Harlem to New York: Zara Cully Brown - A Letter to my Mom

Zara Cully Brown, [my great-aunt] was a boarder in the same New York Apartment with her sister Agnes Cully Peters,  for a number of years between 1935-1940's.  My mother was quite young at the time, and I had not known that Aunt Zara ever lived in New York with my grandmother.  This discovery of their living arrangements was documented in the 1940's Census.

Aunt Zara had been living between Duval, Florida where she taught drama and was a elocutionist and New York.  She traveled to various states of the U.S. performing, speaking and doing readings.  Zara was not fully recognized as a talented & skilled actress until she landed the role of Olivia in "The Jeffersons."

Zara eventually moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950's taking my grandmother Agnes, her brother in-law "Unkie" Brown, and my mom.

I found this letter written to my mother regarding the movie role Zara took in "Sugar Hill" as the Voodoo high priestess..

Letter written to My mother Betty Mae Peters Porter

And here again, I have to take note that My brother and I were thought of indirectly.

" Kiss the children for me and excuse all errors."

Aunt Zara

I wanted to see what the home looked like that Aunt Zara lived in at the time this letter was written.  I do not remember this home, only the high-rise apartment she resided in a few years before her death in 1978.

What an adorable home.  Wonder if she chose this home as it seems similar to the homes Zara resided in Worcester, MA.

New Yorker Makes Marian Anderson's Clothes: Newspaper Article #2

I received an inbox facebook message from a Mr. Adams informing me of a news article outlining the relationship of Marian Anderson to my grandmother Agnes Peters and how they were introduced.  He also informed me that some of my grandmother's dresses are held at the Museum of the City of New York.  I hope to have the opportunity of seeing some of Agnes' handiwork.

The article was written by Ollie Stewart of the Baltimore Afro-American dated April 19, 1941 on Page 17.

By Ollie Stewart

Next to her voice, the most outstanding thing about Marian Anderson is her wardrobe.

On the concert stage, as social gatherings, at home or wherever, she may be, America’s High Priestess of song is always a picture of what the well-dressed woman will soon be wearing.  She loves beautiful clothes, has lots of them and wears them well.  But if you think they’re all expensive Paris or Fifth Avenue creations, then you don’t know Marian Anderson.

The exquisite satin gown she wore at Carnegie Hall on the night of January 3, 1941 was designed and made by a modest little woman in Harlem, who is a wizard with needle and thread.  Her name is Mrs. Agnes Peters, and the telegram she received the day after the concert is among her most cherished possessions:

“Dress tremendous success last night,” the wire read.  “Enjoyed very much wearing it.  Congratulations.  Marian Anderson.”

Mrs. Peters has many more telegrams from the noted contralto, and she preserves them every one.  Most of them are sent from the Algonquin Hotel, where Marian Anderson stops when she comes to New York, and most of them are requests for Mrs. Peters to make, repair or design some article of clothing.

Plans Wardrobe

“Miss Anderson is a marvelous person,” the modiste (Mrs. Peters refers to herself as dressmaker) will tell you. “She is easy to fit, has many ideas of her own and looks well in anything she puts on.

“She plans her wardrobe months ahead.  Naturally she is very particular about an evening gown, but for many of her other things she gives me a general idea of what she wants and tells me to go ahead.”

A telegram dated November 3, 1939, marked the turning point in Mrs. Peters’ career.  It was sent to the wrong address, but when it finally arrived it brought a thrill that comes seldom in a lifetime.  Here it is:

“Please call me at your earliest convenience.  Miss Roberta Bosley recommended you.  Marian Anderson.”

Nervous and trembling, Mrs. Peters presented herself at the door of Marian Anderson’s suite in the Algonquin in a very short time.  She is barely five feet four in high heels ordinarily—but on this occasion she must have seemed even smaller, for Miss Anderson remarked after greeting her and making her feel at ease:

“Little” Person

“My, I never expected you would be such a little mite of a body!”

Back in 1937 Marian Anderson attracted nation-wide attention when she appeared as soloist at the Lewisohn stadium in New York City.  Among the thousands who heard her was Mrs. Peters – then a struggling unknown, seamstress with no husband, but with a growing daughter to rear and educate.

Mrs. Peters watched Miss Anderson in her hour of triumph, and inspiration touched her.  On the way home she said to her companion: “Some day I hope to do some sewing for Marian Anderson.  Maybe I’ll even make a dress for her to sing in.  Who knows?”

Wishing and working made it so.  Roberta Bosley, 135^th Street librarian, knew Marian Anderson.  She also knew what miracles the tiny seamstress could work with a scrap of cloth, a needle, a thimble and a spool of thread.  So she brought the two together, with success.

Last summer, Mrs. Peters spent many weekends at Marianna Farm, Marian Anderson’s country place in Connecticut, sewing, relaxing and enjoying the intimate contact with the famous singer that millions will never know.

Wears Slacks

“Miss Anderson wears slacks most of the time.” She says.  “She raises all the green vegetables used in the house, she nourishes her flowers and then she rehearses.  Every day she rehearses with her accompanist.”

What about amusements?

“At night Miss Anderson would show us movies of her travels.  She has a first-class motion picture camera and a projector.  The pictures are Technicolor, and were taken in all parts of the world.  Miss Anderson operated the machine herself.”

Designs Simple

Mrs. Peters has been sewing practically all her life.  Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, one of a larger family of children, she became an expert on doll dresses at an age when she was scarcely any bigger than a large doll herself.

She has done work for a host of people, many of them outstanding—but she thinks Marian Anderson is unique in one respect.  “What I mean is,” she says, “Miss Anderson will have nothing but the best – in material, workmanship, etc.  But in designs she demands utmost simplicity.  The best on her does not look expensive, it just looks right, and nice.”

Before Harlem: Miss Agnes Cully of Worcester, Massachusetts

I am just fascinated by my maternal grandmother Agnes Cully Peters, who sewed for many notable entertainers, socialites, and business people in New York and other areas of the country.  She had gotten her start in Worcester, MA at a very young age.  

My mother told me that her mother Agnes' talent was likened to Mendelsohn, Van Gogh, and numerous others who were born with their talents.  Agnes was born with a talent for sewing.  When she was a little girl, she would find scraps of fabric and scissors, needles and thread, and she would fashion little doll clothes  She was not taught to do this or helped in any way.  Neither was she able to watch sewing being done.  Agnes just had the natural ability to sew, and when she went to cutting, she had no pattern, however, her scissors would fly with such preciseness of artistry.

Below is a photo of my grandmother's graduating class of 1917 at the Girls Trade School in Worcester, MA.

Agnes Mae Cully, Only African American in the front Row

My grandmother is someone I would like to emulate.  Not so much her talent, but her sense of purpose and passion for the things that she desired.  It is in my opinion that this little lady embraced who she was, and pursued her dreams and accomplished what she desired.  She said one day that she would hope to sew for Marian Anderson, and one day the opportunity appeared in a telegram from the singer herself.  I would have loved to have been in the room when she received that message, one of many, in the Fall of 1939.