Tags
Alva Greene, Brandon Kirk, Ed Haley, fiddling, Fred B. Lambert, Huntington, J P Fraley, John Hartford, Kentucky, Lawrence Kirk, music, Pat Haley, writing
Not long after talking with Patsy, while on a trip through Kentucky, I visited J.P. Fraley. I had Ed’s fiddle with me, which excited J.P. greatly. He fiddled Haley’s version of “Granny Will Your Dog Bite?” as best as he could remember it and said Ed used to sing:
Granny, will your dog bite, dog bite, dog bite?
Granny will your dog bite? “No, child, no.”
Granny will your dog bite, dog bite, dog bite?
“Johnny cut his biter off a long time ago.”
He said Ed also used to play “Hunky Dory”.
Between tunes, J.P. talked about how Haley was the top fiddler in his section of Kentucky. “Daddy and Alva Greene and Doctor Sparks and Frank Clay, Drew Crockett — reputable fiddlers, I called them — ever chance they got, they’d go listen to Ed Haley. He was the yardstick of the fiddlers in this whole area.”
J.P. said, “I’ve kept something for years, buddy. I’ve got a fiddle bridge of Ed Haley’s. I don’t know what it’s made out of.”
Apparently, when he borrowed the Haley fiddle from the Holbrooks years ago, he had kept a little memento before returning it.
In the next couple of weeks, I finalized plans for another “Ed Haley trip.” Pat Haley said I could stay at her place in Ashland, while Lawrence Kirk said I was welcome to stay with him in West Virginia. I called Brandon Kirk, the Harts genealogist, and arranged to meet him at the Morrow Library in Huntington. There he said we would have a lot of genealogical material at our fingertips, as well as all the room we needed to sort through our books and old photographs. I was very interested in the Lambert Collection, which he said was full of local historical information.
Brandon Ray Kirk 
Brandon,
I am pretty sure you & I are related in some way. Turley Adams was my grandfather. I am his oldest grandaughter. I have read this whole blog within a couple of days & now I am left hanging! Can’t wait for more.
What happened to Pearl Adkins?
When I began reading, I thought how did he get ahold of this stuff, but as I continued to read, I see that you had contact with John Hartford. Did he write a book?
Rhonda
Nice to hear from you. Yes, we are likely related. I am familiar with Turley’s family history. He died before I met him, but I have been up to see his widow several times. She is a very nice lady. I have all of the interview cassettes compiled by John between 1991 and 1995, which includes a few interviews with Turley. After 1995, John and I collaborated on the Ed Haley project. John and I wrote the Ed Haley biography between 1995 and 2001. I am currently featuring the manuscript in segments at this blog. Hope you enjoy.
I began researching local history about 1990 and started writing about it shortly thereafter. I have accumulated a great deal of material relating to the old families, particularly interviews, old photographs, and documents. I shared much of this research with my late great friend, John Hartford. Glad you enjoy.