Steve Beasley and Noble Sissle joint 75th birthday party
Beasley and Sissle show off their gift presentation by Bob and Yvonne Moales of
Decatur, GA at their party Friday, April 7 at the FAMU Employees’ Clubhouse.
Photos special to the Outlook
Beasley and Sissle pose together at their first joint party together back in 1962.
Special to the Outlook
Celebrating together for the 55th time, Steve Beasley and Noble Sissle threw themselves a combination picnic and clubhouse party hosted by the FAMU Employees Club Friday, April 7. In 1962 as FAMU students, their first party was held at Steve’s parents’ home when they realized that between his birthday on April 4th and Noble’s on the 8th, there was a Saturday. That became the formula for all future parties. At their 1992 party, they expanded their guest list to include former FAMU faculty and staff. That party was attended by Mr. and Mrs. Jake Gaither, Dr. and Mrs. William P. Foster, Rev. and Mrs. Moses G. Miles and many other favorite area citizens with Dr. Sybil Mobley acting as Mistress of Ceremonies. That party became a reunion with other classmates and the FAMU War Babies group was formed.
The guests a few weeks ago were told that Noble was not going to make it to Tallahassee until late in the afternoon. He was in Kansas City, MO as a guest of the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission that was conducting a commemoration of America’s entry into World War One. Representing his dad, Noble Sissle who was drum major and vocalist in the Harlem 369th Hell Fighters Band, participated in the filming of a documentary produced by the Commission titled “In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace.”
When it was time for Noble to fly to Tallahassee the day before the party, Delta Airlines had a massive meltdown of its operations and many flights were cancelled, including his. The option of staying in Kansas City until Saturday was not one he chose. Instead he and his sister Cynthia who also attended the event, rented a car, drove 12 hours overnight to Atlanta and were picked up by Bob and Yvonne Moales of Decatur, GA and driven to Tallahassee as the picnic was ending. Noble said he was not going to be denied attending his 75th birthday party.\
As it turned out, the Moales had framed photography gifts for the party boys hidden in the trunk of their car and presented them inside the clubhouse. The art celebrates Steve’s and Noble’s role model images, not only for their children and grand children, but also as founders of the FAMU War Babies.
