Santa Fe Living Treasures – Elder Stories

In New York City, she met a musician and "chased him all over town and finally got him." That was Charley Wade, born in Fall River in 1904, into a musical family. "We had a family quartet. I was the fifth wheel." At four, he began to sing popular songs, "not good, but loud." Decades later, he still played those old standards. He won a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music, but left to seek fame and fortune in the Big Apple.

"New York was especially valuable because it was the starting point of the radio networks-the big network shows of which I did one, the Bell Telephone Hour, for twenty-five years," he recalled. During World War II, he joined the Artie Shaw Band and performed at Guadalcanal.

Health problems convinced Dorothy to move to Santa Fe in the 1970s, as her doctor recommended a high, dry climate. She brought her love of gardening and Charlie brought his love of music to their retirement community, and continued to enjoy each other's company. "We got along together, which is what you want, someone that is amiable," Charlie remarked.