“I took students to Lincoln Park Manor in Kettering, and had taught them songs from my grandparents’ generation, like ‘Baby Face’ and ‘I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover’; residents loved it, so we did it for several years, and mothers would always carpool the 12-15 kids,” said McCutcheon, a Washington Twp. resident.
“Out of the blue, one of the carpool moms called me and said those concerts were among her fondest memories. She’d been visiting someone at Kettering Manor, and discovered there were no funds for entertainment. She said she’d pay me to go there, then decided to send me to four more places I could choose.”
In addition to Lincoln Manor, McCutcheon selected Centerville’s Bethany Lutheran Village, Brookdale Fox Run in Eanon, Laurelwood Senior Living and 10 Wilmington Place in Dayton, where he’ll have his last performance August 28.
“Response has really been great. I’ve played classical as well as music from their younger years, had sing-alongs and even passed out tamborines for them to play along,” said the 64-year-old.
“Many remembered me from the 21 years I’d played at the Peasant Stock restaurant in Kettering three nights a week; at some places, three-quarters of the hands would go up when I asked how many knew me from that, and I’d play music I’d played there. It brought back memories for them and me.
“It’s been interactive, great fun and very touching. And, I’ve run into many people I’ve known — one of my banjo players, who started playing at 70 and was an inspiration to me, was at one place, and now must be in her 90s.
“I also ran into one of my former high school friends, and the wife of a man I’d worked with when I was a physics major at UD. There were many memories that went back decades, and it was neat to make those connections again.”
McCutcheon, who earned his degree in physics, went on to get a master’s in music at WSU, and made music his career. In addition to teaching and various “gigs,” he and wife, Lisa, opened McCutcheon Music, a studio/retail store, 28 years ago.
The woman who made the “senior tour” possible wants to remain anonymous, but “she’s a lovely person, and this was an act of love – she told me ‘Wouldn’t it be something if we all truly loved each other, not only in word but in action?’,” said McCutcheon.
“That was her goal – to do like Mahatma Gandhi said: ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’
“This was an act of love and an interesting way to make it happen.”
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