By Laura MacLean, Huntsville Doppler
At 91 years young, Mansfield Rogers still gets a thrill when he takes the stage to sing. Conquering the jitters, well, that never really goes away.
Singing has always been his thing, and it always will be. Mansfield found his voice when he was a small boy, probably before he was six years old. He remembers gathering around the fire every Sunday to sing with his family while his mother played the piano. He also recalls taking the stage for a Christmas concert and being totally nervous. Those long-ago memories still surface every now and then and they are ones he will cherish forever. They were just the beginning of a lifetime of memories built by doing what he loves to do.
“It’s a hobby of mine in so many ways,” he says. “It’s therapeutic… something I find very relaxing. Over the years, I’ve sang at any chance I could with any group I could. For me, it’s just a lot of fun. I don’t think you ever get over the stage fright. And maybe that’s from being brought up in a time when you were to be seen and not heard.”