"I Would Be a Ham"

I don't remember that Jim was a "ham" until about junior high age.

When he was at McLean Middle School, he was a member of the Jr. Honor Society and in the spring, they were going to the elementary schools to promote the Honor Society. The sponsor asked Jim to sing, "I Would Be True.” I was one of the mother transporters and sat in on the program.

And I was amazed.

There Jim stood before a mike singing ! He was good!
But he needed voice lessons. His diction and phrasing were poor, but he had the voice. I talked to Malcolm Edwards, our Music Minister and he said he'd be glad to give him lessons. And so it began.