Sweet Adelines International 75th Jubilee Commemorative Album

December 1949 National President Jane Pfeifer and Executive Secretary Evelyn Westfield, with assistance from members of the Tulsa No. 1 Chapter, produced the first issue of The Pitch Pipe . October 1950 Nancye Barrett produced the second issue, with a cover design by Marian Moore (also a member of the Tune Twisters Quartet). September 1953 The eighth issue added a third color (red) to the cover. This was a critical stage for the publication: Should it become more national in its outlook, rather than the “homespun” magazine it had been? Helen Seevers was a professional public relations and advertising woman, and she agreed to steer the magazine toward more professional content. She obtained advertisers, a move that paid for the cost of production (other than the hours of volunteer labor). She wrote, “We expect that…this publication shall eventually assume national importance…The reader will find that the omission of personal items, chapter chatter, committee reports, and organizational routine has been deliberate in an endeavor to assume the ‘national aspects’ so desired.” However, two pages remained for recipes. Said Martie Haden, staff assistant, “The members were not thrilled. They didn’t see why general articles, which would create our public image, were more important than ‘who brought the potato salad.’ The National Board of Directors decided to go back to the old form because ‘the girls miss the homey touch of their local news.’ Too late! Advertisers had contracts and had to be considered if the magazine were to continue in the black, financially. October 1953 There was no editor. Enter Pearl Borg. Although she was National President at the time, she took on the job of editor until an editor could be found. As of 1967, she had edited 43 issues — and counting. Conclusion From mimeograph to offset printing to letterpress to digital, from galleys and paste-ups to online editorial work, The Pitch Pipe continues to be the impressive flagship publication of Sweet Adelines.

Pearl Borg The Pitch Pipe editor

The Pitch Pipe was born in 1949, and Pearl Borg became its editor shortly thereafter, a position she held for nearly 20 years. For 16 years, her dining room table was her office. “She would rather wear out than rust out,” said Martie Haden, The Pitch Pipe volunteer staff assistant. Pearl was a member of the Tune Twisters, 1953 Queens of Harmony. She served as 1952-1954 International President — a title change, as the first Canadian chapters chartered during her term. She was honored with the NMACY Award — Never Missed A Convention Yet. She always signed her correspondence, “With a song in my heart.”

1955 Bus fares at Sweet Adelines convention: $1.90 USD.

1956 Members of Seattle Chapter sing in department store window at Christmastime.

1956 Full-page ad in The Pitch Pipe : $50 USD.

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