A FUN LUNCH & VISIT WITH BIG CREEK'S DEBBIE MARTIN
We have wanted for some time to sit down with Debbie Martin whose wonderful singing and playing has been such a mainstay for Dennis Dittemore's Big Creek Opry in Pleasant Hill for so many years (or Debbie Erikson as she is known to her many faithful KFKF listeners). We finally all got together today for lunch at George Brett's restaurant on the Country Club Plaza, not far from the KFKF studios where Debbie had just finished an all-nighter. While waiting for our orders, we asked Debbie to share a little with us about her early days; where she was from, what shaped her musical interest and how she got started. "I was born in St. Joseph, MO but moved to Kansas City, KS when I was a year or 2 years old," Debbie told us, "and I lived there until I graduated from high school. My Dad was a firefighter and my Mom was a stay at home mom, always there for us (a rare commodity these days). I've always been very close to my parents and even though they now live in Texas, we talk every day. I also had an older brother who passed away in 1999. I was very shy as a child, but I learned early on that my two great loves in life were music and animals (she now resides on a farm near Pleasant Hill, MO, complete with goats, dogs & chickens). The way I got started singing was I would sit in my room singing songs on the radio or commercials on TV. It seemed that everything I would play with had something to do with either a guitar or a microphone. I got my first guitar on my 11th birthday and would sit alone in my room with my guitar and books of sheet music. I took guitar lessons for about a year and then realized it was easier for me to play by ear. When I got a little more advanced, my Dad bought me a better guitar and I would go off to a room, all by myself and practice singing and playing, never wanting anyone else to hear me."
Through a set of circumstances, Debbie's 9th grade music teacher, Vicki Hoffman, at West Junior High in KCK convinced her that she did indeed show promise and convinced her to appear on stage for the very first time at the Spring Concert. Originally supposed only to play her guitar, it was decided that she should sing as well. And, as they say, the rest is history. "When I performed those two songs in front of the faculty and my classmates, I was petrified with excitement and fear, but when they all stood up and applauded, I knew this was something I liked and wanted to do again. My life would never be the same. About a year later, I saw an ad wanting people who were interested in becoming a Nashville star and I asked my Grandad, who was the only family member with a musical background. He sang on a radio station in Iowa for a period of time, had a wonderful voice and was a baseball pitcher as well. He was hit in the throat by a line drive and that ended his singing career. (Debbie uses his last name of Erikson today as part of her radio persona.) He discouraged me. He said people like that would take advantage of me and that I needed some local experience. He told me about Buddy Boswell's Union Mill Opry in Edgerton, MO and when I auditioned for them, they told me about a couple of other shows I could audition for as well. I sang at the Union Mill Opry for the first time in September of 1977 and it was there that I first met Dennis & Cindy Dittemore. I was a guest there for two years and I also sang in a girl's trio at weddings, anniversaries and so on and one of the other girl's uncle heard us and I got a phone call from him and he said he went to church with a man by the name of Tuffy Williams. Tuffy had bought the Englewood Theatre in Independence where he held the KC Opry and had a spot open in one of his talent contests and wanted to know if I was interested. I, of course was interested and although I didn't win the contest, sometime later Tuffy asked me to join the show. I played there a few weeks and came in one night and Tuffy told me he was so excited; he had hired a couple to perform each Saturday: none other than Dennis & Cindy Dittemore! This was the beginning of a warm friendship that has certainly stood the test of time."
After a couple of years at the Englewood, Debbie told us, she began to feel uncomfortable and felt a change was necessary. The family, meanwhile had moved to a small house in Pleasant Hill and while driving though downtown, noticed that the theatre was for sale. When she mentioned to Dennis & Cindy that she was interested in the old theatre, it turned out that they too were making a change and were interested in the very same theatre and they decided to check things out together. As it turned out, the old building was in sad condition, a victim of ages of neglect but Cindy's Dad saw a lot of potential, put down the deposit and signed the papers that day. "He right away offered me a ten year contract, but I told him it wasn't necessary, I'd always be there. And I have been." Before they could even began working on the building, they had some out-of-town shows to play and while they were gone Pleasant Hill had a flood. Although the theatre wasn't directly affected, it slowed progress to a crawl during that period. Family & friends worked diligently, building stages, fixing roofs, cleaning, painting and reupholstering seats and making curtains and the like right up to opening night. "We've kept the movie theatre intact," Debbie said, "the screen is still behind the backdrop and the projectors are still up in the screening room. It will be 100 years old in 2009! An old gentleman who had watched many a movie in that building and was amazed at the transformation and the big crowd that first night remarked that the old theare was 'smiling.'" A labor of love indeed! "I don't think anyone expected the show to last this long (25 years), but probably no body expected it wouldn't. We just feel that God has blessed us from Day One and we're all very grateful for that."
We asked Debbie how her broadcasting career started and she told us that when she came in off the road from being a full time musician, she began to worry about what she would do for a living and career choices. Through friends, she was interviewed and acquired a part time job with Marion Labs which eventually worked out to be full time. She figured she would work there for 30 years or so and eventually retire. However, with the death of owner Ewing Kauffman, things changed dramatically and Debbie was laid off after 8 years with Marion. One of her co-workers asked her what she was going to do now. "I told her I either want to work with animals or I want to work with that. And I pointed to a radio! I really didn't know how to do either one, but I began to work in pet stores, until I saw the dark side of that. I was recruited to be a manager for Pets Mart and opened their Olathe store. While I was with Petsland in Independence, I decided to go to broadcasting school. Right in the middle of the first term, I had to have my tonsils removed and through complications, could barely talk for a year! The school called about this time and asked if I was still interested in pursuing broadcasting and when I said yes, they told me I was the recipient of their annual scholarship award and I finished there in December of 1996. I didn't get a job offer through them, but when I was working at a local Pets Mart, who should pop in but KFKF's Dale Carter. I located Dale's 5 year old son for him who had wandered off and gotten lost and when the opportunity arose, I told him who I was and what I hoped to become. I eventually sent him an audition tape which led to my being hired. Presently, I host the All-Night Slumber Party during the week, I'm also the morning news anchor and co-host the Country Legends Show with Ted Cramer on weekends. What an honor it is to work with someone of his experience and caliber!"
It was quite an honor for us to spend some quality time with Debbie and we throughly enjoyed ourselves. Whether you're a fan who sees her perform weekly at the Big Creek Opry or a KFKF Country Legends faithful listener or both, like us, you simply can't go wrong. As well as being blessed with a boat load of natural talent, Debbie has worked hard to achieve her place in life. That's very evident when you listen to the new CD she recently released (and is available at Big Creek). It, like Debbie herself, is First Class!
Posted by hawkshaw5
at 11:00 PM CDT
Updated: Sunday, 8 July 2007 2:09 PM CDT
