Sammy Shelor for President

"God is great and so is Steve Martin!"

Amen to that one, Sammy!

Thanks to social media, word spread like a Texas wildfire that Patrick County's (Virginia) own Sammy Shelor is the second winner of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. The honor carries a cash award of $50,000, a bronze sculpture, and a guest appearance with Martin on the David Letterman Show November 3.

Martin told the New York Times that five or six "worthy names" were narrowed to a final two or three who were scrutinized on "anecdotal factors, and emotional factors, that are very hard to define and probably wouldn't bear up in a trial." Sammy won by unanimous vote.

The first time I recall hearing Sammy play we were in high school. I was a couple of years, or three or four, ahead of Sammy. I wrote and directed a play called "Our Heritage, Our Hero." It was to be performed in April or May of 1976, my senior year and the nation's bicentennial. Produced by my friend Karen Duncan Erickson, there was a cast of thousands, or dozens. Claudette Thompson Franklin said, "I know this banjo player from Meadows of Dan. . . . "

Leslie Shelor, Sammy's equally-talented-in-different-areas sister was already in the play and heavily involved with its production. So Sammy and his Grandpa came down off the mountain and provided the musical interludes between acts. It was perfect. I recall thinking, "this kid is really good!"

What an understatement.

Through the years, Sammy has racked up awards including Banjo Player of the Year from the IBMA more times than I can count. His Lonesome River Band is nominated for five awards later this month. Bandmates -- Brandon Rickman, guitar; Mike Hartgrove, fiddle; Barry Reed, upright bass; and Randy Jones, mandolin -- are equally talented and if you have never heard them, visit the website and order a CD.

I wasn't blowing smoke and neither was Sammy in saying that Steve Martin is great. He has used his celebrity and resources to bring the banjo and bluegrass to a larger audience. His passion has connected him to the best and he called upon the best in choosing the recipient for this award. The board members include Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck, Neil Rosenberg, Pete Wernick, Anne Stringfield, and Tony Trischka, in addition to Martin.

Martin, along with his band the Steep Canyon Rangers, are also nominated for several awards this year including entertainer of the year. ALSO nominated for that prestigious award is the incredibly talented group, The Boxcars -featuring another Patrick Countian -- John Bowman. (John, I bet your Mama is just beside herself! And your Granny, too!)

Yep, it's a proud day for Patrick Countians everywhere. Our own Leon Pollard, retired teacher and musician extraordinaire, said about Sammy:

"Sammy is not only a great banjo picker, he is a great guy, both on and off stage, and he has never forgotten his roots here in the county. I was proud to pick with him when he was 10 years old and I am still proud to call him friend and pick with him whenever I get the chance. Congratulations to Sammy!"

This is such a great day I think everybody in Patrick County should get a free punkin. Can you hook us up, Sammy? This could be a great way to launch a campaign, Instead of the electoral college, how about a fiddling contest? Best banjo player is president, best fiddler is secretary of state, and so on. But that's a column for another day.

Sammy Shelor, The Titanic

Banjo-picker Sammy Shelor (far left) has been named the Distinguished Patrick Countian (Virginia). Buddy, Larry Belcher (left), was recognized for his outstanding service to the community. For those unfamiliar with geography, the plaques are in the shape of "The Free State of Patrick." I grew up in Ararat, which is the furthest west of the communities shown (below, right).

Sammy is a little younger than I, and I don't know if he recalls that I directed, and Karen Duncan Erickson produced, a high school play on the history of our county back in 1976. Sammy and his grandad played between scenes. Legend has it, Sammy started playing at the age of 4 when his granddad fashioned a banjo from the lid of a pressure cooker. I emailed his sister, fellow-blogger Leslie, to verify this information:

Yes, I was astonished when Sammy got Distinguished Patrick Countian; he's in good company. Some awesome people have been honored. Liked that Larry got the Community Service Award, too; I haven't seen Larry in years but he's a great soul! Grandpa did make Sammy a banjo from a pressure cooker lid, coat hanger and some bolts, I think. Sammy still has it.

There you have it, folks. Sammy Shelor, named the best banjo picker in the world no less than four times by the International Bluegrass Music Association, started playing on a pot lid. The first time he won, my Aunt Lucille approached him to autograph a tee shirt she had purchased, and asked him to write something like "best banjo player, 1995." He was so embarrassed. Not sure if he signed all that or not.

Congratulations, Sammy!
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Remembering the Titanic

Laurel Hill Cemetery "The Underground Museum"
presents R.M.S. TITANIC: 96 YEARS LATER
with Widener University Professor and Resident Folklorist
Dr. J. Joseph Edgette
Saturday, April 12, 2008 starting at 3:00 p.m.

The cost is $25 per person for the tours only, and $75 per person for the entire package, including tours, presentation and dinner. Advance registration is required. Space is limited, so make your reservations early by calling 215-228-8200.

According to the statistics from the existing records of the White Star Line, managing company of the R.M.S. Titanic, there were 98 passengers destined for Pennsylvania on that fateful voyage in April of 1912. Of that number, 45 were from the Philadelphia area. Six of these are entombed or memorialized at Laurel Hill Cemetery:

Olive Potter
Crolius William
Crothers Dulles
Lily Alexenia
Potter Eleanore
Elkins Widener
George Dunton Widener
Harry Elkins Widener

Every year in April, Laurel Hill Cemetery commemorates the solemn anniversary of the sinking of the “Ship of Dreams.” The event commences with a walking tour of Laurel Hill, where we visit the burial places of the Titanic passengers, and hear their unique stories. The tour continues at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, where six additional Titanic-related men and women rest. Following the walking tours, a slide-supported presentation will highlight the connection between Philadelphia and the Titanic. The evening is capped off by a sumptuous feast that replicates the one served aboard Titanic on that final, fateful day.

