why I should write 'Happy Birthday.' I don't even know you."
During the "This is Your Life" portion members of the committee told of her teaching career. They told of how she began her work in a rural schoolhouse in 1913, then spent 16 years at Grant School teaching first and second graders, then another 16 years at Garfield.
It was then she was asked to head up the department that would teach handicapped or injured children in their homes. She'd travel between their homes and schools, teaching until she retired at 65.
Since then she's vacationed in Europe and finally began work on a Davenport Community School Museum, gathering facts and figures and papers for the exhibits now permanently housed at JB Young School at the request of principal John Andrews.
The museum closed down during this winter's bad weather, but Miss Baker opened it up again last Friday and will help staff it when it's open to the public from 1-4 p.m. Fridays. It contains scrapbooks, yearbooks and names of teachers that might have been lost in time if she hadn't decided the work should be done. Don White of the Davenport Community  School district calls her the district's "leading lady."
Miss Baker was tempted to take up teaching several years ago again when a bright young Vietnamese boy came to her for tutoring during his high school years in Davenport. She's proud of the letter she received from him recently, saying he received a citation from his California school for "Excellence in Education." On the letter he asked her "please to correct my paper."

[[photo caption]]Simon Estes[[end caption]]
[[photo caption]]Mary Baker[[end caption]]

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QUAD-CITY TIMES Monday, Feb. 25, 1985 31 [[Photo caption]]Shirley Davis[[end caption]] Here's to you, Porgy and Mary "We Loves You, Porgy," was one of the catchy headlines in last week's Newsweek. The writer was talking about [[italics]]our[[end italics]] Porgy, Simon Estes of Centerville, Iowa, and the nephew of Cecile Cooper of Coralville, Iowa. Cecile, who moves back to Davenport next month (she'll live at Spring village), is keeping up with the accomplishments of her talented nephew via national publications these days. Estes, of course, plays the title role in the new four-hour New York Metropolitan Opera version of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." The Newsweek writer says the folk opera "shines brightly as a one-of-a-kind American masterpiece." Estes, 46, who has homes in New York City and Zurich, Switzerland, has been singing te role of Porgy in Europe since 1977. In Zurich he uses "high English" -- saying "children" instead of "chil lun' " -- so Europeans who speak only a smattering of English will understand. Estes sings most of the major operatic bass-baritone roles-- "Tannhauser" and "The Flying Dutchman" as examples. Cecile Cooper, who resided in Davenport for many years and helped sponsor a St. Ambrose College concert by Estes a few years ago, was here for his appearance last year with the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra. She opes to be in Centerville in May when his hometown honors its famous son. She says he's started scholarships for students in Centerville, as well as a music scholarship for a University of Iowa student. Estes grew up in Centerville, the son of a coal miner. He remembers having to sit in the balcony at the movies because "coloreds" weren't allowed on the main floor. What a thrill it must be for him to be on stage at the Met. He worked his way through the University of Iowa scrubbing floors and washing dishes. "It was here I got my first taste of freedom," he once said about his eight years at the university. His concerts there help support the scholarship in his name. When Davenport educator Mary Baker was asked to speak at the February meeting of Delta Kappa Gamma, the teachers' sorority she's been affiliated with for nearly half a century, she went up in her attic and pulled out the same speech she'd given the group 47 years ago. Her message involved seven gifts from the faries of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea - things like beauty and courage - and she recalled to the group that shed been to the Isle of Man herself during her travels over the years. But what Mary Baker didn't know was that the request for the speech was only a ruse to get her to the meeting; they wanted to honor her on her 90th birthday with a "This is Your Life" type program. Mary has great praise for the committee who planned the surprise event. She asks, "Have you ever seen statues to committees? Oh, there are statues to men and to horses and to dogs, but I've never seen a statue to a committee. "I think [[italics]]this[[end italics]] committee should have a place in the park." Among her gifts was a corsage of red roses (the sorority's official flower), a birthday cake and a big gold box trimmed with red roses and filled with "happy birthday" drawings from youngsters at Wilson School in Davenport. This naturally pleased the former teacher who described two of the pieces of art: "One was the drawing of a slate, and the youngster had written '89 plus 1' on once side of the paper and '90; now wasn't that easy?' on the back." Another younger wrote, "I don't know why I should write 'Happy Birthday.' I don't even know you." During the "This is Your Life" portion members of the committee told of her teaching career. They told of how she began her work in a rural schoolhouse in 1913, then spent 16 years at Grant School teaching first and second graders, then another 16 years at Garfield. It was then she was asked to head up the department that would teach handicapped or injured children in their homes. She'd travel between their homes and schools, teaching until she retired at 65. Since then she's vacationed in Europe and finally began work on a Davenport Community School Museum, gathering facts and figures and papers for the exhibits now permanently housed at JB Young School at the request of principal John Andrews. The museum closed down during this winter's bad weather, but Miss Baker opened it up again last Friday and will help staff it when it's open to the public from 1-4 p.m. Fridays. It contains scrapbooks, yearbooks and names of teachers that might have been lost in time if she hadn't decided the work should be done. Don White of the Davenport Community School district calls her the district's "leading lady." Miss Baker was tempted to take up teaching several years ago again when a bright young Vietnamese boy came to her for tutoring during his high school years in Davenport. She's proud of the letter she received from him recently, saying he received a citation from his California school for "Excellence in Education." On the letter he asked her "please to correct my paper." [[photo caption]]Simon Estes[[end caption]] [[photo caption]]Mary Baker[[end caption]]