I'm going to be visiting my soon-to-be wife's family for the holidays and wonder if anyone ever knew her granddad, Mike Billey. He owned a violin shop and played barn dances in Indiana. He's still around and kickin' and I've learned a few nice tunes from him like Westphalia Waltz and Beautiful Ohio.
Sherman Adams, Jerry and Edith Taylor, Ann Billey, John Billey
Mike Billey, Don Eaton
"In the late '30s I became more involved playing music. John and Chuck each bought a violin outfit for a dollar. During that time we were involved in six or eight WLS home talent shows. We also had a radio program in South Bend from WSBT called Hayloft Jamboree...We were called the Blue Ridge Mountaineers. We wore black and yellow decorated shirts that we ordered from the Stockman Farmer Company in Chicago. They came from the Western Supply House in Denver, Colorado."
"We began playing at a place in Michigan called Redfield Barn. I remember we had to string about two hundred feet of cord through the place and up to the stage so we could have lights. There was a little electricity throughout the building, but mostly gas lanterns everywhere. No amplifiers or electric guitars in those days. Yes, we were paid, but I can't remember how much...I think I'd be overdoing it to say we got even fifty dollars for the night to split between the four of us."
Hope you enjoy this little slice of history as much as I do.[This message was edited by John Poston on 29 November 2005 at 01:04 PM.]
