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Brandon Ray Kirk

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Brandon Ray Kirk

Tag Archives: music

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J.P. Fraley: Eastern Kentucky Fiddler

12 Wednesday May 2021

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Ashland, Danielle Fraley, fiddler, fiddling, folklorist, J.P. Fraley, Kentucky, Kentucky Highlands Museum, music, Rob McNurlin, Ron Dobler

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk | Filed under Music

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Contest for Old-Time Fiddlers, Banjoists, and Guitarists in Huntington (1931)

13 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Huntington, Music

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Appalachia, banjo, fiddle, fiddle contest, fiddling, guitar, history, Huntingon, J.N. Kenny, music, old-time music, The Kenney Music Company, Tri-State Music Festival, West Virginia

Wayne County (WV) News, 7 May 1931

Favorable Review of Logan, WV (1925)

23 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Coal, Logan

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Appalachia, Bowlin, C.C. Chambers, Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, coal, coal camps, Fayette County, fiddler, Frank Adkins, Gassaway, Jewell Encampment, John C. Hicks, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, music, Nick Roomy, Odd Fellows, W.M. Hornsby, West Virginia

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this favorable review by one prominent visitor in 1925. The story is dated Friday, June 5, 1925.

“Truth About Logan”

By W.M. Hornsby

Fayette County Man Who Attended Grand Encampment of Odd Fellows Here Makes Interesting Report.

The yellow journalists and just plain liars who have been telling everything about Logan county but the truth for many years may now prepare to receive a real kick in the slats. Their crazy illusions are due to get shattered.

No man ever came to Logan on a peaceful mission and went away to relate any stories of wrong treatment.

The finest group of men that have visited our city for many moons was here when the Grand Encampment of the Odd Fellows of the state was held in Logan recently. In their meetings at the Christian church many of the delegates confessed that they came to Logan fearful and trembling, all on account of the millions of lurid lies which they had read in various papers before coming here. It may sound like old stuff to say that “truth crushed to earth will rise again” but that is exactly what happened in this case. The delegates were recipients of the famous Logan hospitality. The keys to the city were theirs and they were accorded the kind of a reception which Logan has always given to anything good. After a pleasant visit the delegates departed for their homes with a true knowledge of the conditions which exist here, a knowledge of the fact that Logan is not different from any other prosperous mining section of the country.

One of the gentlemen who attended the Grand Encampment was Mr. W.M. Hornsby, of Bowlin, Fayette county. He too had been filled with the common ideas which prevail about Logan county, but during his visit here he discovered the real Logan, not the kind that exists in the putrid minds of the editors of the sensational yellow journals which have done a grievous wrong to Logan county. He discovered real friends with a handshake just as firm and a smile just as sincere as he had ever known. When Mr. Hornsby returned to his home he wrote a report to this lodge. That report is of vital interest to every Loganite and we are glad to reproduce it in the columns of this paper. The entire report is as follows:

“To whom it may concern…and I think it will concern all true hearted Americans:

“This is a true story of what took place during my stay in Logan county. To get a proper start, I must go back one year. On May 14, 1924, the Grand Encampment met in its annual session in Gassaway, W.Va. When the time arrived to choose a place for our next annual meeting, a good many towns offered invitations to the body. Among them was the town of Logan, and when Logan was mentioned there was silence in the hall, until finally some brother said: ‘Can we meet in Logan?’ For we thought by some of the newspaper reports that Logan county was the hell on earth and the town of Logan was the gateway to the bottomless pit. Then somebody got up in the midst of us and said: ‘Yes, you can meet in Logan, for I’m from the town of Logan.’ We looked over this monster from head to foot but could not see any horns and then our Grand Scribe stood up and declared: ‘Our own dear John wants us to come,’ and we answered, ‘If our own dear John wants us to come, we will go.’

“I started to Logan town on May 12, 1925, from Bowlin, Fayette county, wondering what was going to happen to me. We arrived at Logan the following day in a fine coach donated by the C. & O. for our convenience on the trip to Logan and return.

“When we got off the train at the Logan depot, some brother whispered, ‘Now where–and what?’ Just at that moment we found our way blocked–not by the sheriff and his so-called outlaw deputies as you might think–but by John Hicks with a three hundred pound smile for he is __ and by his side stood our own dear Captain of the Uniform Bank with his fine boys.

