We have visited several of the Kansas Old-Time Fiddlers, Pickers & Singers chapters in this part of the state, but for some reason have never made it out to Gardner for the Santa Fe Trail chapter's get-together which is held every 2nd Sunday at the Grange Building, 202 E. Washington, part of the Johnson County Fairgrounds. We decided to take a few hours this afternoon and make the short trip out to Gardner in anticipation of some good country & western music.
As things turned out, we got to the hall just a little late, the program was already in full swing and Leo Shaw, president of the DeSoto chapter was singing "Out On The Texas Plains," an old cowboy ballad. Next was Greg Hermon with "Time Changes Everything" & "Blue Side Of Lonesome;" Chuck Parcher & Jacob Hamm with "A Chopin Farewell" & "House Of The Rising Sun" and Ann McConnell sang "Walk The Way The Wind Blows" & "Devil Woman." Chuck Parcher returned to sing "Together Again" & "Crazy Arms" while Lois White strummed her mandolin and sang "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" & "I Overlooked An Orchid." Bill Stevens brought back a lot of memories with "This Old House" and Pam & Scott Carleton sounded great, he singing Hank Thompson's "A Six-Pack To Go" and Eddie Arnold's "Make The World Go Away" and she, "Have I Told You Lately" & "If You Loved Me Half As Much As I Love You." Gary Gourd announced that he was entering the yodeling contest at this year's KOFPS convention and it was pretty evident he stands a good chance as he yodeled "Chime Bells" and "Cowboy Yodel (?)." Jim Booten from the Osawatomie chapter was on hand to sing "The Other Woman" & Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry Bout Me" and Jerry Thornton did a bang-up job on "You Ought To Hear Me Cry" & another Marty Robbins' song "You Gave Me A Mountain."
We remember the Danners from our past visits to Spring Hill and they did a great job here tonight with "Hello Love," "Don't Be Angry With Me Darlin'" and others. Tonya Elrod has a beautiful voice and she put it to good use as she sang "Mansion Over The Hill Top" & "In The Sweet Bye And Bye" while Terry Runyan continues to improve his skills singing "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died" & "The Ballad Of Forty Dollars," both Tom T. Hall classics. Jan Carl is another multi-talented musician who sang "Life's Railway To Heaven" while playing the autoharp, then picked up her guitar and sang "You Can't Stop Love." WOW!! Jim Cheney did a very nice job with "Pretty Words Make A Fool Out Of Me" & "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry," Neva Whittenberg sounded super with "Mirror, Mirror On The Wall" & "Walk Out Backwards And I'll Think You're Walking In" and Lois' son Ken White sang "Long Black Veil" and others.
We had to leave a little early in order to prepare for work tomorrow, but we hung around long enough to sample a sloppy joe sandwich, some sugar-free coconut pie and coffee and hear Doc Callahan fiddle "South" and sing "Deep Water" and as we left the building Ted Propst was singing "Honky Tonk Girl" and "City Lights." These jams are a lot of fun and we hope to have the opportunity to visit here again, real soon! (Below) Memberes & guests jam at the KOFPS Santa Fe Trail Chapter
