Jim and Ailene Peva during Uncle Pen Days at Bean Blossom, IN. 2007. Photo by Rickey Lamb

I don’t know if it’s my age or if it’s the fact that this Midwestern winter has drug on longer than it should, but I’m ready for two things: bluegrass and Indiana. My thoughts take me back to my Indiana roots and my first Bean Blossom, back in the 1980s.

For Jim Peva, and his lovely wife Ailene, their history in the Bill Monroe memorial park and campground goes back much further. The story begins in 1961. Jim was interested in hiring entertainment for an annual banquet he was in charge of. Jim, Ailene and their 3 girls drove down to the Brown County Jamboree and on a handshake hired Bill Monroe to play for the banquet. The banquet took place in Terre Haute, Indiana on September 13, 1961, this happened to be Bill Monroe’s 50th birthday.

This began a 35-year friendship that continued until Monroe’s death in September of 1996.

I was very fortunate to spend several hours with Jim and Ailene during Uncle Pen Days, at Bean Blossom, in August of this past year. I can hardly count the number of times I was asked if I wanted a cold drink or wanted to stay for supper. Jim and Ailene made me feel like family, it’s no wondering their area is a haven of refuge for many people during the festivals.

Nestled in a spot amidst the trees, hidden behind all the vendors is a pleasant area where you will find the Peva’s charming camper. Circling a fire pit, there are 3 or 4 campers that form a hub for the entire goings on of the park. Many musicians and friends wander to visit and probably chow down with this delightful couple.

Here truly reigns the undisputed king and queen of Bean Blossom. Jim and Ailene are incredibly loving and caring people. It is no wonder everyone from performing artists to the current owners the Dillmans, hang out in this vicinity.

If you are ever lucky enough to spend time with them like I did, they will fill you with stories of Bill, all the artists, and the campground from the beginnings of the Bill Monroe era of ownership.

Lifetime pass for Bean Blossom that Bill Monroe presented to the Pevas Courtesy of Jim Peva

Jim showed me the document that Monroe presented to the Peva family after they helped bail Monroe out of a bind. “Bill was in Oklahoma”, says Jim Peva “and James Monroe was in a head on collision.” He continued, “it was very serious, someone was killed and James was hurt pretty bad. Bill wanted the gate watched. So we worked to collect the gate money for the festival going on at the time”. Jim mentioned that Bill Monroe wanted to pay them for taking charge. Not surprising to anyone who knows the Peva’s, they refused to take any money from Monroe.

As the fest that particular year drew to a close, Jim and Ailene were sitting at their trailer and here comes Monroe and his entire band, marching with instruments in hand. They gave a private concert and presented the Peva’s with a document. This document stated that Bean Blossom is always held in the month of June. It also says that the Peva’s friendship had meant so much through the years they would have a pass into the park and festival as long as Monroe was alive. This was signed by the father of bluegrass music, Bill Monroe.

I found it of great interest the Dillman Family, the current owners have continued to honor the Pevas as well. They continued to honor Bill Monroe’s wishes. This speaks a lot about the quality of people the Dillmans are. Jim informed me, “We never run out of firewood.”

When asked what his greatest memory was, Jim stated it was when he saw Bill Monroe welcome Lester Flatt, after a 20-some year feud, with a handshake. “It was like nothing ever happened,” confirmed Jim, “ the backstage emptied out, everyone wanted to see this special moment.”

When I asked Jim some of his favorite performers through the years, he mentioned he loved to hear Jim and Jesse McReynolds sing. He also loved the banjo playing of Raymond Fairchild, as well as the Stoneman family. He remembers the breakup of Reno and Smiley.

Jim Peva can tell you when the first festival was, back in June of 1967. He remembered when the new stage was built, when the old barn was torn down, and on and on. Not only does he have the memories, but unbelievable old pictures and tapes of past festivals. If there is a living historian for Bean Blossom festival it’s Jim Peva. If I couldn’t have been at the first couple decades of Bean Blossom I felt privileged to have the next best thing, a few hours with Mr. Peva.

Oh yeah also, if there is an official cook that everyone congregates to during the festival, its got to be Ailene Peva. The ham and beans she whipped up the day I was there sure smelled fantastic. Without a doubt, hordes of people flock to their campsite because of the love that flows from these two special people.

