Q TIIUHSDAY, UKCKMIIKK 5. 1363 MKUWIKD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEUFOKD, OREGON
Folk Songs declaims Its Place in American Heritc
By ROBERT D. CAREY
Uniled Press International
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ark. -(UPI)
The heartbeat of
America has been called the
pounding rhythm of the big
freight trains that beat along
the rails and the thump of the
giant oil rigs gouging deep into
the land. But here it is the
songs of its people that rise
above the tap roots of a nation.
The foothills of the rolling
Ozarks meet the rugged edge
of the Ozark National Forest in
this town of 983 called, aptly
enough, Mountain View. And
each Friday night the people
come in to sing their songs,
most of which can be traced
backward through the stream
of history as surely as any
family tree.
This weekly meeting of the
Rackensack Folk Society and
others like It in Arkansas are
preserving a now revitalized
form of American culture that
only a few years ago seemed
destined to pass into oblivion
the folk song.
Jimmy Driftwood, organizer
of the society and a folk singer
and writer of some renown,
talked in the Stone County Court
house where the Friday night
gatherings meet.
"This," he explained with
emphasis, "is not a hootenany."
"No sir," said Driftwood,
whoso craggy face mirrors a
lifetime in the hills. "These are
folk songs sung by folk sing'
ers, and there's a big differ
ence." People Stream In
The people rolled in. They
came from nearby Timbo, or
over at St. James or up from Old
Lexington. Others came from
isolated dwellings in the moun
tains that have nestled there for
a century or more. They came
in battered jalopies overload
cd with children and banjos or
in sleek new station wagons
and pickup trucks. They had
come just to sing and listen.
A listener is likely to hear
such perennial favorites as
"Butcher Boy," "May I Sleep
In Your Barn" or "Irene Good
night." He would hear some of
the modern ones too, "Texas
Rangers," "Kickin' Mule" and
"Bile Them Cabbage Down."
The revival of folk songs has
been due in part to groups like
Rackensack.
Driftwood explained it: "For
a while there in the late '50s the
country's songs had no mean
ing. And when your country's
songs begin to lose their mean
ing, then a part of what you
believe in about the country
may lose its meaning too."
The rebirth of folk song pop
ularity can be traced, in part
to one of Driftwood s own songs,
"The Battle of New Orleans,"
which has sold over five mil
lion copies.
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I im ploaiod to announce that
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ownership of Southern Oregon
Trailer Mart in Phoenix, Ore
gon. For several yean, I man
aged the Mart and now I take
pride in announcing that 1 have
purchased the business.
Johnny Blount
Let me take this means of welcoming both
old and new friends and customers. Please
pay us a visit and take a look through our
complete supply store. Don't forget too, our
year-end clearance is now in progress.
SOUTHERN OREGON
TRAILER MART
PHOENIX, Oregon
535-1331
A young girl stood at the I shy voice sang of things long
front of the room. An old man past and people long dead. The
and a boy on either side of her faces of the mountaineers were
strummed their guitars. A sad, 'silent and expressionless. The
The Family Council
kdltor. no'.: The Family Council consist, of Judge. .
phytHatrlst, thrse clergymen, three edltur. and a women's editor.
Earn a-tlcle I. a summary of a family disagreement presented to the
Council. T'A Council deals with problems, major and minor,
encountered by guidance counselors and social workers. Edited by
Mrs. lima Denny. tCopyr'ght bs fjene?.; Veaturer 'Jorp.)
Francis F. I love him, but
some of his habits annoy me.
Drew Y. If she loved me
nothing about me would faze
her.
Frances F. Love may be
blind, but it's not deaf. Drew
and I are engaged and it's a
real love thing. Still, he docs
a couple of noisy things that
drive me to distraction. Is it
fair for me to expect him to
use a toothpick instead of
squeaking his tongue to get his
teeth dean? And he cracks his
knuckles, sneezes, coughs,
yawns all so loud.
Drew V. She docs things
that arc goat-grabbing, too. But
I can I bear to find fault with
her because, in general, she's
such a wonderful pal. The lit
tle nuisances don't matter when
they're surrounded by so much
charm and kindness. She combs
her hair every five minutes,
chews three sticks of gum, is
scared of mice. So what? I
love the girl.
