 Phyllis Jeanne Blaum was a beloved music teacher at the school from
1970 to 1994. A lifetime resident of New Holland, she died last
year.
Many from her family were present for the memorial, which
included planting a lilac. But first, there was a special song
tribute that symbolized what Mrs. Blaum was all about.
Gary LaForge, a former student who graduated in 1979, was asked
to sing for the memorial. Mrs. Blaum had coached him in singing "Ol'
Man River" to win the competition that put him in the state choir in
his senior year.
"Anytime anyone mentions this song, I think of Phyllis," he said.
LaForge shared his mentor's sentiment that music helps us
remember things that are important. "Ol' Man River" tells a story.
"It is a piece of history we can't forget," he said with conviction.
Written for the New York Broadway play "Showboat" in 1927, "this
song was breaking barriers at the time," he said.
"Ol' Man River" tells about the hard labor of slaves pulling
barges up the Mississippi in the 1800s.
Recalling his training with Mrs. Blaum, LaForge said she was the
only one who could accompany him.
"I changed the volume. I changed the speed. I changed about
everything else multiple times through the song," he said.
The day of his competition he was very nervous. Then, when the
person right before him finished, Mrs. Blaum wasn't there. LaForge
began thinking he would need to go a cappella, "when she came
running down the hall and actually pushed her way into the room," he
said. "But, I did it, we did it."
He said he doesn't get much opportunity to sing anymore, but in
college he enjoyed singing with the University of Illinois Glee
Club, and his claim to fame was singing with Diana Ross at the 1996
Super Bowl XXX halftime.
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 Now, standing outside the New Holland-Middletown School, LaForge
belted out with passion the state-winning song he and Mrs. Blaum
shared -- a cappella this time.
"Ol' Man River" can be heard from 01:59 to 05:25 at
DW_S0411.wav.
LaForge said Mrs. Blaum taught everyone that it was not about the
mechanics of music, such as rhythm or notes, but it had to have
emotion attached.
"If you can find the emotion, then you connect everybody in the
audience," he said. "If you don't find the emotion, you're not going
to touch anybody."
According to her family, Mrs. Blaum was a wonderful, kind-hearted
woman who touched the lives of many by sharing her enthusiasm for
music. She performed, taught and directed. She had a unique ability
to modify a song to fit any occasion.
At NH-M, she taught all grade levels and ages at the school and
was well-remembered by all for her gusto. She was known to fight for
every dollar to keep the music program in place.
The Phyllis J. Blaum Music Scholarship Fund was set up last year
in care of New Holland Banking Center.
[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]
Note: The NH-M Community Supports Education Committee has a goal
of $80,000 to bring laptops and tablets plus updated infrastructure
and software to the school. There will be another special event at
the school celebrating the $25,000 State Farm grant that the project
won recently, bringing fundraising efforts since August 2012 to over
$51,000.
Past related information
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