Family, Service, and“ Fire in the Belly”
family went to see great Uncle Arthur Banks in Hope, Indiana. Uncle Arthur was picking out Bluegrass magic as he played an old claw hammer banjo. Dan had to have one! Web Harden went to Sears and bought his son a Silvertone banjo for $ 43. All the boys started playing Bluegrass— Doug got a mandolin, and Dave got a guitar. Web drove his three sons everywhere to play Bluegrass tunes as the“ Brown County Boys.” Web also honored his father-in-law by writing a song entitled“ Pine Mountain.”
Since then, Bluegrass music has been a major thread throughout Danny’ s life. When he was thirteen years old, he played with Bernard Lee, Charlie Percifield, Jim Bessire, and Marvin Hedrick as the Weed Patch Boys.“ They opened the gate around here( at the square dances at the State Park). On these nights, as song followed song followed song,“ The band didn’ t stop playing till the people stopped dancing.”
Danny now works at the Bill Monroe Music Park for his good friends Dwight and Becky Dillman. It is the home of the oldest continuous Bluegrass Festival in the World— this year being the 49th. He reverently calls Bean Blossom the“ School of Bluegrass,” and marvels that he lived in Brown County during a unique era of Bluegrass music. He personally knew“ musical genius” Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Reno and Smiley, plus other Bluegrass notables.
Retirement never comes to a Bluegrass musician. Dan now plays a 1934 RB5 Gibson Mastertone banjo with his band, Hamilton Creek, which has been together for around five years. A“ band of brothers with different mothers,” the group is
made up of Danny on banjo; Dave Conner on fiddle and mandolin; Frank Hilligoss plays bass; and Neil Smith, who joined the group about a year ago, plays guitar. The group’ s weekly schedule includes Wednesday night practice sessions. Hamilton Creek played on the February episode of the WFHB Brown County Radio Hour that can be heard through the website < browncountyhour. com >. The band is planning to record a CD with ten to twelve songs. The Hamilton Creek Facebook page will keep fans apprised.
Some of Danny’ s grandchildren joined our photo shoot at the library: Isabel, Aubrey, Emma, and Eli.
What else follows for Danny, who counts wild turkeys, groundhogs, and coyotes as excellent neighbors? With deep respect evident, Danny says he wishes he could“ download” what older folks know. He counts Jim Owens and Ed“ Brownie” Brown as wise friends. He also wishes more young people would stay in Brown County. Like his parents— Web, who died in 1986 and Jean, who died in 2007— his family is foremost. He and Vicki have twelve grandchildren, aged from less than a year to 13 years old. Jason and his wife Brittany have Eli, Emma, and Isabel. Kristina and husband Robby have Zoey, Zamilee, and Zilah. Kristina and Robby have also adopted three little boys— Edric, Donnie, and Xavier. Jeff has a daughter, Aubrey. Kelli and her husband, Adam, have Landon and Dillon. The family vacations en masse, with past destinations that include the Gulf Shores, Alabama and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. An upcoming cruise to the Bahamas will warm all the Harden clan together. •
March / April 2015 • Our Brown County 25