Meet Rhinestone Rosie - CHELLIS JENSEN

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MEET RHINESTONE ROSIE

1966, my first Klondike Days costume. The dress came from a used clothing store; I added the black buttons and lace, made the hat, and decorated the umbrella. I didn't realize it was the start.to a new career.

KLONDIKE DAYS in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada lasted at least two weeks and included:

1 free entertainment at the fairgrounds and on downtown stages

2. A Sunday Promenade of downtown streets (foot traffic only) for people to stroll in their 1890's attire

3. Sewing classes and pattern trading available for making authentic costumes.

Most music I'd heard during Klondike Days was from the 1920's era. I pulled three songs from my collection, put together the yellow costume, and auditioned for a free stage. I was hired.

A Bird In A Gilded Cage (1900)

Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl (1909)

And Her Golden Hair Was Hanging Down Her Back (`1884)

I looked for more old music, haunted music stores, and a local newspaper writer mentioned my search in his column. People responded. I received sheet music, song books, old English Music Hall comedy from the1890's and early 1900's, including Harry Lauder, Wilkie Baird and Billy Williams,and I made more costumes. A neighbor became my piano accompanist.

August 1969, my husband took a job at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. I started doing programs for nursing homes and senior centers and I found several faculty wives to accompany me. I was singing again! My father was Director for the Council On Aging, and invited us to entertain for a breakfast. I introduced the sing-along by saying, "Now I know there's a little ham in all of us, so sing out." Everyone laughed...we had just had ham for breakfast and I forgot.

When my youngest son was five he came with me during daytime programs. People loved to watch him because he knew most of the songs and would sit and sing along with me, not realizing people were watching him. It was good to be close to my parents, because my father would be diagnosed with Alzheimers and die in November 1979. I also sang a few times at the famous Steves Gay 90's in Tacoma.

Our first pay for a program was $25 and we thought we'd made it! I joined several Visitor & Convention Bureaus to start marketing myself. As we got busier, each accompanist would decide a full time job sounded better. I was fortunate to find and work with talented pianists/accompanists and we always had fun. We got busier as the number of programs grew to and went from a hobby to a professional career. Over the years my collection of pre-1914 songs grew to over 1000. Soon we had requests for programs of 20's to 40's music. My music cutoff was 1945.

I made costumes, shopped antique stores, and received gifts of feathers, old shoes, beautiful beads, and two lovely early 1900 dresses that I was able to restore and wear. Others gave me old magazines, including a 1903 jokebook. What treasures...I still share these gems with others. The following are 1903 jokes:

Do you know the difference between Capital and Labor?

No.

Well, if I loaned you 25 cents that would be capital. If I tried to get it back, that would be labour!

Do you know the difference between a woman and an umbrella?

Well, you can shut up an umbrella!

The Sunday school teacher was quizzing her class and said, "Who was the first to step from the Ark when it landed?

Little johnnie raised his hand and said, "I know teacher. It was Noah."

"No, Johnnie," said the teacher, "the Good Book (bible) tells us that Noah came forth. So there must have been three ahead of him!"

TO SEE RHINESTONE ROSIE IN COSTUME - CLICK HERE

I copied this from an 1890's New York theater picture and sang an 1869 song, "Up In A Balloon, Boys".



"A Bird In A Gilded Cage" was  my theme song.



Most of my out of state traveling was for The Knife and Fork Club (also called Associated Clubs and Dinner Clubs). I had to arrange for local accompaniments on out of state programs. Some of the accompanists were fantastic, and we just needed a light run-through to go over the music. Others,had a hard time because they weren't familiar with the music, or were more pianists than accompanists. I finally made copies of all the songs and sent them to each accompanist a month or more before the program...it helped.

I continued to sing,until the early nineties, when I bought a house and a boat, started building houses for Habitat for Humanity,and my life became more complex. Since then, I still like to do occasional programs, with the understanding that most of my costumes don't fit anymore. But, I'll bring a hat and boa and we'll sing. Part of these programs, will also include telling about my children's book, which is very important to me, and sharing a bit about what it was like to be an entertainer.

Yes, there is another Rhinestone Rosie...up in Seattle on Queen Anne Hill, selling and repairing jewelry. A neat lady but we are two different people!