Grandmother Hopes Nation Unites In Singing ‘God Bless America’

SEA ISLE CITY – Red, white and blue. That is the décor palette of Henrietta Creighton’s home with a view of Sea Isle City’s back bay. They’re also the colors of her heart as she pursues a mission to have all Americans appreciate the country by regularly singing that most red-white-and-blue song, “God Bless America.” 
Creighton, 92, is spearheading a desire which she hopes will sweep everyone up to a better place in mood and attitude – to have all in the U.S. join in and sing “God Bless America.”
The song was written by Irving Berlin in 1918 as the U.S. faced the fearful challenges of World War I and became iconic over the decades as the country’s unofficial national anthem.
Creighton is even deploying social media to get the word out: singgba.com website and a Facebook page. Visit these connections and see they also are red, white, and blue.
“I want everyone to sing ‘God Bless America’ no matter where they are but especially in houses of worship,” said Creighton emphatically. “I am so blessed that I want everyone to feel the same way,” noting that she has made a “Sing God Bless America” banner to hang out on her deck so passing boats will know she means business.
Creighton and her husband Bill, as well as their parents, are emblems of the American dream. Henrietta and Bill met in 1944 during the provisioning effort in Philadelphia for World War II at the world-renowned Budd Field plant.
The manufacturing facility was famous for its railroad car production but with wartime requirements; it was churning out aircraft. From there, they found the courage, as Creighton said “guided by God,” to come to Sea Isle City, population 1,500 in 1947.
They bought a hardware store opening it in the totally ghost town atmosphere of September with no prior experience, no understanding of marketing or demographics but lots of hope, common sense and hard work.
The rest is history as the Creightons created the city’s landmark Trading Post which they ran for decades in the resort’s commercial district.
No doubt Creighton’s life could be a screenplay for a movie about the opportunity and goodness that America offers the world. Her mother came from Poland in 1907 to the Philadelphia area. Her father was a farmer in Montgomery County, Pa. Her parents met doing some seasonal work for a wealthy family in the City of Brotherly Love.
She and her two sisters grew up singing hymns at the Upper Dublin Lutheran Church near the small town of Ambler, Pa.
Creighton spends her winters in Florida – she and Bill would leave, she says, whenever he “felt his feet get cold” – and it was there after the Sept. 11 attacks that their little church in Jensen Beach gave her inspiration for the vision she is now so dedicated.
“That Sunday, after the horrible events of Sept. 11, our pastor asked everyone in our small church to join hands and sing ‘God Bless America.’ From that first Sunday we have sung ‘God Bless America’ every Sunday and I think doing the same thing would give people the peace and blessings that it has done for me.”
Two years ago, Creighton said she was “nudged by the Lord” and inspired by the sense of patriotism instilled in her by her mother. Creighton decided to give her idea a real chance with the support of her Florida church, and assistance from graphic designer Jacquelyn Tocci, the youngest of her 12 grandchildren, a resident of Upper Township to design information postcards.
The postcard showcases patriotic images and symbols of the world’s major religions encouraging recipients to sing ‘God Bless America’  even giving them a couple of lines of the lyrics.
“I’ve distributed about 10,000 postcards and just ordered 5,000 more. Having the postcards got me organized, so they’re really important,” she explained. Creighton mails the postcards all over the country and hands them out at church services.
“My dream is to have houses of worship from our Atlantic shore to the Pacific coast and those in between sing the song every week. When you look at what’s going on in our world and on TV, I know it will help all find more understanding among us,” Creighton said.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.