Larks and Ravens
I want to talk about Larks and Ravens. I know that there is lot confusion and controversy about the current push to switch to non-gendered terms. I know that a lot...
Can Old-Time Community Save the World?
The staff door popped open as I careened in to work two minutes late with bean skins still stuck in my unbrushed teeth from the drive-through burrito I’d gulped down in...
Vernon Spencer & the Spencer Family of Big Springs, KS
Vernon Douglas Spencer was born September 22, 1921, on the family farm in Big Springs, Kansas. He was the baby of 11 children born to his parents Harley and Cora and around...
Bill Peterson on Midwest Fiddling Legend Dwight Lamb
I spent 1973 on the small island of Adak, Alaska as a communications operator for the U.S. Navy. A buddy of mine bought a copy of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s...
Ola Belle’s Banjo: A Banjo Story with Cathy Fink
From the early 1980’s until her passing, my partner Marcy Marxer and I paid many a visit to Ola Belle Reed and her family. Each visit included Ola Belle’s soup and...
The Cabin: tradition & place in Romney, West Virginia
Traditional Appalachian musicians from Hampshire County, West Virginia and the surrounding area are fortunate to have a great venue where they can share their music and friendship. The Cabin, as it is...
Finding My Tribe
Most of my life, I never felt like I had a tribe.
I was always an outlier. I was voted “Most Intellectual” in ninth grade in one of...
Bad Festival Neighbors
When you roll up to an old time festival, you know you aren’t checking into the Presidential Suite at the Ritz. It’s going to be crowded and noisy and dirty, and some of...
The Berlin Old-Time Scene: An Origin Myth
1. Sheriff Greyson in the Sandbox
It was a typically overcast Berlin Saturday in late spring. The playground at Arkonaplatz was full of kids churning up the sand...
Memories of Clyde
I grew up listening to Clyde on the old LP's my dad got when he was working as a seasonal at Pickett State Parkin 1979 under Bobby Fulcher. The album was "Tough...
