Celebrating 35 years

as a Sweet Adeline Chorus



My Sweet Adeline Legacy

I would say that my grandmother, Gloria Laughter, had a great influence on where I am musically. Sweet Adelines had always been at the back of my heart.

My grandmother was a barber shopper in her hey-day. She was constantly listening to classic and time-honored music, schooling me about “the finer things in life”.

I listened to her stories and adventures in competitions, exciting groups, and unique costuming. At 14, my grandmother also took me to one of her Chorus rehearsals where I got to “meet the family”; a good portion of those women I happen to sing with currently.  I had a feeling that I was being set up from the beginning.

 While not athletically inclined, I tried my hand at a few activities after getting married, including my husbands’ bowling league. It was certainly fun, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.  (I tend to take it personally when I can’t prevail over a bowling ball…) I just kept on looking for a hobby, until it finally hit me.  Like a light bulb that suddenly turned on, the music came calling to me. And when the pied-piper comes a playing, there's just no turning back. Music is what I'd been called to do.

My short time, thus far, as a Sweetie has been rewarding in every way. I have felt welcome even before coming into the group, as I had met some of the members previously during an impromptu recruiting session in a local restaurant.  I could see how my grandmother embraced everyone in the chorus as family. The consideration that the women have for each other in trials and triumphs, along with a spirit of song and encouragement, are but a few of the smaller, more significant things I’ve observed in the Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus.  They constantly look to be unique and excel in every way they can. Many have and do offer their time to sing inside and outside of their normal schedule for whatever momentous occasion suits the season. They are exuberant and lively, and, as a group, portray the best qualities of musicianship and humanity.

Our Chorus just recently had a garage sale, and while searching for things to put in the sale, I found myself looking through clothing and items that once belonged to my grandmother. Jewelry, fake eyelashes, stockings, new tubes of lipstick that hadn't been touched, and many remnants of her singing days still lodged in the back of my mother's closet. These are costumes that have stories and songs woven into their threads; experiences that some other dresses in her closet would be envious to share.  And while all of these costumes have had their time on one stage or another, their beads and sequins still have that brilliant sparkle; they're waiting for their next adventure.

My grandmother's quartet, Chord Jesters.  She's the second from the left.

This is the legacy I see left behind.  My grandmothers' enjoyment and fulfillment is apparent in so many photos and bound in friendships she'd made along the way during her years in Sweet Adelines. I know my grandmother planned this, so that one day I would be introduced to the many things she enjoyed about music. I hope to leave an even more spectacular legacy for my family.

-For Gloria

Melody Gromoll, Gainesville Harmony Show Chorus