In the early 1960's the student union building - Hetzel Union Building - or "HUB" had a music listening room with sound proof booths around two sides where students could listen to albums (remember THOSE??).
A group of us known officially as the "Penn State Folklore Society" but generally called "those Folkies" were completely wrapped up in playing and listening to folk music. The group ran the "This and That Cafe" to showcase local talent and also sponsored concerts - Tom Rush, Doc Watson, Bonnie Raitt, and many more that have been lost to my old memory. And played almost every day and evening in the HUB music room. I played string bass back then and although I hadn't played in years, I could never bring myself to sell my bass.
Here's a 1964 picture of me, Stan Jay and two unnamed players.
Stan Jay is now the owner of Mandolin Brothers simply the best guitar shop in the world.
I had lost track of the folks until I overheard a conversation at a bluegrass jam last winter. I had been attending the weekly jam for a few weeks when I heard someone say, "It was so cool. After the concert Doc Watson came to some guy's house and jammed all night long. At about 6:00AM we drove him and his son to the airport." I said, "Excuse me - that was Joe Head's house, I think on Burroughs Street. 1964 or 1965. Yeah, it was a GREAT party." Then I learned that the "Old Folkies" had been holding reunions every two years.
So here I was, camping just two miles from Mountain Acres. I made one trip with the truck to move my bass - I haven't figured out how to carry it on the Honda - and commuted daily on the bike to meet old friends and make new ones.
Tom, Ann and the kids came up for an evening of music. On the way out, Ann said, "Your friends are such a warm friendly group of people." Yes, they are.
Here are some pictures of us, all a little older than in that one from the HUB.
The fella on the right in the last picture is Jamie Ackerman and I've a GREAT story about him. Mary Ann and I lived in NJ just after we were married. And our friends from the little hick town where we were raised came down to "go to the City." One of the nicest, but most innocent and sheltered ones was Betty, younger sister of Mary Ann's best friend. We took her to the Village to "see the sights." She was amazed at the, shall we say, "diversity" of people there. When she saw a white boy with a huge red afro walking towards us on the sidewalk, she dragged us out into the street so she wouldn't have to pass him on the sidewalk. As we walked down the middle of the street, "afro" yelled, "Tom and Mary Ann. What are YOU doing here?" and ran out into the street to hug us. Betty melted into the pavement. When I told this story to Jamie and his wife, Judy, guess what she pulled out of her wallet !
Great music, wonderful food and drink and hours of engaging conversation.
Life is so Good.
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