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From Village Views December 1998: "Terrace Park's resident
musicologist Ann Gatch has been teaching local children how to play the piano for 32
years, sometimes instructing the children of former pupils. ...
Ann, the oldest of seven
children, grew up on her great-grandfather's farm on Garfield Avenue in Milford. Her
father grew up in Terrace Park and attended high school here. She went to Milford
High School until her sophomore year before transferring to Hillsdale (now part of The
Seven Hills School) for two years. Ann graduated from Smith College with degrees in
Music and English; she went on to acquire a bachelor's degree in Education from the
University of Cincinnati. She taught for one year at a girls' private school in New
Hampshire, before entering WWII as a WAVE in 1942. She completed 'boot-camp' at
Hunter College in New York and training in Atlanta to become a Link Trainer
Operator. She was assigned to Pensacola, teaching Naval Air cadets instrument
navigation.
She remained in that position
for three years before returning to school on the GI Bill at the University of Michigan,
where she received her masters in Musicology. Moving back to Cincinnati, Ann became
the first music teacher at Cincinnati Country Day School in 1950. She instructed
students in piano and singing for 35 years. After living for a time in Mariemont, in
1958 she moved to Terrace Park, where she has lived ever since. With two grand
pianos, an organ and a harpsichord, Ann gave lessons before and after school. Still
busy teaching, Ann also enjoys performing with the Music Lover's Club (an amateur ladies
music group) and the Keyboard Club, a Cincinnati institution which she joined as a charter
member in 1937.
An avid traveler, Ann made
frequent visits to her brother in the Foreign Service. A favorite trip was an
African safari with the Cincinnati Nature Center. She has worked as a librarian at
the Pattison library in downtown Milford, only cutting back after eye surgery a year
ago. Although somewhat sidelined, with careful planning and the help of family and
friends, Ann will continue to enjoy her music and activities for years to come." |