“The command was given about face, forward march, and we went up a finely paved street by skyscraper hotels and big mercantile houses to the court house. Instead of finding the so-called persecutors of the law awaiting, we ran into a committee of Jewell Encampment, No. 124, with some of the fairest of the fair sex assisting them and all wearing broad and welcoming smiles. We registered as customary and were assigned to our various hotels.

“After the grand body had been called to order in the Christian church by John C. Hicks, past grand patriarch, C.C. Chambers, mayor of Logan, gave us a fine talk and turned the town over to us, saying ‘the town is yours, do what you want with it,’ and common sense would teach that we were not going to destroy our own property. Next were a group of songs by Mrs. Frank Adkins and Mrs. Nick Roomy, accompanied by fine music, and followed in rotation by several fine speakers, and every one of them said ‘we welcome you,’ and by the smiles on their faces you could tell that they meant it.

“At the close of the morning session we had dinner in the basement of the church, where we saw some of our earthly angels sweating over a hot stove to prepare a feast good enough for a king, while two others rendered fine music and songs, accompanied by one of Logan’s imps–but he had a fiddle, not horns as you might think.

“During the afternoon session in stepped Little John, with the statement, ‘Grand Patriarch, the citizens of this town beg this grand body to let them take you out for an auto ride at your pleasure and show you some of Logan county.’

“___ for the ride, and promptly at that hour it was announced: ‘The cars are waiting.’ And we went out and loaded up according to the capacity of each car. It was found that there were not quite enough cars for all, so an appeal was made to the garage men of the town, and the latter stepped on the starters of some brand new machines and fell in line for our pleasure. Now, Fayette county garage men, would you have done that?

“The trip lasted two and a half hours over paved roads to the coal camps. I was told that part of the roads we traveled over were built by the so-called outlaw operators at a cost of $650,000 and when it was finished they walked into the court house and said to the county court, ‘your honors, we will give you this road if you will keep it up.’ Now, if this is so, I would not mind to have them for neighbors, would you?’ In going from one coal camp to another we met the miners coming from work. Walking? No! Sitting reared back in real cars–no Henry’s–and driving over hard roads built by the so-called outlaw operators for their use. I wish we had some outlaws like that in our town, don’t you?

I will say now, Mr. Newspaperman, wherever you may be over this great nation, listen to plain, honest-to-goodness, one-hundred percent American language. If you have been guilty of this dirty low-down, yellow dog propaganda about Logan county and its fine people. In the name of God and the love of humanity, I say stop right now. It’s a shame if you haven’t any respect for yourselves, for God’s sake have mercy on the people of the best county on earth and the country that gives you shelter for you may just as well stop right now for we have been there from every nook and corner in the United States, and we will not believe you anymore anyway. Cut it out or the devil will get you, for no one could write such stuff but imps. If you will just go to the town of Logan and walk around you will get ashamed of yourself and stop talking about your neighbors.”

Banjos, Violins, and Accordions (1896)

23 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Huntington, Music

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Tags

accordion, Appalachia, banjo, C.M. Wallace, Cabell County, fiddle, history, Huntington, music, One Price Jeweler, Third Avenue, violin, West Virginia

Huntington (WV) Advertiser, 4 February 1896.

Brunswick Phonographs Ad (1923)

15 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Logan, Music

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Tags

advertisement, Aldredge Building, Appalachia, Billy Sunday, Brunswick, history, Logan, Logan County, Logan Music Shoppe, music, Rodeheaver's Gospel Songs, West Virginia

Logan (WV) Banner, 8 June 1923.

Bridge of Dreams Festival (2000)

09 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Ugly Creek, Harts, Leet

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Appalachia, Becky Skeen Webb, Big Ugly Community Center, Big Ugly Creek, Elaine Purkey, Ethel Caffie Austin, festivals, Ira Bernstein, Lincoln County, music, West Virginia

This festival occurred in the communities of Leet and Harts in Lincoln County, WV.

Stidham Old-Time Music Gathering (2019)

02 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Inez, Music

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Tags

Appalachia, Chuck Williams, Creakside Country Band, fiddlers, fiddling, John Harrod, John Haywood & Brett Ratliff, Karly Dawn Milner, Kentucky, Kevin Howard, Larah Helayne, Larry Webster & the Mule Band, Laura Lee Duncan, Martin County, Michelle Wallace, music, old-time music, Poaceous, Robert Daniels, Stidham, Stidham Old-TIme Music Gathering, Tomahawk, Tommy Webb, Tona Barkley, Webb Music Store, Webb Twins String Band, Whistle & Fish, Zach McGlone

Promotion poster for Stidham Old-Time Gathering which occurs annually at Webb Music Store in Stidham, Martin County, KY.

