Vet Boswell’s banjo
n.d.
by Beltone, manufacturer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of the Boswell Museum of Music, 2011.0315.127

 

Vet, the youngest Boswell sister, was named, oddly, for the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, because of the milk she was bottle fed as an infant. In addition to being a talented vocalist, she was also a “terrific tap dancer,” as stated by Connie, and multi-instrumentalist who studied both the violin and banjo. Generally acknowledged as the most reserved of the sisters, she was far from timid and, according to one news article, was reputed to “make the funniest faces of anyone around the CBS studios.”

Connie Boswell’s wheelchair
n.d.
by Knauth Brothers, manufacturer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of the Boswell Museum of Music, 2011.0315.158

 

The source of Connie’s disability, which started when she was three years old, has never been clearly confirmed. The impairment is often attributed to a childhood bout with polio. According to family lore, the true cause was a go-cart accident, but that story could have been fabricated by the fiercely protective Meldania Boswell, Connie’s mother, to spare her daughter the stigma of the disease. In interviews over the years, Connie cited both stories. Meldania devised a physical-therapy regimen that successfully restored some of Connie’s mobility during her adolescence. At home Connie was never treated any differently, and when the Boswells’ career began taking off, Vet and Martha helped hide Connie’s physical limitations from the public. Connie would frequently perform while seated at the piano, next to Martha, with Vet standing close behind. Later in her career, Connie used a custom-designed wheeled stool, concealed by her skirts, which allowed her to take the stage and appear to be standing. This wheelchair, believed to have been used by Connie as early as 1931, was discovered in the former home of Martha Boswell near Peekskill, New York.

Connie Boswell, Harry Leedy, and dog Buzz from Radio Guide magazine
February 1936; photoprint
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of the Boswell Museum of Music, 2011.0315.156

 

In February 1936 the Boswell Sisters made what would be their final recordings as a trio, “Let Yourself Go” and “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket,” as Martha and Vet settled down to raise families and Connie embarked on a solo career. Having taken many independent jobs during her work with the group, Connie was used to performing without her sisters, but she struggled to craft a new public identity as a soloist. She found herself performing in smaller venues and nightclubs, many of which were not readily equipped to accommodate her wheelchair. Connie recorded with both Bing Crosby and Bob Crosby and his Bob Cats, and made regular appearances on radio and television. At the outset of the Second World War, when her fellow entertainers began to depart on USO tours, Connie was forced to remain stateside—her disability presented too great of a logistical hurdle for organizers. Still, she participated in the war effort on the home front, visiting veteran’s hospitals.