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Ruby
at Ohio State:
“On My Journey Now” |
In
September 1927, Ruby Elzy entered The Ohio State University
as a sophomore, where she studied voice with the founder
of OSU’s Department (now School) of Music, Dr.
Royal D. Hughes. Before her acceptance was certain,
Ruby sang for some accomplished Columbus musicians at
the McCracken’s home. They were so moved, they
contributed money for her tuition. After her hard work
and progress in her first year of school, Julius F.
Stone, chairman of Ohio State’s board, anonymously
covered her fees for the remainder of her education.
Ruby
helped Mrs. McCracken with housework in exchange for
 room
and board at the home still standing at 172 East Lane
Avenue. Ruby became part of the McCracken family, caring
for the children and for Mrs. McCracken when she fell
ill that first winter.
For one
of the children’s birthdays, Dr. McCracken took
them and Ruby to the Palace Theater for a stage show
and movie with Jack Norworth. When Ruby presented her
ticket, however, the taker would not admit her. Blacks
were excluded from all evening performances. Outraged,
the McCrackens refused to go in and demanded a refund.
“Dr. McCracken knew that racism and bigotry
were not confined to the South…but not until he
began to help Ruby Elzy did [he] come to fully appreciate
the ugliness and injustice that blacks in America were
forced to endure as part of daily life" (pp.
43-44).
 Dr.
McCracken noted, however, that Ruby possessed three
things that helped her deal with the discrimination
she would inevitably face throughout her life. “First,
she had a marvelous sense of humor, coupled with an
engaging personality that made her instantly likeable.
Second, she had a brilliant mind and an ability to analyze
people and situations quickly and accurately. Third,
and most important, she possessed the unique gift that
was hers alone and which enabled her to break down almost
any barrier – her voice” (p. 44).
Despite discrimination,
Columbus presented opportunities for Ruby Elzy. In February
1929, she was one of seventeen sopranos chosen to sing
in the first Columbus performance of Ernest Bloch’s
tone poem, America, with the renowned Cleveland
Orchestra, before an audience of three thousand. A few
days later, she debuted on a medium that would carry
her voice to many more—the radio—when she
sang three solos with the University Chorus in a special
program broadcast live on WEAO, which is now WOSU.
A few months
later the Columbus Dispatch featured her in
a cover story: “Cotton
Patch Singer, ‘Find’ of Professor, Groomed
at University for Concert Career.” As a result
of the article, a teacher in Upper Arlington asked Ruby
to make her life story into a musical play. Ruby titled
the play Stumbling Upward, based on the night
she left Pontotoc for Columbus, and it was presented
in Upper Arlington in May 1930.
Also that
May, Ruby received a singular honor – she was
the first student at Ohio State to give a solo concert
open to the public (see
the original program). In June 1930, Ruby Elzy graduated
with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree, ranking
first in her class from the Department of Music. After
a summer concert tour, Ruby returned to Mississippi
to begin teaching music at Rust College. But she wouldn’t
stay out of the spotlight for long.
Concurrent
Noteworthy Events
1928
• Biracial author Nella Larson publishes the novel,
Quicksand, and will publish Passing
the following year.
1929
• The New York Stock Market crashes in October,
marking the start of the Great Depression.
1930
• Grant Wood completes his famous painting, “American
Gothic.”
• The Chrysler Building is completed in New York
City.
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