Comments on: Ann C. Searcy: WE BECOME OUR POSSIBILITIES by Guest Blogger, Agy Wilson

By: Margot Finke - author

Margot Finke - author — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 20:30:41 +0000

What a wonderful and inspiring story Agy Wilson tells about her friend Annie. I think Annie and her family were awesome for their time – for ANY time! I have also seen the artwork Agy did for this story, and it is a great pity that it did not show. Agy’s evocative drawings showed a delightful Annie that those who knew and loved her would instantly recognize. They were done with love, and a true knowledge of the woman Annie was,

HOOK Kids on Reading:
http://hookkidsonreading.blogspot.com/

By: Agy Wilson

Agy Wilson — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:13:52 +0000

oops, that should have been GRANDFATHER, not father, sorry not enough coffee in the system yet!

By: Agy Wilson

Agy Wilson — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:12:35 +0000

Peter, thank you for sharing! She was a remarkable woman, and I had wished she’d been one of my teachers. She gave her students even the youngest ones, self respect and a belief in themselves. I remember her telling me at one point she couldn’t navigate the steps on the way to the cafeteria, so she told her students they were responsible for themselves. Alone with her encouragement, they were much better behaved than the monitored students! At one point there had been a petition going around Gorham, to NOT SELL TO THAT NEGRO. When one of the parents of a former student got wind of it, he sold her his home, because he KNEW what an asset to the community she was. Emerson, was brilliant, having tutored Ed Musky and finishing school at MIT and Harvard. He came back and BEGGED for a job teaching math at OOB, as an interim replacement. They reluctantly let him have the job. He kept it till retirement, served on the Council there, and a strip of road was named for him (E.E. Cummings). One other bit of info… Ann’s father was Shurtleff Emerson, relative of Ralph Waldo, and a staunch abolitionist. His wife, Rose’s mother was black and Indian. Shurtleff was lynched, and the family didn’t feel safe where they were (down south and then to New Orleans) and that’s how they made their way up to Portland and then Old Orchard Beach.

By: Amy Bowllan

Amy Bowllan — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:01:30 +0000

You’re welcome, Peter. I will certainly pass along your note to Agy. She’s on FB and I am sure will appreciate it. All the best!

By: Peter Grant

Peter Grant — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:41:51 +0000

“Mrs. Searcy” was my 1st grade teacher at Little Falls Elementary School in Gorham, Maine in approximately 1970-71.

Her amazing voice, strong spirit and iron clad self confidence made her a powerful influence in my young life. Her class was an amazing place for a 6/7 year old and was filled with story telling and music.

I knew nothing of her upbringing here in Maine but your glimpse into that life helps me see why our class was so fulfilling. Thank you.