The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that Jessie Lee Huffstutler, an influential musician, educator and historian, will be inducted into the 2025 class of honorees.
Born in Chester in 1888, Jessie Lee Gant was the fourth child of Darius and Rachel Gant. She was only five years old when her father unexpectedly passed away, leaving behind a widow with four young children.
Jessie discovered early on that she had a talent for music. She began playing and singing in the choir at Chester’s First Methodist Church when she was just twelve. She was so skilled that she was hired to play piano accompaniment for silent films at the Chester Opera House. She improvised musical scores for the movies alongside her friend Elzie Segar, who played the drums. He would later use memories from their teenage days in his famous Popeye cartoons.
For more on Huffstutler, please see this week’s print edition.