Eulogy for Lenore Robinson

By Kathie Mack

I am Kathie Mack, and I am honored to be given the opportunity to say some words for Lenore Robinson, my friend and neighbor for nearly 30 years, struck down incomprehensibly in the prime of her life. Lenore and I worked together on the Takoma Park Folk Festival for 15 years and even chaired the festival together at one point. We had wondrous highs, like when Pete Seeger appeared on our stage, and wondrous lows, like the one time it rained so hard the festival actually was moved indoors and we discovered our rain plan was a failure.

How can one properly eulogize Lenore Robinson? A woman of so many virtues and accomplishments, yet so modest? A woman who gave unsparingly of her time and energy to causes and people she believed in? Words are pale shadows of the praise she deserves.

I first met Lenore in the mid-1970s at a Takoma Park Elementary School PTA meeting. Of course, the first Robinson I noticed was Larry, who as I recall had a great deal to say at that PTA meeting. Lenore was the woman who sat loyally by his side.

In the early 1980s I got to know Lenore better, as a fellow folk dancer. We were both excited about square and contra dancing. Lenore once told me that she and Larry were a great team at dances–he would play in the band and she would dance with all the people on the floor. This love of dance was what got her started with the Takoma Park Folk Festival.

When the legendary Sam Abbott organized the first Takoma Park Folk Festival as a benefit for the Takoma Theatre in 1978, Larry Robinson was one of the people he called to set it up. That first festival, organized in only six weeks, was a success, netting both cash and publicity to keep the theatre going. That first festival also had great music–but no dance. Lenore joined the committee to make sure the next festival included participatory dance.

Now, Lenore had lots of friends and contacts in the folk dance community and, for the next Takoma Park Folk Festival, was able to schedule a wonderful afternoon of different kinds of dancing in the auditorium of the old Takoma Park Junior High School. But Lenore’s shyness kept her away from the microphone and spotlight. In 1981 I was one of the people she asked to help emcee and to make announcements. Next thing I knew, I was organizing the festival dance program myself while Lenore took a little time off.

That year, 1982, may have been the last time Lenore took any time off from the Takoma Park Folk Festival. As I recall, she came back in 1983 and began to master every aspect of putting on a community festival. As many of you know, that festival now has seven stages, dozens of food vendors and community tables, and thousands of people in joyous attendance each September. Without charging admission, it also raises thousands of dollars for local organizations that benefit youth, in the fund-raising-festival tradition that goes right back to the days of Sam Abbott.

Lenore wore many different hats in her years on the festival committee. From early adjunct planner of dance activities, she evolved into program chair, food chair, and finally, chair of the entire festival. In her quiet, self-effacing way, she convinced untold numbers of people to volunteer their time, talent, and expertise. She was mindful of tradition, yet always open to new ideas. She kept track of all the details. She learned about grant writing. She inspired everyone to do their best, while never attracting attention to herself. She had unlimited tact, patience, and perseverance–and always dedication to the goal.

Many people have been part of the Takoma Park Folk Festival over the years. Some people have been like blazing comets, now here, now gone. Some have been like planets, faithful in their duties but not particularly influential. When he first created it in 1978, Sam Abbott was the sun in the center of this galaxy. But now we see how Lenore became its sun, even while disguised as a moon reflecting the glory of others. She has been a quiet, steady force–like gravity, or love–holding all together for the important dual purpose of celebration of community and social benefit. May others carry on her work, and may her soul rest in peace and music.