MUSICAL ROOTS continued from 47
Hohenberger recorded in his diary that Ruth Bond told him they had better musicians in Helmsburg. Hohenberger himself accompanied Doc Winter to the Harry W. Heckman cabin where there was a“ blowout” dance with 150 in attendance, people he referred to as a“ lot of natives— one family of 33 children and grandchildren.” A native fiddler with one wooden leg, Mrs. Anderson played,“ keeping time with her peg.”
Throughout the county, the living room rug in many homes was rolled up for dancing come Saturday nights and there were ample musicians among the neighbors to provide the tunes and calling. In the 1930s and 1940s commercial dance halls opened in and around Brown County featuring music from local bands. The Weed Patch String Band were regular players at the Saturday night dances at the Helmsburg Dance Hall.
In 1939, a network of old-time musicians named themselves the Van Buren String Busters. The original group had just four members: local fiddler Louis Henderson with Lonzie Gredy, Faun Clark, and Jack Hendricks. A couple years later, the group was led by Doc Beauchamp. During the World War II years,
Cigarbox banjo / fiddle at the Brown County History Center.
Beauchamp’ s square dances were called to the accompaniment of Louis Henderson, fiddler; Wilma Anthony Spiker, banjo; and Hesper“ Hep” Anthony Beauchamp, guitar.
The traditions grounded by these local musical artists laid a bedrock foundation for the Brown County Jamboree and Bill Monroe’ s Bluegrass Festivals that grew after them. The Brown County Jamboree was a live weekly country music show between April and November. It was purchased in 1951 by the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, and is now widely recognized as the oldest continuously running bluegrass festival worldwide. Bean Blossom: The Brown County Jamboree and Bill Monroe’ s Bluegrass Festivals by Thomas A. Adler is recommended for music lovers and lovers of Brown County. •
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48 Our Brown County March / April 2021