Minto Country Music Wall of Fame

Geraldine (Kennedy) Copeland remembers composing her first poem at age 12 for a school play. It was called, "God's Gift". Since then she has written hundreds of poems, as well as books, and has over 500 songs placed with SOCAN for performance. A number of her songs have been recorded and performed by name artists. "Kitty" first heard her songs performed over radio when the late Karl Lofstrom sang them over his show on Radio Station CFNB. They included "Where the Stars in God's Crown Shine Forever", the answer to "Mansion on the Hilltop", and "Once, Only Once".

Her most famous song, "The Rose Upon the Bible" was included on an LP by Stu Davis in the late 1950's and later was recorded by Don Messer & His Islanders. This song was played thereafter on TV on Mother's Day, sung by Marg Osborne & Charlie Chamberlain. Some of the other artists to perform her songs are: Russ Wheeler, Allan Sherwood, Aubrey Hanson and Bob Rowan.

In 1941 she married Lewis Copeland. They have four sons and one daughter. Lewis passed away in 1990 and Geraldine still resides in Chipman.

Her works have been read at libraries and schools, sang in church and sold at EXPO 67. She organized two kindness clubs, which resulted in many poems being published in Kindness News and Beaver Defenders.

Kitty's first songbook printed was titled "Mellow Memories" in 1969. In 1984 a book of her song poems titled "Sunbeams, Dewdrops and Petals" was published containing 700 song poems. Today Geraldine has over 2000. A series of 40 children's short stories followed in 1993.

Geraldine was manager, President, Can. Rep and editor of several upcoming artists and fan clubs including "the WWVA Wheeling West Virginia Jamboree". She was inducted into the New Brunswick Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984 for her contribution to the Performing Artists. In 1997 she received The Editor's Choice Award for outstanding achievement in poetry from the national Library of Poetry. In the year 2000 Geraldine received the bronze Medal for second best poem in the International Library of Poetry, Maryland USA.