Just Another Parishioner

I knew Vaughn Monroe, slightly, through the church I attended (Trinity Episcopal Church in Newton Centre, Massachusetts) from my birth in late 1952 through the early 1970s. From time to time, whenever he was in the area, Mr. Monroe would attend services at Trinity; and on more than one occasion, he was an usher at one of the services. He never sang in church, though; I think that he was content to be just another parishioner, and the rest of us were happy to permit him to be one. However, if Mr. Monroe was in the newspapers, a clipping from that newspaper would be displayed in the Parish Hall. In the 1950s, when Trinity Parish was raising money to build a new parish hall, Mr. Monroe gave a benefit concert for that purpose at the old Totem Pole ballroom in Auburndale, Massachusetts.

Submitted by: Jon T. Melick