Helen was truly an amazing person. In some ways larger than life, she was nevertheless totally down to earth. A phenomenal singer with a powerful voice and a great knack for getting to the essence of every song, she encouraged everyone she met to sing their hearts out. She was a mainstay of the Washington DC folk scene for many years, and was a founder of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. How very fortunate we were to know her!

She sang a wide variety of music -- incredibly sad ballads (both the old Child classics and newer mining disaster songs, for example), joyous gospel songs such as "Dwelling in Beulah Land," more somber ones like "I Know Moonlight," shanties like "Roll the Woodpile Down," and the offbeat "hideobilia" that only she could carry off. And she made every single one of them really memorable. Someone asked her once how she, as a Jew, could sing gospel music so wholeheartedly, she responded that she loved "any song that is deeply felt."

We did a bit of reminiscing a while back in this thread. Somehow some of the posts seem to have gotten out of order, so that some responses appear before the posts they are responding to (how could that happen?), but there's a lot of good stuff in it.

She has been a tremendously important influence on traditional singers, certainly here in the Washington area, where she was such a presence for so long. Both of my kids grew up listening to her and singing along with her, and now both of them are fine singers in their own right.

She taught us to sing right out loud, and to feel the music. She was a true free spirit, and we miss her terribly already.

Nancy