Denison Herald
February 2, 1990

NEWELL CUMMINS MARKS 107th BIRTHDAY
Celebrating birthdays is "old hat" to Newell Cummins who is 107 years old today.  The staff at Care Inn, where she makes her home, will serve cake and punch in her honor.
Newell was born February 2, 1883, in Denison, one of 10 children born to James Hunter and Helen Alexandria Morrison Cummins.  She was just a few days old when her parents moved to Pottsboro but returned to Denison at the age of 6.
Like most children, she was fascinated with music and was drawn to the piano at an early age.  She said she would watch as her older sister played the piano and memorized the keys.  Her father playfully placed her at the piano when she was 5 years old and to his amazement she began to play.  She played by ear until given formal training at the age of 13.  She attended Denison schools, Kidd Key College in Sherman, studied in Chicago, Illinois and New York City, New  York.  She shocked her parents and the community when she decided to go north for a career at the very young age of 18.  Girls just didn't do that back then.  She was a concert pianist in New York and played a number of concerts in the north, also performed in Dallas area when she returned home.
She taught music in Nashville, Tennessee and then Denison schools before opening her own studio where she taught for more than 25 years.
She is a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church where she was active for many years.
At Care Inn she has continued to play the piano for her own enjoyment as well as friends.
Newell said she has lived a full and rewarding life and there is not a whole lot she would change.