Bettie Lawson is stepping down after being the "backbone"
of Roxburgh music for half a century. Photo by Sarah
Marquet.
"Backbone", "stalwart" and "committed" are just some of
the words used to describe Bettie Lawson, who, after almost
half a century on the Roxburgh stage, has stepped out of the
limelight.
The lively 84-year-old smiled as she explained her voice was
going and she was not too keen on going out at night anymore,
but would remain a life member and patron of the Roxburgh
Musical Society and the Roxburgh Harmony Group.
Mrs Lawson had been a member of the Roxburgh Musical Society
since it started "in 1960, I think".
It was a great way to meet people and make friends in the
small town, she said. She had moved to Roxburgh in 1952 after
marrying Jack Lawson, who got a job on an orchard.
Mrs Lawson sang mainly in the chorus but initially had a few
principal roles, her favourite being Aunt Eller in Rodgers
and Hammerstein's first musical collaboration
Oklahoma!
"It was a lot of fun ... it was a bright, free and easy
show."
She was also a founding member of the Roxburgh Harmony Group
- a branch of the musical society set up "about 26 years ago"
for "people just wanting a choir".
Mrs Lawson said she had no formal voice training and her
parents were not particularly musical, but music "has always
been a big part of my life".
She had enjoyed singing and acting since high school and had
been a member of church and school choirs.
At the recent Central Otago Awards, where Mrs Lawson won a
community services award, the judges described her as "the
Mother Teresa of the Teviot Valley", "a woman with courage,
strength and heart" and "the glue that holds the community
together in times of need".
Roxburgh Musical Society president Rosemary Kelly said Mrs
Lawson was "a rock, always guaranteed to be there" and "just
one of those good people".
sarah.marquet@odt.co.nz
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