Teacher, social activist, entrepreneur, adventurer, music lover… all descriptors of Ruth Salinger: a remarkable Rockport Music fan and Linden Tree Society member. Now a member of Rockport Music’s Planned Giving Committee, Ruth’s passion for music is in her genes. Growing up in Newton, MA, Ruth’s piano, her father’s saxophone and her mother’s voice blended to fill their home. In high school, she had the honor of playing piano under the guest baton of Leonard Bernstein during a choral rehearsal.
After graduating from Wheelock College, Ruth married and moved to a small town in Georgia, landing a local teaching job. Ruth recalls, “This was in 1954 after the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision — Brown vs. the Board of Education – calling for school desegregation. I thought it should be taught. I was asked to leave.” Ruth returned north and became a Director of Religious Education at the Eliot Church, Newton. Every third year, she took high school kids down south to learn history and the importance of America’s civil rights movement.
After her first son arrived, Ruth and her family moved to Concord where their second child was born. Being a mother and social activist filled many years. After losing her third term on the School Committee, she co-founded the Concord Carlisle Human Rights Council to work on racial issues affecting the towns. Later, she served as a case worker for the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee at the State House and then as District Director of the 5th Congressional District.
In 1985, Ruth and five women started The Greeley Foundation – a legacy for Dana Greeley, to continue his work on “Global Peace with Justice.” Unlike other foundations, they started with no money, just the idea that peace was possible. Warren Salinger (no relation and one of Rockport Music’s early leaders) became Executive Director of the foundation with Ruth, its President. Many of the international projects they funded are still active, including President Carter’s signature program: “Peaceful Resolution of Conflict”.
Later, Ruth and Warren parlayed their global connections to start an importing marquetry business from Russia, based in Gloucester. She moved to Cape Ann: “the most wonderful place in the world with beauty, people with a lot of stuffing, and a tremendous commitment to the arts.”
Warren Salinger and his wife Martha, fellow Linden Tree Society members, introduced Ruth to Rockport Music. “After that, I was a goner – falling hook, line and sinker for this top-drawer musical experience,” she says. “Rockport Music has allowed the dignity of music to permeate the entire organization. Especially now, that is so important. When we are besieged, we can immerse ourselves in great music. It fills the soul.”
Ruth concludes, “For my 85th birthday, I decided to make a bequest in my will for Rockport Music. I have a son and daughter, six grandchildren and now have two great grandchildren. I think the only thing I can leave behind is a promise for the future. It gives me great joy to know that I am leaving the gift of music.”
For more information on becoming a Linden Tree Society member by making a bequest through your will or trust or naming Rockport Music as a percentage beneficiary of your IRA, please visit Rockport Music’s Planned Giving webpage or contact Lori Correale at 978-546-7391 X103 or lcorreale@rockportmusic.org.
