SNOW HILL — You won’t find Ernestine Suggs twirling on a dance floor or singing sultry rhythm and blues at the local club.
But you might see her singing spiritual songs at her church or in her black and white Ladies Auxiliary uniform at a patriotic event.
The days of dancing to swing music and singing in clubs are far behind her these days — not because she couldn’t do it, but because she’s moved on from her former lifestyle.
“Those are not the songs to inspire,” she said about secular songs. “They’re good for others. For me, I have made a different choice, and I have to stand by it. And I love my choice.”
Growing up in Walstonburg as one of seven children of Helen and Ernest N. Edwards, she had lots of singing company.
“I’ve been singing,” Suggs said, “oh, I would say (since) about 5 or 6 years old. I sang all through school and my family was a family of singers, so we’ve always done this.”
Suggs said she sang duets with her brother, the late Ernest Edwards Jr., from ages 8-12 — until he got interested in girls and no longer wanted his sister around.
In school, she sang with the Glee Club and was selected to sing in school plays.
“They would always give me that (singing) part,” Suggs said, “and in high school, it was a lot of lead singing.”
After graduating from high school in 1964, she left for New York and had the experience of a lifetime.
“I sang at the Apollo twice,” she said. “I got second place both times. … It was quite an experience for a little girl out of Snow Hill.”
She sang in both church choirs and in the clubs — and danced. She lived with her sister, while her boyfriend moved to New York, too, and lived with his sister. The two had met back at North Greene Elementary. In high school, they found a way to spend time together.
“I was too young to go out dating,” Suggs said, “but I’d go to the socials with my brother, and when I went to the socials, we would dance together.”
After five years living in New York, she married Robert “Bob” Suggs, who was then in the U.S. Army. The military took them to Vicenza, Italy.
“It was like three years of honeymoon,” she said. They no longer had family around — it was just the two of them, she added.
They spent two years at Fort Bragg and three years in Germany.
“At that time,” Suggs said, “I was then singing in the choir on the base.” That was the turning point from secular to spiritual singing, she said.
They ended up in New Jersey — spending 28 years there. She worked as a secretary for 25 years.
“I joined a religious group,” she said, “and we were singing hymns.”
Bob Suggs retired and the couple came back home in 2006, settling in Snow Hill. He joined the American Legion Post 536. In 2010, some of the wives formed a Ladies Auxiliary and Suggs decided to join.
“Actually, the singing thing just came up this year,” she said. When members of the American Legion heard them sing, they invited the ladies to sing at the Legion’s March 2012 district meeting in New Bern.
The Auxiliary ended up forming a group to prepare for the event.
“When we sang,” Suggs said, “we just opened our mouths and it was just beautiful.”
In April, they were invited to sing at the Legion’s state meeting in Raleigh. This month, they sang at the flag ceremony at the Greene County Veterans Cemetery.
These days, Suggs said her joy is inspiring children as a substitute teacher, sewing and singing in her church. Singing is a way of expressing thoughts and feelings — a feeling of being free — that can’t happen simply with conversation, she said.
“That’s why I can’t sing for the world,” she said, “because that’s not part of my life.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
Meet Me Monday
Who: Ernestine Suggs
Age: 67
Enjoys: Singing, sewing, teaching youth
Family: Husband, Robert ‘Bob’ Suggs; son, Keitrich N. Suggs, five grandchildren