Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Salute to Great Women To Be Presented In Hope At Klipsch Auditorium

A 'salute to great women' will be given to area women who have personally changed lives by living such fascinating lives themselves.

Lawrence Hamilton will present 'A Salute To Great Women' Saturday, April 17, at 7 p.m. in the Klipsch Auditorium in Hope. He will also be at a reception at the Citizens National Bank Community room at 5 p.m.

Those to get recognition from Prescott are Freddie Mae Hamilton, a retired educator, Bobby George, an educational aide; Bernice Berryman, an educator; Rev. Annie Hubbard, religious community leader and educator; Ila Upchurch, community involvement; Alberta Hamilton, missionary; the ladies of Munn's Chapel Baptist Church; Joyce Gibson, teacher of the year; missionaries of the various churches; and Ward Chapel A.M.E. young adult department.

Those to be recognized from the Rosston area are Arthurlene P. Bradford, a retired educator; Velma Mixon, a retired educator; Ardell Johnson, a retired educator; and Lula Q. Kendrick, a caregiver and involved in the religious community.

Hamilton is a former student of Freddie M. Hamilton.

He is a Foreman native who has become a Broadway performer and his musical tribute at Hope to raise money for college scholarships. A fund is to be set up for the scholarships.

He is also bringing the touring company to southwest Arkansas for a chance to see his family, including his 102-year-old grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Sandefur Russell, of Ashdown.

"Education is the key that unlocks the doors to opportunity," Hamilton's sister, Phyllis Hamilton, who is a counselor at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope, said. "And what has been given to you must be given back to others.

"My brother has been given opportunities and he wants to give something back to others so they may benefit also."

Hamilton was one of seven children who began to play the piano at age six. Phyllis Hamilton remembers that her younger brother always wanted to practice the piano when his siblings wanted to watch television. He also began to earn money playing the piano at area churches when other youngsters went to work in local chicken houses.

"He always wanted to take care of his hands so he could play the piano," Hamilton said of her brother. "And in the end, he earned more money playing the piano for a day than we earned in those chickens houses all week long."

Hamilton graduated from Foreman High School before studying piano and voice at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, where he graduated in 1976. He then performed in a musical show at Walt Disney World in Orlando for three years where he learned to dance and act.

A New York agent saw Hamilton perform at Disney World and signed him to perform in Broadway touring shows for a year before moving to New York. Hamilton has since appeared in 10 Broadway plays and performed for the Pope and former President Ronald Reagan.

Hamilton last performed in Texarkana in 1987, when he staged a musical tribute to his father. The upcoming show, sponsored by GNM Productions, is a tribute to influential women who guided his life, including his mother, Mae Dell Hamilton of Foreman.

The show features musical and dance selections from Broadway shows, gospel, pop and contemporary ballads.

Hamilton will stay in the area for three days where a street in Foreman will be named for him on April 18. Phyllis Hamilton said her brother plans to stay on Broadway, but he stills remains close to family and his Arkansas heritage. And she said he wants to pass on his father's legacy of faith and providing education opportunities for young people.

"When my brother left Arkansas, all he had was a college degree, an airplane ticket and $35," she said of her brother. "My father always told us, if you work hard and stay focused on God and the church, they will take care of you. And he has been taken care of."

Tickets may be purchased at the Hope Chamber of Commerce, the University of Arkansas Community College and Oscar Hamilton Elementary School in Foreman. Tickets are $20 for the concert and reception and $15 for the concert only. Student concert tickets are $10.

For more information, call 870-777-3563.