An unknown author wrote, “God gave us music that we might pray without words.”
TIOGA – An unknown author wrote, “God gave us music that we might pray without words.”
For almost seven decades, Mabel Hargis Smith has used her amazing talents to insure a multitude have had just such an opportunity.
Now 90 years old, the former well-known music teacher at Tioga Senior High and a highly respected pianist/organist for Tioga First Baptist no longer maintains the pace she once did, but it doesn’t mean the music has stopped.
“I don’t play as much as I used to play,” said Smith, who spends much of her time caring for Thomas, her husband of 57 years, at a nursing home just outside of Rosepine, “but I still try to play when I can.”
It’s her love, and it has been for all these many years. Smith said she took great pleasure in spreading her love for music to the multitude of students and people, which she would eventually touch. Whether it was at the high school or at the church, she was a shining example to all who came to know her, friends say.
“I believe God blessed me with a talent, and I felt He wanted me to pass it on to others,” Smith said. “I also believe the Lord wanted me to contribute in as many ways that I could.”
She has faithfully followed her beliefs.
When she wasn’t teaching music at the high school, where her chorale’s dominance of statewide high school choir festivals was almost legendary, she could usually be found at the church.
There was regular choir practice, not to mention choir specials. She directed the children’s choir, taught Sunday school and discipleship training, and served on a number of committees.
On Sundays, she was a fixture at the front of the church accompanying the congregation on piano and later on the organ. She also played the piano for three Sunday school classes, at local nursing homes, as well as other various church functions.
She was in constant demand.
Smith, a Pineville native, credits her parents for not only getting her started in her music career, but also for getting her involved in church.
Her family were active participants in First Baptist Church Pineville.
And since her parents lived in the shadows of Louisiana College, it was only natural she attend LC, where she graduated in 1938. She continued her education by earning a graduate degree in social studies from Louisiana State University and a master of music degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
“My first love was music, but I also taught history, civics and English,” Smith said with a chuckle.
She came to Tioga when the old school housed all 12 grades, where she taught vocal music to all classes. She was constantly on the lookout for potential talent, and soon began to recruit students who showed promise.
“Some days I wouldn’t even take a lunch or recess, so I could get to all the grades, because I would travel from room to room,” Smith said.
In 1962, Ethel Holloman, a reporter for the Alexandria Town Talk, wrote, “She (Smith) believes that every child has the right to learn about, to participate in and to have music whether he has been blessed with outstanding musical talent or not. Mrs. Smith possesses the ability to make them all want to sing.”
And sing they did.
Her chorale program would eventually become recognized nationally as one of the most outstanding in the nation, because it was based on a 12-grade system. The mixed chorus began as a 12-member ensemble, but it doubled the next year and tripled by the third year.
The ensemble eventually swelled to as many as 90 members, which was a phenomenal number.
Even when the school eventually divided into elementary and high schools, and she went to the high school to teach, she continued to produce award-winning ensembles until her retirement in 1975.
“I had three principals – Robert Mount, Earl Aiken and Philip White – who all thought music was a good thing,” Smith said. “I must give them a lot of credit for the success of the chorale. They allowed me teach and develop the program. They allowed me to help students find music.”
A member of First Pine-ville, when she began teaching at Tioga, she happened to come to First Tioga simply by chance.
“I was living in the teachers’ cottage, which stood next to old Tioga High School, at the time. All unmarried teachers had to live there – they didn’t have a choice,” Smith said. “A (teacher) friend of mine asked if I would mind taking over the accompaniment duties at the church.
“I agreed, and, well, I never left. Having said that, I never wanted to leave,” said Smith. “It has been a fulfilling time here because I have been able to contribute to the way people worship our Lord. I have been blessed.”
“Mabel is one of the most respected and influential members of this church, as a matter of fact, she taught many of our members music,” said David Cranford, pastor of First Tioga. “She presented the Gospel through music and the way she lived her life. She is a living role model of a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“I believe she would be playing the organ even now if Coach Smith wasn’t in a nursing home,” Cranford said. “Even though they moved closer to Susan, their daughter, she still tries to come back here often.”
As an indication of just how well she is thought of at the church and by the congregation, there is a plaque near the piano, placed there in 1991, to honor her 50th anniversary as the church’s pianist.
Eleven years later, after 61 years, she officially retired as the church’s organist. It was commemorated with a ceremony at the morning service followed by a large, well-attended reception that afternoon.
She shrugs off the attention and accolades and humbly tells people the years spent at First Tioga, “have been a complete blessing to me. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed the people and the fellowship. I don’t know why people are making such a fuss over me – they really shouldn’t,” Smith said modestly.
“Mabel doesn’t like to be in the center of attention,” Cranford said. “She is truly a servant of God, and that is why she is so well respected and admired.”
Mabel Smith will be a part of Tioga First Baptist as long as music remains a part of the church service.