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On
July 27, 1895, Henry P. and Emma Buehler Boette welcomed a daughter to
their family: Marie Dorothea Boette. Marie was a lucky child. Her father
saw her talent for music and nurtured its growth, buying her first
instrument, a hand pump organ. An upright piano followed.
"I was endowed with the gift of music. It was an 'open sesame' to me,"
Marie once said. "I played for the church choir when I was only 8 years
old. Music played an early part in my life."
If Marie was endowed with musical gifts, she certainly never hoarded
that talent but gave freely to others throughout Parkersburg and West
Virginia.
Marie's Teaching Career
Marie was teaching music in Wood County before
1920, although her most enduring contribution during her early career
must be the formation in 1931 of Parkersburg High School's a Cappella
Choir, the first in the state. That tradition has since grown and
blossomed as the choir has become known nationally and continued to
travel the path she wrought for it.
In 1936, Marie left PHS and accepted a position as associate professor
of music at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She lent her considerable
talents to Wesleyan for a little more than 10 years. The college
remembered her accomplishments and gifts, according her an honorary
doctorate in 1982.
Marie left Wesleyan in 1947 to accept a position as organist and
director of music at the First Methodist Church in Huntington. In 1950,
however, Parkersburg again beckoned.
"I was in Huntington for three years when I said to myself, 'This is
silly. You can do what you want to do in Parkersburg, so you might as
well go home,'" she once said. And she did, returning to accept the role
of organist and director of music at First Presbyterian Church.
Marie at First Presbyterian Church
In
many ways, the music program at this church owes much of its strength to
this talented woman. Nor was it just vocal music that drew her
attention. Although the church's set of English Whitechapel handbells
arrived after she retired, Marie was very instrumental in their
acquisition.
Marie continued at First Presbyterian Church until 1962, when she
retired and was named Director of Music Emeritus. It was during this
time that she completed work on her book Singa Hipsy Doodle, a
labor of love for her. Marie traveled across the state, gaining the
confidence of residents and encouraging them to sing their favorite
songs so she might record them. She captured for posterity a part of
West Virginia's oral history.
Whatever your connection to Marie Dorothea Boette, and even if you never
had the opportunity to know that indomitable woman, we hope you will
enjoy her legacy: the Marie Boette Concert Series. She gave a tremendous
amount of time and talent to us, and we certainly appreciated her
century of musical excellence.