The Council We commend
Frances for keeping a clear
head on her shoulders through
out her "courtship daze." It's
easy to overlook the persnick
ety disadvantages tied in with
the glorious prize ot a good
husband. A personal note as
analogy: The Council Editor
moved to a charming new
apartment. It was only after
living there a year, when the
novelty had worn off, that she
noticed it was at the end of a
block which ran steeply uphill.
Huffing up the hill each day,
she's having second thoughts
on the move. The momentum of
"love and desire" can blind
one to drawbacks and debits
. . . Another example: We know
a home-owner who fell in love
with a house because of the
old - fashioned coffee grinder
(big red wheels and all) which
came with the kitchen. Several
pots of coffee after the title
was transferred, he got around
to checking the termites, bro
ken furnace, leaky roof . . .
nuff sed? Within the large shel
ter of love and acceptance,
Frances and Drew can speak
up about peeves. "Only your
best friend will tell you," ran
the old ad slogan. So why not
start now to be both best
friends and lovers?
women sat in neat, homemade , on the aisle stood up and danced
dresses and balanced babies on a quick jig sort of a cross
!f.P- !l f -Jf!,6 between the Charleston and the
WC1C UI HI IU1UI1U1 1, CSV
ern shirts. A few wore overalls
and some smoked pipes or hand-
rolled cigarettes,
Bunny Hop. She was joined by
several more including a spry
fellow that looked near 70. The
"A whole new generation of hardwood floor shook with
Americans are enjoying these
songs," Driftwood said. "These
ballads have meat on their
bones. They tell stories of our
grandfathers and great-grandfathers,
the westward trails of
the pioneers and before that of
their life in Europe."
Arkansas has done much to
advance the preservation of this
heritage. The two major annual
folk singing festivals in Arkan
sas, those at Eureka Springs
in the autumn and the one here
in the spring, will be joined by
a third next year at Little Rock.
They have drawn thousands
of out-of-state visitors over the
years.
All Ages Sing
The music swung into a quick
er mood. Four men armed with
a banjo, two guitars and fiddle
played the lively "Eighth of Jan
uary." The people clapped and
hummed. A middle-aged lady
rhythm.
Driftwood, a former school
teacher, likes to recount the
background of the songs he sings
and writes. He said the lyrics
would change as the people
moved westward from Europe
then across the Great Plains.
They would make their nightly
sings around the campfires cor
respond to the settings first
along the Atlantic Coast, t h e n
Kentucky through Tennessee,
and still different words to incor
porate settlers in the Deep South
and those farther West.
With each stop the flavor of
the ballads changed to fit the
present. And when nothing in
the past fitted that which was
happening, a new song was
composed and sung by some un
named poet. Many were not
written down for centuries, be
ing sung only by the old to the
young, year after year.
i n 'mi. sifi jtfi .aVlSs!''! I tinviiJL'" A ir"--''' ' '-Sit.i .if ,tl
held in
STONE COUNTY SINGS It's tune-up time
in front of the Stone County Court House as
youngsters and oldsters gather tor weekly
song-fest. recently
Ark. (UPI)
Mountain View,
Christmas Gifts For
State Hospital To
Be Delivered Dec. J 4
Christmas gifts assembled by
the J a c k 8 o n County Mental
Health Association for patients
will be taken to the state hos
pital al Salem on Dec. 14.
It will be necessary for all
contributions to be at the point
of departure, 602 Catherine St.,
hy Friday, Dec. 13, it was an
nounced. If assistance is need
ed for delivery, call the chair
man of the committee, Mrs.
Herbert Giftord, 7T2-6mo or 773
7220. Gifts for Fairvicw Home will
be accepted, if requested. They
should be marked as to whore
the gifts are to be delivered,
99 Million Consumers Read a
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newspaper.
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132 South Central "Downtown Medford" 779-2251 p
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Prinled in the interest ol more erfeclive oder.iiing by
Medford Mail Tribune
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