Hip Surgery Doesn’t Stop Lewis from Doing What She Loves Best—Teaching Piano

It was a love born from one of the bleakest of times in American history—the Depression. And what that love brought was a grand lady and a baby grand piano. That love grew into a passion for the sound of music and, in particular, the chords that emanated from the ivory keys of the piano. Hazel Lewis knows she has been blessed. For that reason, she says she plays so the Lord can hear what He has given her. “Gospel hymns are my favorites,” she said. “Whenever I play, I know he can hear me. Maybe that is why he has let me stay here for so long. Maybe he likes what he hears.”

Lewis has been playing and teaching the intricacies of the piano for almost 70 years. She began playing at the age of 8 and by the time she was 19, she was teaching music in what was known then as the Fifth Street School. “If I had to guess, I would say I’ve taught anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 people how to play the piano,” she said after much thought. “That’s a lot of people. But you know, no one wants to be forgotten. That is why I try to remember everyone I’ve taught.”

Lewis almost dropped out of teaching in 1993 when she suffered a severe fall that broke her left hip. She said it was her own fault for running around the house without shoes while wearing hose. She knew better but, just like the piano, some lessons are learned the hard way. “Oh, I had just gotten back from the store and bank, when I walked a lot faster than I do now,” she said giggling. “I went to the back of the house to put some Cokes up. The room I was going into had a linoleum floor, so walking in there with hose on…well, it was like walking on ice.” With a big whoosh, Lewis landed on her hip.

She didn’t know at first what was broken. “I sat up and shook one arm and then the other,” she said, laughing now. “I moved my right leg but when I tried to move my left leg, it wouldn’t go anywhere. I knew then I had hurt my hip.” The problem was she was in the back of the house and a long way from the phone to call for help. Slowly and gingerly, she crawled first up a step and down another to reach the first room with a phone.

The first place she thought to call was her church. “The preacher came out, so I crawled to the door to let him in,” she said. “My hip was hurting me pretty bad by then.” Lewis said she told her preacher to put her in the car and take her to the hospital, but he thought otherwise and called the ambulance. “Oh, when they wheeled me out of my home, everyone was watching from their yards. I was famous,” said Lewis. Taken to South Central Regional Medical Center, Lewis said Dr. John McGraw was on duty and performed her surgery.

“They were so great to me,” Lewis said. “The doctors and nurses and entire staff treated me like I was someone special. But the most enduring memory I brought out of the whole experience was that no matter what I wanted or when I wanted it, they never made me feel I was being a nuisance. They never looked like I was bothering them.”

As is her nature, Lewis was practically part of the South Central Staff herself by the time she was discharged. “Not once did they make me feel I wasn’t wanted,” she said. “For that, I thank them.” Once discharged from South Central Regional Medical Center, Lewis received several weeks of outpatient physical therapy at South Central. Six months later she went back to work. “We are blessed to have such a wonderful hospital here. Through the care and concern of South Central’s physicians and staff, I was able to return to the only thing I had ever loved doing—teaching piano.”

Lewis said that throughout the years, she has hit upon a formula of teaching piano she claims is laid out in such a way as to teach the chords plus provide piano theory. In this way, the student is more likely to come to grips with both the musical end and the formal teaching aspect so unique to the piano. “I’ve found the students retain what I’m trying to get across to them much easier. Anyway if you can get the student interested—and hold that interest—it is a plus. They learn quicker and are more likely to stay with the program for many years,” she said.

The average time on the piano for a student, according to Lewis, is about 8 years. In that much time, she can teach all the chords and give students the proper background that will make the piano a cornerstone of their lives.

But it is very evident to Lewis when she gets a student who just isn’t interested in learning the piano. “I can tell pretty quick if they are going to stick with it or not,” Lewis said. “In that case, I advise them to quit so they don’t waste my time or their parents’ money. The Lord has always provided another student for me whenever one drops out.”

Through her many years, she has conveyed that love to many, many other people who otherwise may have quit from boredom or frustration. The only attribute that may rival her love for the music may be her determination to show how broad the music is. “The music is so sweet,” she said, trying to put into words what she feels when she plays. “You become part of it. Whenever I play my hymns, I don’t read the music. I play from my heart. That is the gift the Lord has given me, and I’m sure He feels it the same way I do.”

Is it possible to single out one student or moment over a 70 year career that stands out? Lewis had to stop for a moment and think before answering that question. “I remember one student who picked a very hard piece to play for her recital number,” Lewis said. “I could tell you the piece, but I doubt you would know or appreciate just how intricate a selection she had chosen. But this student goes up and plays it flawlessly. It was a very special moment for a teacher and the look on her face when she had finished . . . priceless.” After a long pause, Lewis sighed, the memory still fresh in her mind.

Now, 70 years later and counting, Lewis doesn’t have 70 or 80 students. But in her mind, the 23 she currently teaches are just as important, just as precious to her as the first day she had a student walk through her door. “I love all my pupils,” she said beaming once again. “They are very special people in their own unique ways, and they are a joy to teach.” Lewis said she has more adult students now than ever before, but the number of young children still outnumbers them. “The adults don’t learn as quickly as the children. The children take what you tell them and continue on. Unflinchingly. They are learning even before you tell them something or show them a chord,” she said.

Is there anything more Lewis herself can learn from the white and black keys? “Sure there is,” Lewis exclaimed. “The beauty of the piano is you never learn it fully. It is like life. There is always something else to learn. How dull would it be, whether you are talking about the piano or life, if you got to a point where there was nothing else to learn? Why play the piano after that? Why continue to live?”

Whether you hear her in church, playing for the Kiwanis Club, or Rotary Club or just happen to walk by her house, you can tell Lewis is happiest sitting on the bench, fingers floating over the keys, and playing the piano.

A grand lady.

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