Leslie's Philosophy

While browsing the internet I came across the website for a high school friend, Leslie Shelor. Leslie is a weaver and has a shop in Meadows of Dan, Virginia, at the top of Squirrel Spur. For the uninitiated, Squirrel Spur is about the crookedest mountain road I've ever been on. Once, we were on a school bus headed up the mountain to the Dan River Queen Riverboat and the bus had to stop while a dumptruck backed up to let us by. The scenery is spectacular. Anyhow, Leslie has her shop, The Greenberry House (above), where she sells original creations from the yarn she spins with the cooperation of her pet Angora rabbits. Leslie and I traded correspondence. As usual, all roads lead to Tom Perry:

Tom Perry's new book is out and it is terrific. I have copies here at the store and he's supposed to do a book signing here December 8. If he can sit still long enough!

So, dear readers, here is the golden opportunity to drive up Squirrel Spur, visit with Leslie and sample her wares, and get your autographed copy of Patrick County by Thomas David Perry. From Arcadia Publishing's website:

Book Description: Formed in 1790, Patrick County is named for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s first governor, Patrick Henry, who lived in neighboring Henry County. Located along the border of North Carolina where the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Appalachian Range cross the state line, the “Free State of Patrick” is half Piedmont and half mountain plateau. This dividing geographic feature is reflected in the mountain people of Scots-Irish and German descent along with English living below the mountain heights. This divergent population produced tobacco magnate R. J. Reynolds; Civil War general J. E. B. Stuart; Virginia governor Gerald Baliles; Virginia’s highest-elected female, former attorney general Mary Sue Terry; and World Series pitcher Brad Clontz.

Ain't we something!

Tom produces a monthly e-mail newsletter about regional history from his Web site, http://www.freestateofpatrick.com/ Here you can order this title or one of his many others if you're unable to make it up Squirrel Spur. The cover of this book features a vintage photo of Allen Culler, father of Benton Culler. Isn't it a smashing picture? Tom is in Philadelphia on a talking tour right now. The Civil War world is small and incestuous.
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The Dark Side of Mayberry

For years, I covered court in Dobson, North Carolina, reporting for the Mount Airy News. (Dobson is the county seat of Surry County.) I still go online to read the paper, where my high school bud and former editor, Tom Joyce, still labors in the journalistic vineyard. I couldn't help but laugh at this story:

Brother charged in shooting

Published: Friday, November 2, 2007 11:27 PM CDT
Staff Report

A felony assault charge has been filed against a Mount Airy man who allegedly shot his brother in the back. Richard Lee Thomas, 48, of 628 E. Haymore St., is accused of assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury, in connection with the Wednesday afternoon incident. Thomas spent Wednesday night in the Surry County Jail before being released Thursday afternoon on a $25,000 secured bond.

Thomas allegedly shot his brother, William Burley Thomas, 46, of the same address, about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday after a heated argument at their home, according to the Mount Airy Police Department. At last report, the victim, who was wounded with a .22-caliber pistol, was in good condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.

The brothers had been arguing and the situation escalated into violence, police said. At one point, William Thomas allegedly pulled out a gun and fired shots at Richard Thomas inside their house, said Lt. Detective Bill Bunker. That prompted the older brother to get a gun and shoot at his sibling, who was hit in the back. The pair has a long history of fighting between themselves, dating to the early 1980s, according to local authorities. Mostly, the altercations have been limited to fist fights, wrestling and hitting each other with brooms, they say, with Wednesday's shooting representing the first time that either of the two has been seriously hurt. In addition to residing in the same house with their mother, both brothers are employed by a local recapping business, according to police records.

The elder Thomas faces a Dec. 14 appearance in Surry District Court.

I think they're my cousins. Check out the news yourself at mtairynews.com.

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Email

Deb-
Just catching up on your blog (I've been away in smoky San Diego) and noticed your mention of Paul Tibbets. I live near the Wendover Airfield where Tibbets and his crew planned and trained for the atomic bomb drops. It's an amazing place. Most of the structures remain intact and largely untouched. There are buildings that still have shelves full of some kind of literature, wall hangings, and furniture original to the base- just sitting there just as the men left it when the base was abandoned. In some of the hangars and offices, it looks as if Col. Tibbets and his crew could come back, sit at their old table, grab their training materials, and resume their conversation where they left off in 1944. I was at the base recently and I snapped a whole bunch of pictures, which include much of the still-standing structures as well as the bomb pits. If you're interested, I'll upload them to a web album and send you the link.

Pretty. dang. interesting.
Clint Thomsenwww.bonnevillemariner.com

DG--Clint, that is fascinating. Yes, please send the link and I'll share it.

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Mrs. Virginia Senator

On this day in 1982, Elizabeth Taylor divorced John Warner (Her 7th divorce). Virginians loved having her as part of their history. A friend of mine, a dear and gracious lady, hosted the Warners at her Marion, Virginia, home and commented to me on how much she enjoyed Elizabeth's visit, and though Miz Taylor had been married these many times, at least the moviestar was not living in sin like so many of her contemporaries.


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Leslie's Philosophy

Knowing Leslie, I was not surprised to read her blog and find this guiding principle there. Visit her site, At the Top of Squirrel Spur,http://greenberry.blogspot.com/, and enjoy the beautiful photographs there. In the meantime, reflect on this eloquent philosophy:

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to the stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear on cheerfully, do all bravely, awaiting occasions, worry never; in a word to, like the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common."--William Henry Channing