DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one drivin' you through it. Nora Lee Mayhew came into this world on September 10, 1896, out in Levita, Coryell County — one of those small Texas towns that has a way of producing people far too large for their geography. She attended Meridian College and then the College of Industrial Arts in Denton, the school that would later become Texas Woman's University.
And if that weren't enough, she went on to study as a postgraduate at Cornell University, up in New York. She was a classically trained violinist. The kind of person who, when she walked into a room, you got the sense the room had been waiting for her.
She taught at several colleges before marrying Robert Ernest Wendland — Bob, to those who knew him — in 1924. Bob and his siblings ran the family grain company in Killeen, and in 1928 they moved that operation to Temple. Nora Lee and Robert put down roots, raised two children, and Temple, whether it knew it yet or not, had just acquired something remarkable.
She joined the Temple music club. That sounds modest, I know. But here's the thing about Nora Lee Wendland — she didn't just join things.
By 1931 she was president of that music club. By 1940 she was elected president of the State Federation of Music Clubs. And during her tenure at the head of that federation, the organization donated musical items for the World War II effort.
She volunteered herself at McCloskey Army General Hospital right there in Temple, and the music club organized programs for the soldiers laid up in that hospital. She wasn't just keeping morale afloat with a few songs — she was emphasizing something she believed in deeply: music therapy. The idea that music wasn't just pleasant, it was healing.
The nation was arriving at the same conclusion around the same time, and Nora Lee Wendland wasn't trailing that conversation — she was in the middle of it. In 1944, she coordinated and launched a symposium on music therapy. Think about that for a moment.
The war is still on. There are wounded men in a Temple hospital. And this woman from Levita, Texas, who learned to play the violin with classical precision and earned a postgraduate credential at Cornell, is now convening a symposium — a formal gathering of minds — on the therapeutic power of music.
After the war ended, her music in hospitals program didn't end with it. It expanded. Throughout Texas.
From 1946 to 1960, she served as director-at-large to the National Federation of Music Clubs. During that same stretch, she chaired the Young Artists auditions in New York City. Temple, Texas, was her home.
New York City was where she worked. The woman operated on a continental scale. By the late 1950s, her gaze turned back toward Temple itself.
She co-founded the cultural activities center — described as a model for multi-disciplinary arts organizations. Not just a music club. Not just one art form.
A center built around the idea that the arts, plural, belong together and belong to everyone. Nora Lee Wendland stepped back from public life near the time of her husband Robert's death in 1981. She died on April 15, 1988.
Ninety-one years, from Levita to the national stage and back to Temple. The marker says her efforts and vision left an enduring legacy of music and the arts in Temple and throughout the state and nation. I'd say the violin was just where it started.
What the marker says
(September 10, 1896 - April 15, 1988) Born in Levita (Coryell Co.), Nora Lee Mayhew attended Meridian College and the College of Industrial Arts in Denton (now Texas Woman’s University). A classically trained violinist, she also studied as a postgraduate at Cornell University (New York). She taught at several colleges before marrying Robert Ernest “Bob” Wendland in 1924. With his siblings, he operated the family’s grain company in Killeen before moving it to Temple in 1928. Nora Lee and Robert raised two children. Nora Lee became involved in Temple clubs, joining the music club and becoming its president in 1931. She was elected president of the State Federation of Music Clubs in 1940. During her tenure, the federation donated musical items for the World War II effort. Wendland volunteered at McCloskey Army General Hospital in Temple and the music club organized programs for hospitalized soldiers. Wendland emphasized music therapy in the hospital, paralleling a similar national focus. In 1944, she coordinated and launched a symposium on music therapy. After World War II, her music in hospitals program expanded throughout Texas. From 1946 to 1960, Wendland served as director-at-large to the National Federation of Music clubs, during which time she also chaired the Young Artists auditions in New York City. By the late 1950s, Wendland turned her focus to the arts in Temple, co-founding the cultural activities center, a model for multi-disciplinary arts organizations. Wendland left public life near the time of her husband’s death in 1981, and she died in 1988. Nora Lee Wendland’s efforts and vision have left an enduring legacy of music and the arts in Temple and throughout the state and nation. 175 Years of Texas Independence 1836 * 2011