Oct 10
Even before Bill Monroe, Bean Blossom was in full bloom
By Rickey Lamb
A commentary
Some of my greatest memories as a young man growing up in southern Indiana were of my Dad and me, traveling the hills of Brown County in an old one-ton International truck. It would be loaded with watermelons, cantaloupes and sweet corn from the family farm. Our destination would be Short’s market in Bean Blossom, Indiana.
Dad and Short would trade jokes and wild stories, Dad would flirt with Short’s daughter and I would happily take it all in.
For a few brief hours, I’d have my Dad all to myself. We’d travel up and down those wonderful hills, listen to old country songs on the radio and stop and eat some huge tenderloin at a truck stop on the way back home.
Mom’s side of the family, the Hattons, would trade off the location of the family reunions every summer. One year it would be at a park in Vincennes and the next year it would be at Brown County State Park, just down the road from Bean Blossom. The Hattons originated from this area.
As I grew into adulthood, I would take a pretty gal I was courting to this region to impress her with its outstanding beauty. In the early Eighties, my family and I traveled to Nashville, Ind., and rented a cabin. This afforded me the opportunity to go to my first Bean Blossom bluegrass festival, back when Bill Monroe was still alive and kicking.
I could continue on about the fantastic memories I have about Bean Blossom, Brown County, Bill Monroe and his festival. For me, there is a life full of memories about this area, which I’m not alone in telling.
Dr. Tom Adler at Uncle Pen Days Festival, Bean Blossom, IN (2007) photo by Rickey lambThis leads me to Dr. Tom Adler.
Last summer I sat in on a presentation that Dr. Adler gave, up on Hippie Hill in the Bean Blossom music park. He showed intriguing news clips, photographs and stories about music that occurred long before Bill Monroe owned the site of the festival. I was totally captivated!
I had long loved the festival and the goings on, but I had no idea there was music being created years before on these very grounds, or at least just a few feet away — pretty much on the very spot where Dad and I would unload that truck full of melons at Short’s market.
Bill Monroe’s first festival didn’t occur until 1967. The first jamboree occurred in September of 1941, years before any appearance by the Father of Bluegrass or my Dad and me hawking produce. The Brown County Jamboree began as a free show along state highway 135 in Bean Blossom. This event was used by local merchants to promote their businesses and wares.
Radio broadcasts originated from this jamboree and performers also traveled to other Indiana locations to do their shows.
The interior of the Brown County Jamboree barn during a performance (1977) - Thought to be Elvin Rook from Columbus, IN. on stage. photo by Tom AdlerA phenomenal amount and magnitude of stars appeared at the jamboree. Stars like Uncle Dave Macon, Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, Pee Wee King, Rex Allen, Little Jimmie Dickens and many others performed on this site.
Due to the incredible success of the jamboree, the Rund family that owned the site, in 1942 began to erect a huge barn with a radio room to house and broadcast the jamboree.
All of this took place many years prior to the first Bean Blossom festival under Bill Monroe’s ownership.
The park was sold in 1998 to Dwight Dillman, a former Monroe Bluegrass Boy, who currently owns the park.
I was privileged during Uncle Pen Days in September to talk to Dr. Adler about the history of the park and his upcoming book. The working title of the book is “Bean Blossom: The Brown County Jamboree and Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Festivals.” The manuscript is under its final revisions and will be out in the next year or two.
“This is hallowed ground for great music and the musicians who have played (on) it”, Alder reminisced. “It would be a shame if there were ever a time when music isn’t being played on this site”, he continued to speak almost reverentially.
Tom Adler (banjo) and Howard Marshall pickin’ behind the Brown County Jamboree Barn (1973). Photo by Elizabeth M. AdlerOne of the problems Dr. Adler has had is that he does not know what to include and omit from his book. He has assimilated such a vast amount of substance about this jamboree and the festivals that followed that he could publish several volumes of material.
There is such a rich history of incredible musicians and stars that have played on this site it’s hard to know what to include and what not to include.
This leads to why the story of this site is so compelling and begs to be told. If Dr. Adler does not tell it now, it may never get told. He has done such an outstanding job of research; he is the logical one to tell the story of the rich musical heritage of this place.
Not only can Adler tell it from an analytical standpoint but also his heart and soul have personally been involved. At many of the past festivals he was not only a writer, but observer, musician and participant.
I want to personally thank Dr. Adler for his research concerning Bean Blossom and its musical history. This man has done an incredible amount of investigative work to insure many will know there has been a rich musical past in Bean Blossom for close to a century now.
The chronicle must be told not only for those who attend those festivals presently, but for some kid in Indiana presently hawking produce, totally unaware of the magic that surrounds him.
Editor’s Note - Many thanks to Dr. Tom Adler for providing and allowing us to use the black and white images that accompanied this story.
If any reader can positively identify the group on stage in the photo above please contact us so that we may pass that information on to Dr. Adler.
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