Bill Monroe and Jim Peva at Bill’s farm planting potatoes. Courtesy Jim Peva.

Bill Monroe and Jim Peva on the porch swing at Monroe’s Goodlettsville farm. Courtesy Jim Peva.

Jim Peva, Bill Monroe and Ailene Peva at Bean Blossom. Courtesy Jim Peva.

The Peva’s would tell stories that many people thought Bill Monroe was stuck up. He was very short with his responses at times with a simple yessir or nosir. Bill could be unapproachable. Jim mentioned, “Minnie Pearl was afraid to speak to him for 2 or 3 years after she started at the Opry. His problem was he couldn’t see very well, he didn’t intend to be stuck up or haughty.” He had poor eyesight; he didn’t like to wear his glasses. Ailene says that Monroe would come by and sit for a long spell and not say a thing. He appeared he liked to come there to escape from all the hassles in regards to organizational duties of the festivals. He would have just as soon been playing music.

Jim tells a story about a 3-hole outdoor privy they used to have on the site. There was a man’s side and a woman’s side. Jim decided to get up early to not interfere with anyone. He dumped his camper’s holding tank in the man’s side and it splashed extraordinarily loud and from the woman’s side he heard a loud scream. There was some gal in there. When he recounted the story to Monroe, Bill got quite a big kick out of it.

Jim recalls all the work that has been done to the campsite through the years. When the Monroe’s owned it they would get musicians, friends, and family involved in much of the brush clearing and work that needed to be done. The Dillman family has continued to make huge improvements to the site.

In 1988 Bill Monroe contemplated selling the campground and getting off the road. He stated the next year would be the last year. Everyone wanted to come; it was a huge year. That retirement never came to fruition.

There was talk that Bill Monroe always had an eye for women. There are numerous stories where Bill fancied a pretty gal. Even in talking about these sorts of things you get nothing but respect for Monroe, from Jim Peva. In the several hours I spent with the Pevas there was nothing but the utmost admiration, from them both, shown for Bill Monroe.

Jim and Ailene would at times visit Bill away from the park, at each other’s homes. Whenever they were in Kentucky or Tennessee, Bill Monroe always loved to eat at Shoney’s. Monroe might go to the Opryland Hotel by limousine but he never ate there. He consistently preferred Shoneys.

“He never put on airs,’ says the Pevas, “he considered himself just a farmer.” “If his music career had not taken off, he would have been a farmer” says Jim.

We discussed how many of the bluegrass bands seemingly dress haphazardly today and how Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys always dressed in suits and ties. “Bill Monroe didn’t like the image of country bumpkin”, says Jim. He continued, “Bill didn’t like bluegrass being referred to as hillbilly.”

Peva’s campaign to ensure the future of Bean Blossom.

Monroe loved kids and he always carried a pocketful of quarters to give away. Jim and Ailene were doting parents of 3 girls and now devoted grandparents. I saw pictures of all the Peva kids at various stages of their childhood and well into their adult years with Bill Monroe, as well as various legendary musicians. I thought to myself how lucky the Peva kids were to have had the quality of parents, who raised them in this artistic kind of environment.

As I looked through many of the pictures of artists who have performed at Bean Blossom I was astonished. Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Keith Whitley and Marty Stuart were some of the up-and-comers years ago. These were not even the legends like Jimmy Martin, Peter Rowan, Ralph Stanley, and Bill Monroe himself, who floated around the area and hung out.

The afternoon I spent with the Pevas was one of the greatest afternoons in my life. Everybody at my campsite was wondering where in the heck I had been. I lost all track of time. Believe me; the time did not drag on at all. I felt I was lucky enough to make friends for the rest of our lives with these two wonderful, incredible people. This was not unlike the meeting between the Pevas and Bill Monroe, which transpired 46 years prior. It was destiny that brought these families together and the stars had aligned for my meeting these two charmers.

This is just a beginning of the stories to be told by the Peva family. Jim Peva published a book, in 2006, “Bean Blossom: Its People and Its Music.” There are some of the great pictures from the Peva scrapbook and even more of the wonderful stories.

