Several weeks ago, a video of an elderly woman playing Beethoven on the piano went viral. It was titled “104 Year Old School Teacher Playing Beethoven“.
Like everyone else, I was awed by her talent and her care free happiness, but a lingering question remained. Who was she? None of the videos I saw seemed to give her any credit.
I decided to do a little bit of investigating on my own. I spent a few days doing research and scouring videos across the web searching for any clue as to whom she might be.
Then, I found the clues I was looking for. Some of her former students, now grown up, recognized her in the comments and began sharing stories. After speaking with many of them, I was led to speak with others who knew her pretty well.
It turns out she is a bit of a local hero. Everyone I spoke to had amazing stories to share, and the more I learned, the more I was intrigued.
Her name is Miss Ann Gore, and she’s not 104. She is in fact, closer to 80. She taught music at Aynor Elementary and Midland Elementary schools in Horry County, South Carolina before retiring.
Because of time, I didn’t have the opportunity to speak with Miss Ann Gore personally, however I did get to speak with many in her community. They talked both of her carefree spirit and of how serious she could be. They spoke of her passion for music, and how intimidating she could be.One of the things that everyone seemed to recall was that she loves to tell scary stories.
Above all else though, they spoke of how much she loved kids, and how much she apparently loved telling scary stories.
I took the extra time to write this story about Miss Ann Gore, because what started as a curiosity from a viral video turned into something much bigger. As I learned more about her, I couldn’t help but flash back to my own music teacher, Dr. Diane Float, and how she didn’t just touch my life, but changed it; and I recognized the same passion and love I have for my music teacher, as Miss Ann Gore’s students have for her, even all of these years later.
It takes a special person with a special of heart to be the kind of music teacher that touch and change the life of a child and leave a life-long, positive impact the way Miss Anne Gore did for her students, and the way Dr. Diane Float did for me. Even now, at the age of 40, I almost tear up thinking about how she changed my life.
So, here is to Miss Anne Gore, and Dr. Diane Float, and every other music teacher bringing love and music into the lives of children everywhere. You change the world for the better, and we love you.
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