Turn Back Thursday photo: Helen Doris Buell, an early architect of music programs in Warwick schools

WARWICK — Meet Miss Helen Doris Buell, who took a break from teaching music to pose for this photo, dated 1939.
Miss Buell was born on March 24, 1912, and for a time commuted to her job here in Warwick from her home on Middletown’s Oakland Avenue.
She graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1935 and was teaching here less than a year later, earning an annual salary of $1,300.
Her Warwick Public Schools employment notes say she taught all grades in all buildings, and soon went on to become Supervisor of Music.
Miss Buell - later Mrs. Stidworthy - was among the early architects of Warwick Valley School District’s exceptional music program, which for six consecutive years has been named one of the “Best Communities for Music Education.”
Some may remember Miss Buell from her teaching days, others as a member of the Warwick Chorale.
She passed away in 2010, here in Warwick, at the age of 98.
Turn Back Thursday (TBT) is an ongoing project of the Warwick Valley School District and its recently discovered cache of photographs from days gone by.
If there's information you can share with the district regarding these photos, contact Lisa Ramirez at liramirez@wvcsd.org or 845-987-300 ext. 10515.