The Mary F. Shipper Library at WVU Potomac State College is featuring an exhibition honoring Keyser native Jack Rollins, the lyricist behind “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” and “Frosty the Snowman,” according to a press release from WVU Potomac State College. The exhibit will be on display through May 1.
Both songs were originally recorded by Gene Autry and later adapted into animated specials. Rollins also co-wrote “Smokey the Bear” in 1952, a forest conservation anthem that became one of the most recognized public service announcements of the era.
Local historian Champ Zumbrun, who curated the exhibit, said Rollins possessed “a gift of child-like wonder” and crafted numerous children’s songs including “Pokey the Polka Dot Clown” and “Blue Tail the Red Fox.”
Born in 1906 in Scottsdale, Pennsylvania, Rollins later relocated to Keyser when his brother became a pastor there. He worked various jobs until age 40, including at a glass factory and as a baggage handler at Penn Station in New York. He developed his songwriting skills while assisting his blind mother with household tasks, creating stories together that he later converted into song lyrics.
In 1948, Rollins signed with Hill and Range Inc. in New York at $3,000 annually, producing a minimum of one song monthly. His collaborations included “I Don’t Hurt Anymore” with Don Robertson, recorded by Hank Snow in 1954, which topped charts for 20 weeks.
Rollins relocated to Hollywood in the early 1950s for 15 years, then moved to Cincinnati in the mid-1960s to be near family. He passed away in 1973 but was buried at Queens Point Cemetery in Keyser, per his wishes. He was inducted into the West Virginia Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2011.
Library Director Nicholas Gardner said he was “grateful to Mr. Zumbrun for entrusting our library with this collection, not just for exhibition, but for adding to our permanent collection.”
