The Chair

When Grandfather Stringer died in 1931, Grandmother Claude Stringer was left with four children to raise, the youngest of which was "Gip", my father. They lived in a nice home in Talladega but, like most people at the time, they had little money.

Evidently, Grandmother wanted her daughter, Martha, to be able to take piano lessons. She negotiated with Miss Zora Ellis, the local high school English teacher (who must have known how to play) for piano lessons for Martha. Payment for the lessons was a chair, the platform rocker in the picture accompanying this article.

Fast forward about sixty years. Miss Ellis, knowing that she was approaching the end of her life, sought out my parents who were living in Birmingham at the time. She stated that she would like to return the chair to the Stringer family. And she did.

Today, the chair resides with me but it is seeking a new home. A Stringer relative would be ideal but so would a museum-type setting that could use a Victorian-era chair. It's in good shape but I do not think it would stand up to everyday use.

FYI, there is a Junior High School in Talladega today named after Miss Ellis.