In February 1907 the Valley Daily News, the newspaper in Tarentum, Pennsylvania where Evelyn was born, recalled Evelyn's first public musical performace:
Florence Evelyn was a particularly interesting child, very quiet, somewhat shy, she did not easily make friends with any one, but when one did gain her confidence she was a loyal friend. She was a very beautiful child and had a remarkably sweet voice for one so young. Her talent along this line was marked and when she was but 5 years of age she made her first public appearance. The occasion was a memorial service which was held in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which her father and mother were members. The service was held in honor of the members, who had died during the year. The church was beautifully decorated for the occasion, an immense bank of evergreens completely covering the pulpit. In the midsts of the solemn hush of the service came the sweet voice of a child singing. It was little Florence Evelyn hidden behind the evergreens and in a voice which will never be forgotten and which could be distictly heard over the large auditorium, came the words, "We Are Going Down the Valley One by One." Before the song was half finished nearly the entire audience was moved to tears. Softly, sweetly, but still distinctly, came the words of the song. It was a splendid triumph for a little child, and the memory of it still lingers in the hearts of the people here and to those who remember it so well, it helps them in the midsts of her present troubles to sympathize with and pity her.
