Wife of Clarence Faris. She was the fourth daughter and the fifth child born to John P Weber and Makata Yearick in Howard, PA on June 9, 1905. She was delivered by Dr. W. J. Kurtz. She graduated from Howard HS in 1922 of one 7 students in the class. High School was only three years long at that time. Her mother felt she needed more preparation before entering college she was sent to Penn Hall, a girls school in Chambersburg, PA for one year. The cost of that year of schooling, including room and board, was $1,109.17.
Virginia was musically talented and played the piano and sang. She entered Ithaca Conservatory of Music in Ithaca, New York in the fall of 1923. She attended for four years, graduating in June 1926 with a Bachelor of Music Education degree. She was the third sister to become a member of Mu Phil Epsilon, the national music honorary for women. (Nelle and Helene were the other two.) Cost of the four years of schooling at Ithaca was $4,604.72.
While a student at Ithaca College, Virginia experienced one of the most traumatic events of her life. Despite college regulations forbidding it, she and two other students went canoeing on Lake Cayuga. The canoe overturned when her friend, Ruth Brachman, a freshman at the college, tried to change seats. They all decided to swim for shore, which was about 50 yards away. When they got out of the icy water, one of the girls was missing. Efforts to locate her body were fruitless and 20 year old Ruth Brachman of Tamaqua, PA drowned. Virginia and the young man were hospitalized in serious condition for shock and exposure. The incident haunted Virginia for many years, until near the end of her life.
Following graduation Virginia began her teaching career in Patchogue, NY school system. Music was a new subject in the curriculum. Virginia served as music supervisor there for two years.
During her freshman year in college, Virginia met her future husband, Clarence "Chuck" L Faris. He attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio and graduated from Ithaca Conservatory of Music in 1926. They were friends all through college. After graduation Chuck returned to Ohio, where he worked at a radio station as an announcer and directed a church choir. Dr John Williamson, founder of Westminster Choir, heard Chuck sing and offered him free tuition to attend his school the following year. The college was in Dayton, Ohio. (in 1929 it moved to Ithaca, NY and in 1932 to Princeton, NJ) The choir was going to make a tour of Europe the following year and Chuck would be their featured soloist. Chuck was thrilled to accept. He asked Virginia to be his wife and both though a European honeymoon would be wonderful.
Virginia and Chuck were married at the bride's home in Howard on August 28, 1928. Her sister, Mary was the maid of honor, her sister, Nelle played the wedding music at the piano. Nephew Walt Weber, Jr. was the three year old ring bearer. Walt undid the pin that held the ring to the pillow, and it flew under the radiator. the ceremony was stopped until the ring could be recovered. One hundred guests attended the wedding.
The following March the Westminster Choir College began their tour of Europe. which lasted for three and a half months. The 60 voice Westminster Choir was the first group of its kind to ever tour Europe.
Approximately 90-100 extra people went on the trip, including Virginia's sisters: Nelle, Lauretta, and Helene. They followed a slightly different itinerary, however. The bank of Dayton, Ohio served as a travel bureau and made all the arrangements. Virginia's cost for the tour was $340 (author has a paid receipt.) They traveled on the S.S. Leviathan and returned on the S. S. George Washington.
The tour began with the choir singing at several cities on the east coast, ending with an invitation to sing at the White House for President Herbert Hoover, his cabinet and their wives. In Europe they sang in all the important halls and opera houses in nine countries. They were entertained by ambassadors and dignitaries of various countries. Virginia's diary tells of their many welcomes and receptions. many times she talks about encores that were given, including one concert where they gave 11 encores.
After the tour and Chuck's graduation from Westminster, Chuck accepted a job as Minister of Music at the First Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregan in the fall of 1930. It was a beautiful and prestigious church which had just celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Virginia and Chuck drove the 3200 miles to Oregon. At that time, roads were being built but between Chicago and Idaho they were no paved ones. Virginia indicates in her expense diary that the trip took two weeks. They traveled anywhere from 60-350 miles a day. Gasoline cost about eight cents a gallon, a typical night's lodging was $2 a night and meals costs for both of them cost about $2-$3 a day.
The Rocky Mountains were awesome and frightening. There had been a hard rain storm in the mountains. Roads were washed out and boulders and rocks were on the roads. There were no guard rails on the canyon sides. Roads were narrow and just over one car width's wide. At one point, Gin told Chuck to pull of the road. She jumped out of the car and began screaming and screaming to relieve the stress and tension of the high mountain roads. Some travelers frightened by these poorly kept mountain roads refused to drive across them. They either shipped their cars and went on to their destinations by train or turned around and went back home.
Not many people were traveling and overnight accommodations were few and far between. Sometimes they had to stay in their car overnight or camp out along the road. They visited Yellowstone National Park along the way. In Idaho roads were finally paved again when more towns and people appeared. In Pendleton, Oregon, there were hundreds of teepees and Indians. It was the Pendleton Round-Up. They were able to find lodging and with a bit of luck and were there for a day or two seeing their first rodeo, Indians and the real west. Oregon looked very good to them, and they learned to love it and the people.
Before Chuck began his job, most churches had paid quartets to sing the special music at the services. Chuck introduced a major change by starting the first volunteer choir and also a new concept of singing to church choirs called a capella ( no instruments accompanied them) Prospective choir members had to audition. Two hundred people applied for the 40 spaces available in the Chancel Choir, and they received a free voice lesson each week. Those not selected were placed in others choirs in the church. In addition to singing for the services, after the Sunday evening service, the choir sang for a half-hour program on radio station KGW for five years.
