UPDATE: On Sunday, March 11th, 2018 friends, family and performing songwriters gave a “Farewell to Margaret” through songs and poems during the 2018 Will McLean Music Festival. (Thanks to Gail Carson for providing the video)
Earlier post on March 1st, 2018:
A mass will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1460 W. St. Elizabeth Place, Citrus Springs, FL 34434 on Tuesday, March 6th at 11 a.m.
“The Matriarch of our Florida Folk community passed away,” that’s how friends describe the loss of Margaret Longhill who died early Thursday morning, March 1st at her home in Dunnellon at the age of 96.
Longhill, born October 16, 1921, was the oldest of seven children of John and Angela Longhill. Though born in Kentucky she grew up in Memphis, TN. After high school Longhill left home to become a Sister of Mercy at the novitiate in Dubuque, Iowa, where she took the name Sister Mary Amora. During her tenure as a nun, she taught various grade levels at St. Bernard Academy in Nashville and Immaculate Conception Academy in Memphis, eventually becoming the Dean of Students at Edgecliff College in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Her love for Florida came when she moved to the state in the early 70’s to teach at Central Florida Community College (now Central Florida College) in Ocala, Lecanto, and Brooksville, FL. She fell in love with Florida’s history, environment, music and people. A neighbor introduced her to Will McLean (1919-1990), a native Floridian who was passionate about the love of the land and dedicated to protecting Florida’s unique environments. Longhill became an avid member of the Florida Folklore family, and began a campaign to teach the whole world about the beauty and the fragility of Florida’s environments. She and a group of Will’s followers held the first Will McLean Music Festival in April of 1990. The festival is now in its 29th year.
Organizers of the upcoming Will McLean Music Festival are planning a “Farewell to Margaret Longhill” on Sunday at 4:30, March 11th during the three day festival which runs March 9 – 11th at the Sertoma Youth Ranch near Brooksville, FL.
Longhill started the festival in 1990 to honor the late Will McLean who is considered the “Father of Florida Folk.” She also was instrumental in getting McLean into the prestigious Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1996.
Longhill and McLean were close friends and she spent her life keeping McLean’s goal alive of “Saving Florida Through Music.” To that end she established the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest which has garnered thousands of new songs in the state.
Ken Skeens, a musician and songwriter from Fort Myers was the first winner of the contest in 1992. Ken along with his wife Leigh says, “Margaret, you hear her name and you feel her love. You sense her calm resolve and how its power sustains the essence of Florida in her sure and steadfast way. You feel her selfless, abiding will and her keen strength of purpose as it nurtures Florida’s legacy. It assures, encourages and inspires new and future creative artists. Margaret walked the walk as she shared her humanity and her wisdom. With her eyes as piercing as an eagle and as gentle as a dove she made our family richer. Because she walked among us and beside us in her gentle loving grace, we are all forever blessed. Thank you Margaret. Love, love, love.”
Other former winners like Paul Garfinkel from Deland, FL also applauded Longhill’s lifelong work and her ability to encourage aspiring musicians along their careers,
“Margaret was the best of us,” said Garfinkel. “I don’t recall her ever, in the 23 years I’ve known her, reacting in anger or spite, but only in the spirit of conciliation, hope, and compassion. She was an “includer”, a facilitator of dreams and an inspiration to the hesitant. In 1996 she gave me, sight unseen, a chance at presenting my music on the Will McLean Festival stage. I found a musical home there among hundreds of new friends, and that home and those friends have lasted for decades now. Next to my wife, those gifts that Margaret gave to me are the center of my universe. Any time that I step onto any stage, anywhere, I owe it all to her loving encouragement. And I will now miss her every time I do. Florida has lost one of its most valuable treasures.”
Recently Longhill was instrumental in facilitating the transfer of the Will McLean Collection which contains hundreds of letters, poems, song lyrics and personal artifacts of McLean into the Department of Special and Area Studies at the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida.
Longhill is survived by her youngest sister, Ann Elise Connors, her sister-in-law, Jean Longhill, 22 beloved nieces and nephews, dear friends Jon and Deedee Semmes, as well as many, many friends and admirers.
