Betty Cutts Wylder (March 12, 1923 – February 18, 1994) was an American composer, organist, environmentalist, and folklorist, based in Long Beach, California, after 1953.
Betty Wylder | |
|---|---|
 Betty Cutts, later Wylder, from a 1943 newspaper | |
| Born | Elizabeth Anne Cutts March 12, 1923 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | February 18, 1994 (age 70) |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, folklorist, environmentalist, organist |
Early life and education edit
Elizabeth Anne Cutts was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Charles Rollin Cutts and Frances Marion Tabor Cutts. Her mother was a clubwoman and hospital worker;[1] her father was a music educator. She graduated from high school in Billings, Montana, and attended the University of Montana,[2] where she earned a bachelor's degree in music in 1947.[3][4]
Career edit
Music edit
With her father and her husband, and UCLA folklorist Wayland Hand, she collected folksongs in Montana in the 1940s, interviewing performers, and making audio recordings and written transcripts.[5] The team's field journals and other materials from this work are in special collections at the University of Montana.[4]
Wylder and her husband moved to Long Beach, California, in 1953, where he was a university professor of English. She was organist at Long Beach Unitarian Church for 29 years.[6][7] She composed and arranged hymns used in Unitarian Universalist services,[8] including “Enter, Rejoice, and Come In”, “Let It Be a Dance”, and “Love Will Guide Us”.[9] She met singer Undine Wildman at the church; the two women began to perform music together in night clubs.[10] She was a member of the Long Beach Women's History Month Steering Committee in the 1970s and 1980s, and helped create musical reviews for women's history programs.[10][11]
Gardening and environment edit
In Long Beach, Wylder kept an extensive backyard herb garden, with advice and donations from the Long Beach Herb Society.[12][13] She studied the lore of various herbs, especially their uses in witchcraft and traditional medicine.[14] She was program chair of the Long Beach chapter of Zero Population Growth,[15] and environmental protection chair of the PTA in Long Beach in the 1970s,[16] and lectured on herb lore[12][17] and environmental issues.[18] She was also awards chair of Long Beach Beautiful.[19]
Publications edit
Personal life and legacy edit
Cutts married Robert C. Wylder in 1944, while he was serving in the United States Marine Corps. They had three daughters.[15] She died in 1994, at the age of 70, in Long Beach.[23] Wylder Hall at the Long Beach Unitarian Church was named for her and for her husband.[24]
References edit
- ^ "Frances T. Cutts". The Billings Gazette. 1984-03-27. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Engagement is Announced". The Billings Gazette. 1943-04-25. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Rites Unite Miss Betty Cutts, Lieutenant Robert Wylder of Marine Corps". The Billings Gazette. 1944-07-09. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Montana Folksongs Collection". Archives West. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ "Ar-Drills Stop Miners' Songs". The Bangor Daily News. 1950-05-09. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Humor in Religion is Topic". Anaheim Bulletin. 1968-08-17. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McCarty, Jane (1990-02-08). "Wylder to discuss life and times of a musician". The Golden Rain Seal Beach Leisure World News. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ "Betty Wylder". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ Carney, Mike (2024-01-31). "Musical Musings 2-4: From introspective to inspirational with Karin Tooley and our Chancel Choir". Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ a b "Undine Wildman". Historical Society of Long Beach. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ Zink, Linda (1976-04-25). "Long-lost heroines are something to sing about". Press-Telegram. p. 64. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Bewitching Herb Hints". The Los Angeles Times. 1988-07-31. p. 89. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Community Calendar: Herb Society". News-Pilot. 1975-10-14. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ivy, Carol (1974-08-11). "Wylder weeds a garden of sweet spells". Independent. pp. 49, 62. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b McDonnell, Pat (1971-02-07). "Technology and ecology must mix". Press-Telegram. pp. 31, 36. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Smog flags fly at schools". Press-Telegram. 1973-01-05. p. 28. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Witch is which". Thousand Oaks Star. 1973-04-11. p. 51. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Carlton, Mary Ellis (1974-04-28). "So where to do we go from here?". Independent. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Carlton, Mary Ellis (1975-05-04). "Antique Emporium leads L.B. Beautiful winners". Independent. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hand, Wayland D.; Cutts, Charles; Wylder, Robert C.; Wylder, Betty (1950). "Songs of the Butte Miners". Western Folklore. 9 (1): 1–49. doi:10.2307/1496596. ISSN 0043-373X.
- ^ Wylder, Betty. "Petite Suite for Flute Quartet", Cambria Music.
- ^ "Unitarian Fellowship sets potluck". The Golden Rain Seal Beach Leisure World News. 1989-02-16. p. 29. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Betty Cutts Wylder". Billings Gazette. February 23, 1994. p. 11. Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McCarty, Jane (1990-03-08). "Wylder to speak to Unitarian-Universalists March 15". The Golden Rain Seal Beach Leisure World News. p. 21. Retrieved 2024-03-06 – via Newspapers.com.