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Loop hae Mpa mop een B ay ae? ‘Am Unheralded Lyricist By CHARLES ALLONBY PIERCE CITY — Honoring Mrs, Lucy Wight of nearby Wen- tworth, a pre-Mother’s Day tes- timonial was set by her son Ja- son in the cemetery here last week and could possibly cause some controversy in the nation's song-writing circles. imprinted on the monument of Carthage marble are Wight’s Statements which say that Mrs. Wight is the author and origin of one thing’s sure, in the history of the country's. music no. one has ever given so much and wound up with such an empty purse.” Mrs. Wight continues to write in the family homestead just outside Wentworth and now has in preparation’a song she has entitled “The Flowers’. That song is in its final draft and she hopes to camplete it soon and more than twenty lyries which+: « see. sense have become popular in the last, forty years. ane Fa : Most of these are listed. by * name on the monument and- iprovably the most iniportant is - ‘White Christmas,” a song” which has had sales in the mil- - lions. Origin of many others is: ~- elaimed for her by her son, in- eluding ‘‘Tumbling Tumble- + “Pennies from Heaven”, f ‘and ,among the more popular. i i, a, wd Mrs. Wight was born Jan. 1,* . 1894, on what is known as the “Old Crewse Place’’ at Manes, i. .- Mo., and for about all of her 76; years has shown a propensity < Pe for poetry. aan First recollection of her.« poetical nature, she says, came « when as a small girl she showed- __ ik armer, af he had written. ‘He? : her father, (F&a little poem Ss ealled me his little poet,’?? Mrs.* Wight said, “and that just about* thrilled me to death.” ES She then told how the lyrics off- "White Christmas’? came to bel. written, “I was wyriting my? ~[{Christmas ecards one day,’ she * explained, “when I looked out the window and saw the snew coming down soft: and white. Then the sun came out and the! snow glistened in the treetops. One of the cards I was address- ing had a picture of Santa Claus in his sleigh riding over a house. top. Pausing in the work of setting - the monument, son Jason added other information. ‘‘She had left {her mark with other lyrics,” he , said, ‘‘even before those depres- © sion days of the 1930s with, for example, ‘Paper Doll’. These dyries went out sometime before _the first copyright date 0f 1930." _ wk ke ow: Be Members of her family did & little to encourage her in those & early days, Mrs. Wight remem- bers, when they told her it was useless to send the lyrics to pos. f~ sible publishers and that she &. ‘would never get a dime for * them’, She said’she-told'thenr the lyr- ies would do no earthly good ly- ing around the house and added “Maybe they’ll make somebody happy”. “They made a lot of people happy,’’ son Jason said, “But eee $e Section H AN @ Features " weeds’, “Old Spinning Wheel” f Biiceineemrnns ar & a id $0" one PRIBUTE TOA TRUER RtenpY © 7 DIO BESTOW MANY LITTLE SLRSSINGS ix TUMBLIGG TUMALSWwEEDS? 62 ASG EEOST IGS OLN -SPERING WHESLATIIVGAIRZY D: Sort ‘Boor icnr s S YOU" is EAR WAY PLACES za HurTons & - AND MANY OTHERS BOWS: ae oe fears, ‘As Goo is a $ Mrs. Lucy Wight (above) takes a close look at her monument as: it is ready for placement on the family plot in the Pierce City ‘cemetery. Below, she watches.as her son, Jason, puts the finish- ing touches to the monument. “The words came to Me Matte pemromsere neem emery rally and I wrote them down.” 3° S Liptie \ les RENDERED iN HG WITH BATICNCE AND MERCY Pe nenenanrreennectameenneret He ECOMES YouTis! Far Seok" AMERICA CREA ~AKNGWHN POET & iv {<= ‘TRUSTED WITNESS, 1 Ala TRE (onIgL AUTHOR OF LYRICS FOR I= 1. JRMAS? WERGATIND 7 i - SONG ON EARTH ~ 2.°CounT Your BLESSINGS (INSTEAD OF SHEEP & 3. “THREE LITTLE WORDS. 4. PENUES FROM NEAVENTS. PSPER DOLLIG "IM THE VALLEY OF THE OORT] JAUSIC GOES ROUND HOUND: ¢ : SHGIC NIUSIC’S.RIONT FERCE MEY io Lane LIGHTING THAE INTHE VALLEY iMCRUISING DOWN THE RIVER IZ. LOVE ; RIAGE, I. : AED ieares! CONT. OTHE: peter tr ashen) Sa eae Antal Nl Hh oat me coer oe 8s ne SOM Ror » A anh & ; ee Pa offer it for publication — and payment ~—- to one of several music publishers who have . hey “a asked to see some of her lyrics. Son Jason is a_ construction worker employed on structural . stcel projects in various parts of + ¥° ¥ the country, and work on per- Y4 manently locating the. monu- * + ment on a conerete base will be < ad underiaken as soon as he re turns from Utah. ts e g # 73 mae oa PAYER SRICND A “De fOST Fr / Oud. 6 Ny vA TOME DOZEN KG . ae , . . gat S i t daa seg te BCE A renee wae 8, Photos by Charles Aoazd: : Ne ap hae i 4 % 4 ‘* we Ue 00 4 : ‘ WA 4 ibs Per eensnes WREST ~ rt wrath are §, Ee ‘A eawat.| a ‘ / “ fg - _ . Ake as a ' 1 ye ee tend gaia onion it eben tihantiadnahirpaaetanesninean Wana EU EEE cece,