Patricia Bennett Wilson, Author

My journey with my blind grandmother's music began in 1948. I was eight years old. She was an awesome music composer. That day, she sat beside me on the piano bench and (with one finger) taught me the song she wrote for me, "Patty's Puppy Pepper". I remembered feeling so loved that day....just to think my grandmother loved me enough to write a song just for me!

Grammie, Persis Beach Bennett, lived in a big house on a hill in Lancaster, New Hampshire. I was born in that state, but grew up in Connecticut. We visited my grandmother often, and each time she would play the piano and sing us the last song she wrote.

As my grandmother advanced in years, she desperately wanted to save the music for her children. Because she was blind, she could not write her music down. When she passed away, her music would be gone forever. In 1949 she traveled to New Jersey with her daughter, Beulah. Beulah was a self taught, but talented pianist. Actually, they made quite a team. They went to a recording studio and recorded 15 of Grammie's songs on 78rpm records.

Grammie passed away when I was 13. I remember asking my father, "Daddy! Whatever will happen with Grammies music?" When my grandmother died, we were living in Southern California. Four years later, we travel to New Hampshire. I worked with my Aunt Beulah trying to get some of my grandmother's music in written form. We did get two of the songs (simple melody and lyrics) written, but it seemed to be such an impossible task at the time to all the music in written form. Already the records were terribly scratched and hard to understand. I remember returning to California in tears, because I felt, in-spite of Grammie's efforts to save her music it would be lost for my generation.

In 1994 I went to New Hampshire and expressed my concern to my cousins. We searched for written music. None. The records were in a cousin's basement. I brought them home to Redmond, Oregon, where I now live. The records were on my lap as I sat in the plane on the way home. I remember thinking......."Pat! This is the dumbest thing you have ever done! What do you think you are going to do with these??" All I knew was that the would be soon thrown away if I didn't do something!