A mass will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1460 W. St. Elizabeth Place, Citrus Springs, FL 34434 on Tuesday, March 6th at 11 a.m.
Contact Roberts Funeral Home in Dunnellon at 352-489-2429 for more information or go online to http://www.robertsofdunnellon.com/ or send an email to jroland@robertsofdunnellon.com
In lieu of flowers – pictures, remembrances and donations may be made to: The Will McLean Foundation
12088 Palmetto Ct., Dunnellon, FL 34432 (http://willmclean.com)
Quotes from other songwriters and festival organizers:
Red Henry (Musician and longtime friend of Will McLean and Margaret and former Florida resident now residing in Winchester, VA)- “Margaret was the prime mover behind much of Florida music today. Her creativity, determination, and kindness brought musical joy to a great many in the Florida folk community.”
Elisabeth Williamson (Singer songwriter and a former winner of the song contest from Keystone Heights)- “As Matriarch of the Florida Folk tribe, Margaret Longhill leaves behind a lasting legacy that will serve new generations in perpetuity. She has inspired countless songs and stories, not just about Florida through the annual Will McLean songwriting contest, but about her personally as an iconic and beloved figurehead of Florida folk culture. Her unbridled enthusiasm for the people who make music, especially the young folks entering the scene, along with her beauty of spirit and loving regard will be deeply missed by all who knew her.”
Lynn Wodjenski (Will McLean Festival Coordinator)- “Margaret had an uncanny ability to recognize what someone could be and she took great joy in fostering that talent. Many of us in the Florida Folk community owe Margaret a debt of thanks for realizing our potential before we did ourselves. She helped many achieve a dream – be it as a performer, writer, or coordinating a festival.”
MikeJurgensen (Musician and three-time winner of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest from New Port Richey)- “Margaret had an immeasurable impact on the Florida folk music community, and we mourn our loss as we would a family member. Her love for Florida and for songs that celebrate Florida’s history, culture, and natural beauty inspired the writing of thousands of Florida songs. Those songs have been the centerpiece of the Will McLean Music Festival, which Margaret founded, nurtured, and grew into one of the major festivals in the state. She has been the heart and soul of our community for many years, and she is indelibly etched into our hearts. I know that many more songs will be written in her memory, honoring Margaret’s loving vision.”
Amy Carol Webb (Performing songwriter and past winner of the Will McLean Best New Florida Song Contest from Sunrise, FL)- “Margaret had a gift for hearing the truest music within each of us and calling it out — gently but fiercely. ‘No’ was not an answer. And ‘yes’ poured out in song.”
Bari Litschauer (Musician and key coordinator of the Will McLean Music Festival schedule from West Palm Beach)- “For each of us, there are probably only a few folks we keep prominently in our rear view mirror. Margaret is one of those souls who will remain forever in my rear view mirror reminding us to Keep the Music Alive, which is how she signed her email correspondence. GodSpeed to you, my friend and much love.”
Bari’s husband Ron has these memories and thoughts about Longhill- “One of my favorite quotes from Margaret, when asked how she started the Will McLean festival, “ I didn’t do anything, it just happened.”
Ron Litschauer adds, “My favorite memories include watching her dance, ride on the back of a motorcycle around the campground, visiting our campsite holding a coffee cup which “not so secretly” contained two fingers of whiskey, insisting upon driving her own camper to the festival, and quietly accepting help from anyone who was around to help her get it properly placed and hooked up. Margaret had a positive demeanor that was impossible to say no to. She remains an inspiration and example to us all that unconditional love and encouragement always wins. As she so often reminded us, we were all her “Treasured Artists.” The festival and her spirit will endure, but Margaret, the person, can never be duplicated or replaced. She was one-of-a-kind and I will deeply miss her.”
Dennis Devine (Musician and friend from San Antonio, FL) “Margaret was the gentle rock that held our Florida music community together. Her ideas and encouragement motivated us all. Her soul is now soaring with the hawks.”