As the Great Depression deepened, the whole church staff was told that their salaries would be cut in half. Chuck added other jobs such as selling real estate, to make more money. At the time, the family would take a car to the farmer's market and fill the whole back with fruits and vegetables for $1. A shopping splurge would consist of buying four pounds of hamburger for about 25 cents.
On Thanksgiving day, November 24, 1932 their old child, Thomas Weber Fairs, was born. Virginia was hospitalized with problems during her pregnancy. When the medical staff woke Virginia up to tell her that she had a son, she replied, "Does he gobble?"
Several years later, after Tom's birth, the family was still having financial problems. They gave up the place that they were renting and moved. One of the bass choir members offered to have Virginia, Chuck, and Tom move into their farmhouse with them. They lived there for about eight months. The farm had one cow and some chickens. Tom remembers that it was his job to collect eggs from the barn. They ate mostly beans, zucchini, and applesauce and an occasional meal of chicken.
Tom remembers that on Thanksgiving Day that year, they decided to sacrifice the only rooster, who had been king of the barnyard for a long time, to be their holiday meal. When the feast was served, the chicken was so tough that it was difficult to cut with a knife and fork. As Chuck sat at the table, he remarked, "This chicken is so tough that you can't even cut the gravy!"That humorous remark helped save the day for an otherwise dismal Thanksgiving celebration.
During World War ll, Japanese and German submarines were spotted near Seattle on the Williamette River, heading toward the island in the river, where Kaiser, the shipbuilding company, was making ships for the war effort. A Japanese sub was electrocute in the river and a Japanese spy was caught on Lake Oswego where the Faris family lived. Concerned for the safety of the family, it was decided that Virginia and Tom would return to live the family home in Howard, while Chuck would join the Coast Guard and worked as a guard for the shipyard. Virginia and Tom lived in Howard for one or two years and returned to Oregon when the danger had passed.
After the war, the Kaiser Co. stopped building ships and switched to automobiles. So the "Singing Sentinels" - the four man vocal group Chuck had formed while patrolling the ship yard, and the company moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan about 1947, where Chuck worked for the same company. While singing with the quartet and doing national promotions for Kaiser automobiles, Chuck vlew over 100,00 miles with United Airlines. This lasted until the mid-50s, when Kaiser went out of the automobile business. Virginia gave voice and piano lessons and taught elementary school music in Michigan.
Virginia's sister, Helene, followed her to Michigan and obtained a nursing job in nearby Beyer Hospital.
In 1954 Virginia and Chuck moved to Miami Florida, where Chuck was Minister of Music at the Allapattah Methodist Church. They bought a three bedroom, two bath ranch house with attached garage in Miami Shores for $14,500. Virginia gave piano and voice lessons in her home.
In 1957 Chuck and Virginia longed to return to Pennsylvania, so they came to live in the family home in Howard. Virginia spent the year teaching music in a series of one room schoolhouses in the Bald Eagle Valley. Chuck became choir director at the Evangelical and Reformed Church in Howard for about a year. The choir was only about 10 members and church attendance was 30-40 on a good Sunday.
In July 1958 Chuck began a job as Minister of Music at the First United Presbyterian Church in Alliance, Ohio, where he worked until his retirement six years later in 1966. During this time, they instituted a children's choir camp. Choir members would spend a week in a camp a few miles outside of town. Virginia and Chuck found a church member to donate the land and construct the buildings needed for the camp. The donor insisted that the camp remain primitive, so campers lived in teepees big enough for six cots. Campers learned new music, did arts and crafts and had Bible class. Virginia and Chuck lived in Alliance for 26 years.
Virginia taught high school choral music at West Branch HS for 11 years. By the time Virginia retired in 1969, she had taught voice, piano, conducting, ear training, and music appreciation and had directed many children's choirs from preschool through college age for 26 years in five different states. Virginia was the kind of teacher that students confided in with their personal problems. Sometimes the principal or a guidance counsel asked her to help with specific students. Virginia always felt that this gave her a greater understanding of young people.
Virginia always had an interest in family history. She created the five page information sheet about the descendants of Makata and John Paul Weber. She collected books about the town of Howard and created genealogy charts. Virginia saved almost 100 newspaper articles about their life, which made writing this chapter of the book very accurate, detailed and fun. Her quest for information and subsequent written notes and diaries were invaluable .
In 1978 Chuck and Virginia celebrated 50 years of marriage. A few years later, Chuck developed a malignant brain tumor, and was ill for four months before he died on April 5, 1983 in Alliance, at the age of 82. There was a memorial service in Ohio, another one in Howard, PA, and he was buried in Schenck Cemetery.
Virginia lived alone for awhile in Alliance, Ohio but started to become confused. Finally Tom moved her to PA. Getting her to enter a private care home was a battle. She only stayed there a few months because she created problems by wandering into other people's rooms and taking their possessions.
Tom had to remove her to a home that specialized in ahzheimer's patients. One time she broke her arm, and as the doctor was trying to fix it, she swong her arm and knocked him on his keester.
Towards the end she spent life in a gerichair and finally died on Oct 18, 1988 in Middletown, Dalphin County, PA nursing home. She was a favorite aunt of many in the family.

Taken from the book:" The Peddler's Legacy- the life of Balser Weber and his Descendants of Howard, PA." Written by Etta Lyons Buchwald and printed in 2000 and distributed to family members. A copy of the book is available at the Bellefonte Genealogy Library in Bellefonte, PA and the Mennonite Historical Society in Lancaster, PA. (pages 187-191)