Century Club: Charles Russell McAbee comes from a family with musical roots
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Charles Russell McAbee.
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Charles Russell McAbee of Churchill, who turned 100 years old last week, was born into a very talented family in Mount Pleasant on Jan. 13, 1912. He was the son of Clayton and Roberta Meigs McAbee and the nephew of:
• Dick Meigs of Cleveland, one of the top tap dancers in the country alongside Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers.
• Levina Meigs, a pianist who accompanied silent films in Mount Pleasant and was tapped to play with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. She died before she could perform.
• Charles Meigs, leader of the Lenox Crystal factory band (formerly Bryce Brothers) in Mount Pleasant back in the days when every factory had a band.
Mr. McAbee and his younger brother, Clifford, were just as talented. While attending Ramsey High School, the brothers formed a band in which Charles played the trumpet and his brother trombone. Charles also played in the Morning Star Baptist Church orchestra in Scottdale and taught Sunday school at his own church, Second Baptist in Mount Pleasant. He graduated in 1930.
During the Depression, he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps to help his parents pay the mortgage. At the CCC camp, he was a bugler and had his own orchestra. While performing, he got to dance with Ella Fitzgerald and met Duke Ellington, one of many nationally known musicians who came to the area to perform at places such as the Arch Tavern in Monessen,
When his parents divorced, Mr. McAbee and his brother went to live with their grandmother and a cousin, Harry Bright, who became the grandfather of singer/actor Will Smith. Both brothers turned down opportunities and scholarships to attend college, Charles at Duquesne and Clifford to Northwestern, choosing to remain together with their band.
On Feb. 4, 1945, Mr. McAbee married the former Thelma Ella Beatrice White of Eberson, Fayette County. They had four children: Charlene R. and Cheryl R., both of Churchill; Charles R. Jr. of Homewood; and Clifford R. of Pottstown.
As their family grew, Mrs. McAbee asked her husband to give up his life on the road as a musician. He worked for Dick Corp. and then at General Tire's Jeannette factory for eight years, until it shut down and moved to Akron, Ohio.
He worked for U.S. Steel's Clairton Works for seven years until he was horribly burned in an accident. Mr. McAbee then obtained a certificate in accounting and became a timekeeper for Robert M. Chambers Scrap Salvage Co. in the Universal section of Penn Hills. He also took care of Mr. Chambers' large auto collection and sometimes rode in one of those vehicles in parades. He worked for 25 years with the company, which became Chambers Development.
Mr. McAbee's wife died in 1991 and his brother in 2008 at age 97. He has two granddaughters.
In honor of his birthday, a flag was flown over the State Capitol on Dec. 8, according to a proclamation by Gov. Tom Corbett. He also received proclamations from state Rep. Daniel Deasy, Allegheny County Council members Amanda Green Hawkins and William Robinson, and Churchill Mayor Paul McKenna. Mr. McAbee's daughter Cheryl is a Churchill councilwoman.
First Published January 17, 2012 12:00 am
