Article from The Cheraw Chronicle, Cheraw South Carolina
Thursday, May 28, 1958
History of Cheraw High Alma Mater Given By Composer W. Finlayson
No school ever loved its Alma Mater fervently than does Cheraw High. Faye Matheson, editor of the Spokesman, recently wrote to the man who, twenty years ago, wrote the words and music. Here is his answer:
Dear Faye,
I have your letter of May 6 asking about the Cheraw High School Alma Mater and other information concerning myself. I shall try to recall all the facts but, as you know, it's been a long time. At any rate, here goes:
The words and music were composed by myself. However, at the time I was not advanced enough musically to transcribe the music and Mother put it on paper for me.
The Alma Mater was written in response to a contest, but I can't recall who sponsored it. If I'm not mistaken it was the only entry with both original words and music. I attribute the success of the song to that fact.
The song was written, I believe, my Junior year in high school. that would make it about 1933. (Whew!) Twenty years ago!
You ask how I went about getting it "accepted" as the official Alma Mater. Actually, I did very little. They evidently were serious when they said they were holding the contest to get an Alma Mater, for when they selected my entry. I guess it was then, as you say, accepted. I am very grateful that the song is still going -- and more grateful that it gives me perpetual link with a school I love very much.
You asked about the orchestra. that, in itself, would fill a volume. Suffice it to say that after i went to Carolina we began an orchestra in an effort to make extra money for the school. (That was during the depression and money was hard to get.) We nio;t ot i[ frp, am eight piece band in 1937 to nineteen musicians in 1941. We played professionally the entire time. We disbanded for the war years, and after the surrender of japan, we re-organized as a twenty-piece orchestra and continued until 1949. In the meantime, in 1947, I continued my education in law at the University of South Carolina, but upon the realization that I would have to take certain courses out of the state if i were specialize in a corporate law practice. I gave up the band work and transferred to Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia in 1949. I graduated after one year's work in corporate law and received my LL.B degree in 1950.
I am now practicing law in Gadsden, Alabama, as an associate with James D. Lancaster. We practice in the tax and corporate law fields almost entirely. I am married to the former Esther Davidson of Gadsden and we have one son, a junior, which we call "Brooky". I am a member of the Gadsden Area Development Committee, the East Gadsden Methodist Church, where I am a member of the Official Board, chairman of the music committee and teacher of the Adult Sunday School class. I belong to the Exchange Club and am a past member of the Board of Directors of Southern Newspapers, Inc. and associate counsel for General Newspaper, Inc., The Gadsden Times, Inc, Southern Newspapers, Inc., and other independent newspaper corporations. I am a contributing editor for the Gadsden Times, a newspaper with a circulation of some 23,000. I do this professionally in addition to my law practice and write about one-half of the paper's editorial column. My columns are usually those of Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.
I hope I have given you all the material you'll need. I might add that while in Law School I was a member of KEK, and the Honor Council (at U.S.C) and Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity and Delta Theta Phi Lou Fraternity (at Mercer).
In addition, I did overlook the fact that I serve as a member of the Publicity Committee and the Speakers' Bureau of the Gadsden and Etowah County Chamber of Commerce.
Let me take the chance to thank you very much for your interest in me and the Alma Mater. I hope your graduation issue of the SPOKESMAN is a big success, and that the students of Cheraw High will continue to sing the Alma Mater proudly for years to come. What I said in the words of that song twenty years ago are just as meaningful to me now as they were when written.
Good luck to you and to all the staff of the SPOKESMAN.
Cordially yours,
Westbrook Finlayson
History of Cheraw High Alma Mater Given By Composer W. Finlayson
No school ever loved its Alma Mater fervently than does Cheraw High. Faye Matheson, editor of the Spokesman, recently wrote to the man who, twenty years ago, wrote the words and music. Here is his answer:
Dear Faye,
I have your letter of May 6 asking about the Cheraw High School Alma Mater and other information concerning myself. I shall try to recall all the facts but, as you know, it's been a long time. At any rate, here goes:
The words and music were composed by myself. However, at the time I was not advanced enough musically to transcribe the music and Mother put it on paper for me.
The Alma Mater was written in response to a contest, but I can't recall who sponsored it. If I'm not mistaken it was the only entry with both original words and music. I attribute the success of the song to that fact.
The song was written, I believe, my Junior year in high school. that would make it about 1933. (Whew!) Twenty years ago!
You ask how I went about getting it "accepted" as the official Alma Mater. Actually, I did very little. They evidently were serious when they said they were holding the contest to get an Alma Mater, for when they selected my entry. I guess it was then, as you say, accepted. I am very grateful that the song is still going -- and more grateful that it gives me perpetual link with a school I love very much.
You asked about the orchestra. that, in itself, would fill a volume. Suffice it to say that after i went to Carolina we began an orchestra in an effort to make extra money for the school. (That was during the depression and money was hard to get.) We nio;t ot i[ frp, am eight piece band in 1937 to nineteen musicians in 1941. We played professionally the entire time. We disbanded for the war years, and after the surrender of japan, we re-organized as a twenty-piece orchestra and continued until 1949. In the meantime, in 1947, I continued my education in law at the University of South Carolina, but upon the realization that I would have to take certain courses out of the state if i were specialize in a corporate law practice. I gave up the band work and transferred to Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia in 1949. I graduated after one year's work in corporate law and received my LL.B degree in 1950.
I am now practicing law in Gadsden, Alabama, as an associate with James D. Lancaster. We practice in the tax and corporate law fields almost entirely. I am married to the former Esther Davidson of Gadsden and we have one son, a junior, which we call "Brooky". I am a member of the Gadsden Area Development Committee, the East Gadsden Methodist Church, where I am a member of the Official Board, chairman of the music committee and teacher of the Adult Sunday School class. I belong to the Exchange Club and am a past member of the Board of Directors of Southern Newspapers, Inc. and associate counsel for General Newspaper, Inc., The Gadsden Times, Inc, Southern Newspapers, Inc., and other independent newspaper corporations. I am a contributing editor for the Gadsden Times, a newspaper with a circulation of some 23,000. I do this professionally in addition to my law practice and write about one-half of the paper's editorial column. My columns are usually those of Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.
I hope I have given you all the material you'll need. I might add that while in Law School I was a member of KEK, and the Honor Council (at U.S.C) and Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity and Delta Theta Phi Lou Fraternity (at Mercer).
In addition, I did overlook the fact that I serve as a member of the Publicity Committee and the Speakers' Bureau of the Gadsden and Etowah County Chamber of Commerce.
Let me take the chance to thank you very much for your interest in me and the Alma Mater. I hope your graduation issue of the SPOKESMAN is a big success, and that the students of Cheraw High will continue to sing the Alma Mater proudly for years to come. What I said in the words of that song twenty years ago are just as meaningful to me now as they were when written.
Good luck to you and to all the staff of the SPOKESMAN.
Cordially yours,
Westbrook Finlayson
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