Inspiration lor the Millions
On a quickt Kaslorn \orlli Cnrwlinn farm,
(his lady has written the words for over a
thousand hymns.
Ii is unlikely lhal most North Caro¬
linians know of a talented farm woman
named Vida Munden Nixon. But she is
well-known to song publishers through¬
out the United States; and the people
everywhere, in church choirs and con¬
gregations. who have sung her poetry
must be counted in the millions.
On the farm where Mrs. Nixon
lives, located between Stanhope and
Hailey, she keeps a file stuffed with
the carbons of thousands of her poems,
written during moments of inspiration
in a life busy with farm chores and
child-raising. At least a thousand of
these poems have been set to music.
It would be difficult to estimate the
total volume of her work, for she
started writing poetry when she was 14
years old. Born in Johnston County,
near Smithficld. Vida was the oldest of
five children in the Needham Mun¬
den family. Although of modest cir¬
cumstances, her family encouraged the
children's love of music and poetry,
and saved to send them to the singing
classes which sometimes came to the
community.
Often, she says, the parents and chil¬
dren would sing in harmony by the
fireside at night while her mother
played the organ; and when relatives
or friends visited, her father would
read her poems to them.
When she grew up. Vida became a
country school teacher in her own
home county. Later she took a busi¬
ness course and served as stenographer
in a law office and with other busi¬
nesses until the age of 27. when she
married Jesse Willis Nixon, a farmer
with three children. Three more chil¬
dren were born to the couple, and
they now have five granddaughters.
Hard Times
Times were hard on the farm during
those years, she recalls; but she had
continued writing poetry, and she re¬
membered that someone had told her
song publishers sometimes bought
poetry.
She sent off six poems to a pub¬
lisher. and the firm accepted four of
them, paying her the sum of SI 0.00
By KITH N. MINCH ER
Mr* Vido Munden Ni«on
for the four poems! "I was so happy."
she said. "I just had to run and tell the
folks that were grading tobacco!"
"It was such a busy life, when my
children were growing up," Mrs. Nixon
recalls, but she continued to write as
she could, gaining recognition from
many of the publishing houses until
she became quite well-known as a
writer of sacred songs and she began
to have more and more accepted.
She taught herself to play the piano
to help her write the lyrics — she
takes music in shorthand and later
writes in on a staff.
Her work was solicited by publishers
and composers, and it got to the place
that she would have a deadline to
meet. With her limited time, she says,
she would always take her pad and
pencil in her pocket when she went to
gather vegetables and there, in God’s
wide-open spaces, would come the
words to another poem.
Later, publishers began writing her
for program materials, and many times,
in order to meet requests, she would
work far into the night.
Many composers (she docs not
know the names of many of them).
Jiavc set her lyrics to music and she
has written words to fit musical com¬
positions by many composers who sent
their work to her. Once she received
thirty-seven different melodics in one
mailing envelope from a composer who
was teaching in a university. She has
revised many poems and lyrics, build¬
ing them in word and accent to fit
the music.
She is now on the editorial staff of
The Gospel Song Publishing Associa¬
tion of America. Inc. Music and re¬
vision work is sent to her address at
Rt. 3, Bailey from the office in Cul-
lont. Alabama, for her to write the
lyrics and return to the press. She has
had the office of vice-chairman of the
editorial staff with this company con¬
ferred upon her "because I had
worked for so many people in Ala¬
bama."
Unknown Collaborator
In 1959. one of her songs, "After
the Turning." won a prize in a world¬
wide contest sponsored by the Haza-
rene Publishing House of Kansas City.
Missouri.
She did not even know the name of
the man who wrote the music (her
collaborator). Harold B. Franklin en¬
tered it there in his home town. Kan¬
sas City.
Mrs. Nixon is still a very busy per¬
son. doing her housework and caring
for her aged and almost totally deaf
husband, but she does have more time
for writing now that he has retired
from farming. At home she lives a
simple life among friends and neigh¬
bors. is active in several community
churches, and is a friend to both the
old and young.
One publishing firm, years ago.
wrote her for some information about
herself ... she wrote that there wasn't
much to tell about her education, that
the only "degrees" she had ever really
learned were the "degrees of hot and
cold" that she learned while walking
to and from school. But. as she says,
her talent "is God-given." therefore,
she doesn't need any other degrees.
She has never met a single one of her
publishers.
( Continued on page 31 )
THE STATE. December 15, 1966
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