'EMMA WIXOM' (Con't) From California to the Sophisticated European Stage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- As a child she delighted in gathering wild flowers and making wreaths. When the colorful halo was finished, she would place it on her head and then stand boldly in front of a freestanding mirror, singing newly learned arias. Soon she was being called a child prodigy. Even her wreath of flowers was imitated and given a name, the Wixom Halo. Through all these audacious and flattering outpourings Emma remained natural and unassuming. Her father was a typical product of his time and place, living in cheerful poverty. Though buoyed up by the expectation of sudden wealth, he taught his daughter a priceless lesson. Almost from the time she could walk he impressed on her that singing to an audience was as natural a form of amusement as making mud pies, and it was much more profitable. With her inborn ability and her father's confidence, Emma soon gained the self-assurance needed to be a star. Because of her father's help and dedication, she was able to attend Mills Seminary in Oakland, later known as Mills College. There she studied under the school's German music teacher, Professor Kelleher, and, of course, sang whenever she was asked. This included student activities, faculty gatherings, and the popular Sunday evening musicals. This period of her celebrated life was well remembered in later years. Her former classmates particularly recalled her unquenchable love of singing. They also recalled, however, that she failed to distinguish herself in classroom activities. And they remembered that while she was not really pretty, she had an attractive, uptilted nose that gave her face a delightfully arch expression, and that she fancied bright colors, wearing them in extraordinary combinations. Moreover, they said, "When she grew too stout for her clothes and burst them out, her style of mending was not the best. . . . She never took kindly to stabbing drygoods with a needle. . . ." But poor grades and student criticism must not have daunted the young woman. For it was here, at the Sunday night student concerts, that Emma came into her own. These gatherings brought crowds of people from San Francisco and Oakland. Gathering in the large rooms of the school, they were enraptured with the fine voice of the young singer. One acclaimed it as the "finest to be heard anywhere." Clothes and grades were forgotten. Emma was nearsighted, and this in itself caused additional admiration. When she sang, "Shall I Wear a White Rose, or Shall I Wear a Red Rose," gazing into the audience with her bright eyes half closed and her pretty mouth wrapped in a most convincing smile, there wasn't a college boy present who did not believe she was asking his special preference. Audiences of all ages soon loved Emma. It was at school that she met and befriended Dr. Adrian Ebell, a naturalist, and his lovely wife. When the Ebells decided to tour Europe, they arranged to take Emma along so that she might seriously begin to study for a singing career. To Be Continued. . . Emma's concert before leaving... ------------------------------------------------------------------- Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert July 5, 2005 iggy29@rnetinc.net