Early Mahon: Banjoist in Mingo County, WV

20 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Music

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Tags

Appalachia, banjo, Beech Creek, Early Mahon, genealogy, history, Mingo County, music, photos, Plyant Mahon, Vicie Mahon, Wall Hatfield, West Virginia

BANJO GUY COPYRIGHT

Early Mahon (1884-1969), son of Plyant and Vicie (Hatfield) Mahon. Plyant Mahon was a participant of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. Early was the grandson of Valentine “Wall” Hatfield. The family holds the original photo.

West Virginia Coon Hunters to Play Public Dance at Ellis Park (1928)

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Logan, Music

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Tags

Appalachia, Ellis Park, history, Logan Banner, Logan County, music, West Virginia, West Virginia Coon Hunters

Public Dance at Ellis Park LB 08.24.1928

Logan (WV) Banner, 24 August 1928

Appalachian Heritage Day 2019

13 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Logan, Music

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Tags

Almost Heaven Dulcimer Club, Appalachian Heritage Day, bluegrass, Buddy Griffin, Cody Jordan, history, Jackie Whitley, Kim Johnson, Logan, music, West Virginia

On August 24, 2019, Appalachian Heritage Day occurred in Logan, WV. The event featured authors, musicians, speakers, all-day music performances by leading regional old-time musicians, old-time and bluegrass music workshops, a genealogy workshop, a writers’ workshop, and an old-time music concert. On August 28-29, 2020, Logan will host Appalachian Heritage Days at Chief Logan State Park Lodge and the Coalfield Jamboree.

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Kim Johnson led an old-time banjo workshop. 24 August 2019. Photo by Jackie Whitley

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Cody Jordan assisted Kim Johnson in the old-time banjo workshop. 24 August 2019. Photo by Jackie Whitley

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Almost Heaven Dulcimer Club! 24 August 2019. Photo by Jackie Whitley

Almost Heaven Dulcimer Club

Here’s the Almost Heaven Dulcimer Club on stage…they were wonderful! 24 August 2019

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Assisting Buddy Griffin in the bluegrass fiddle workshop! 24 August 2019. Photo by Jackie Whitley

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Feud Poll 1

If you had lived in the Harts Creek community during the 1880s, to which faction of feudists might you have given your loyalty?

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Do you think Milt Haley and Green McCoy committed the ambush on Al and Hollene Brumfield in 1889?

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Feud Poll 3

Who do you think organized the ambush of Al and Hollene Brumfield in 1889?

Recent Posts

  • Aracoma Hotel in Logan, WV (1933)
  • James Butcher Survey (1857)
  • Don Chafin’s Deputies (1912-1913)

Ed Haley Poll 1

What do you think caused Ed Haley to lose his sight when he was three years old?

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© Brandon Ray Kirk and brandonraykirk.wordpress.com, 1987-2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Brandon Ray Kirk and brandonraykirk.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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Appalachia Ashland Big Creek Big Ugly Creek Blood in West Virginia Brandon Kirk Cabell County cemeteries Chapmanville Charleston civil war coal Confederate Army crime culture Ed Haley Ella Haley Ferrellsburg feud fiddler fiddling genealogy Green McCoy Guyandotte River Harts Harts Creek Hatfield-McCoy Feud history Huntington John Hartford Kentucky Lawrence Haley life Lincoln County Lincoln County Feud Logan Logan Banner Logan County Milt Haley Mingo County music Ohio photos timbering U.S. South Virginia Wayne County West Virginia Whirlwind writing

Blogs I Follow

  • OtterTales
  • Our Appalachia: A Blog Created by Students of Southern West Virginia CTC
  • Piedmont Trails
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  • Appalachian Diaspora

BLOOD IN WEST VIRGINIA is now available for order at Amazon!

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OtterTales

Writings from my travels and experiences. High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water. Mark Twain

Our Appalachia: A Blog Created by Students of Southern West Virginia CTC

This site is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and promotion of history and culture in Appalachia.

Piedmont Trails

Genealogy and History in North Carolina and Beyond

Truman Capote

A site about one of the most beautiful, interesting, tallented, outrageous and colorful personalities of the 20th Century

Appalachian Diaspora

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