Editor’s Note: Jim Peva is the driving force behind a campaign to ensure the Future of Bill Monroe’s Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival. The current owners of the campground and festival have had the facilities for sale for some time and Peva is spearheading a campaign to ensure that the facilities next owner’s commit to the future of the Bean Blossom bluegrass festival for the next generation of fans. You can visit www.savebeanblossom.com for more information and to sign the online petition as a show of support for Mr. Peva’s endeavor.

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Col. Jim and Ailene Peva at Uncle Pen Days 2007 - photo by Rickey Lamb

Col. Jim Peva considers The Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park and Campground in Bean Blossom, Ind., to be hallowed ground in the great realm of bluegrass music.

And he wants it to remain that way.

Peva, considered one of the great historians of the tiny spot on the Indiana road map, has issued a plea to “save Bean Blossom for bluegrass.”

Dwight Dillman, a former Bluegrass Boy with Bill Monroe, purchased the park in 1998 from James Monroe, son of the father of bluegrass music. Having made vast improvements to the park and campground, Dillman now has the park and campgrounds for sale.

Like Peva, Dillman said he has every desire for the next owner to maintain the campgrounds for its current usage.

Not only is the annual Bill Monroe Bluegrass Festival staged on the grounds every June, but Dillman also promotes several other festivals at the park each year, including Uncle Pen Days in September, when the Hall of Fame museum on the grounds inducts a new member. This year’s inductee was the original Carter Family.

Peva has watched with great enthusiasm as new park improvements were made and more festivals added under Dillman’s ownership. But he was an avid and astute Bean Blossom watcher long before that.

Peva, a retired Indiana State Police officer and teacher, first heard Bill Monroe perform at the Brown County Jamboree (site of the current festival grounds) in 1961. He hasn’t missed a June festival at Bean Blossom since Monroe started having them in 1967. He came to be one of Monroe’s closest friends in the hilly, southern Indiana region around Bean Blossom.

He’s the author of a book, “Bean Blossom: Its People and Its Music,” which is described as “a photographic history of the Bean Blossom area with an emphasis on bluegrass music and friendship of Bill Monroe and the author’s family.”

“Bluegrass fans have a greater rapport with their musical idols than in any other form of music,” Peva once said.

Now, he’s counting on those loyal fans to join his appeal to save Bean Blossom as the genre’s premiere music park.

Here’s a letter Peva is circulating in the bluegrass media:

“Save Bean Blossom for Bluegrass”

In 1951 Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass Music, purchased the Brown County Jamboree in the hill country of south central Indiana, a site where musical performances had taken place since 1940. In June of 1967 he started a bluegrass festival there which has continued uninterrupted since that time and which is now the oldest continuous bluegrass festival in the world. Many stars of the Grand Ole Opry who were contemporaries of Bill Monroe and just about all of the greats of bluegrass music have performed on the Bean Blossom stage. The place is rich in musical tradition and history. Many major bluegrass stars of today cut their teeth as youngsters on the jams sessions at Bean Blossom and performed there early in their careers. Some may in fact owe their careers to the influence of this place.

In 1998, after the death of Bill Monroe, former Blue Grass Boy Dwight Dillman purchased the festival grounds and museum from James Monroe. Dillman stated his purpose was to bring the festival back to the national prominence it enjoyed under Monroe, and to do it as a memorial to his former boss. He set about immediately to improve the festival grounds while at the same time preserving the natural beauty of the hilly and wooded property. Shortly after Bill Monroe’s death, State highway 135 which runs through Bean Blossom was designated the “Bill Monroe Memorial Highway” by the Indiana General Assembly, and the annual June festival was designated a Local Legacy by the Library of Congress.

Now, having accomplished his purpose, Dwight Dillman has put the Bean Blossom festival grounds and museum up for sale, with the understanding that he wants the bluegrass music and tradition to continue there.

This is a call for friends and fans of Bill Monroe and his music to unite in the cause to save Bean Blossom for bluegrass. It is important that the Bean Blossom festival grounds and museum remain in the hands of people who have part of their souls in bluegrass music. Get the word out. Duplicate this page. Send it to your bluegrass friends. Post it on bluegrass web sites. It may help to generate ideas and action that will preserve the place called the Mecca of bluegrass music. For now unless otherwise stated, you may send any ideas, thoughts, suggestions and contacts to me and I will make sure that the appropriate people receive them.

Contact Jim Peva

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