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Partying at the Dumas Walker House

May 30, 2019 by Moragh Carter Leave a Comment

Party preparations at the Dumas Walker House

My First Visit to the Dumas Walker House

I was in Celina, Tennessee, visiting my friend, Kathi, when the day for the party at the Dumas Walker house drew near. This was the first party I went to there, though not the last, as a party became a regular feature of my visits to this small town in the north of Tennessee, close to the Kentucky border. The weather was kind, giving us a pleasantly warm and sunny day.

The Venue for The Party

The venue was a big old house about four miles out of Celina, half a mile off the main road. It belongs to Kathi’s sister, Michele, and her husband. The grassy field alongside the house served as a car park for the party-goers. Temporary toilets were set up outside for all the men and boys to use, with women and girls being allowed to use the indoor bathroom.

This house had been the birthplace of Dumas Walker, who had been a well known trader in Moss, on the Tennessee / Kentucky border and the house is still known locally as The Walker House. Dumas Walker was also a champion marble player. Learn more about him here

The Kentucky Headhunters, a country rock group, wrote a song about him which starts with the words, ‘Let’s All Go Down to Dumas Walker’s’.

Moragh with the Kentucky Headhunters at the Robin 2, in Wolverhampton, UK, 2016

Spreading the Word

Word about the party was spread among family and friends, by word, phone, text and email. Anyone who cared to show up was welcome. The only stipulation was that they each brought food or drink with them, which was to be laid out on large tables, ready for everyone to help themselves. Jack and Misty, Kathi and Michele’s parents, were with me on this trip and their presence drew a big crowd.

Making Music

All the musicians who came brought their voices and instruments. They set their instruments and speakers up on the front porch. Then, once everything was plugged in and ready, the music started.

Joe, Guy, Mike and others had brought their guitars. Bill was on drums. Someone had brought a keyboard along. Joe’s wife, Roxanna, sang in her usual off-key voice.

Joe Groce and Guy Harden jamming together

Guy Harden was almost certainly one of the best guitarist there. He was a former band member with the Waylon Jennings Band & also with Alabama, amongst other bands. Most of the other guitarists there were good too. Jack and Misty played the keyboards and sang some of their songs, while many people, including Kathi and me, sang along or danced to the music.

Jack and Misty playing the keyboards and singing

Getting Sidetracked

At one point, 7-year-old Luke, one of Kathi’s grandsons, pleaded with me to help him build stick houses. I duly obliged him. Many more of her grandchildren were there too, along with their parents … so many people, in fact, that I had great difficulty working out and remembering who was who. Fortunately, I met many of them on later trips, which helped me sort out who they were.

At one point, a guy who was related to the family showed up at the party, drunk, as usual. He stayed for a little while before someone persuaded him to leave before he caused any trouble.

More Music, Dancing and Feasting

The music, dancing and feasting continued all afternoon and into the evening. Our hosts had set up chairs in the front yard, along with a couple of gazebos, so people could either sit in the open while they chatted, or take shelter from the sun.

Youngsters trying their hands on the keyboards

The Party Day’s End

The festivities continued until after dark, by which time people started to drift away. My torch came in handy when we were ready to leave. It lit the way down the steep little bank leading to the car parking field and over the rough ground. After I took Kathi home, Jack, Misty and myself returned to the small motel where we were staying.

We had all had a thoroughly enjoyable time. In addition to all the party fun, Jack and Misty were very happy to have this chance to meet up with so many of their extended family again. They don’t see them very often because they live about 650 miles away, down in Florida. There were four generations there that year, but now their family has grown to five generations … and still growing.

Line dancing in Sanford

May 10, 2016 by Moragh Carter Leave a Comment

During my first visit to Sanford, I met up with three local line dancing teachers who I had been in touch with by e-mail for some months before coming to Sanford. They were all teaching line dancing classes at The Barn in Sanford, FL.

Back in 2005, I had choreographed a dance to Tennessee Birdwalk, which was Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan’s biggest hit song. I had asked one of the dance teachers, Janis Graves, if she would be kind enough teach my dance during my visit and she had agreed to do so.

Springing my Surprise

All along my plan had been to get Jack and Misty to come and see my dance. With some difficulty, I managed to persuade them to join me at The Barn one evening … just to come and watch what line dancing was like. Jack and Misty had known about my dance ever since I had choreographed it, but they had never seen it being danced.

They had no idea about my arrangement with Janice, and when they heard their song start to play, their faces were a picture as it dawned on them what I had planned. They told me that they loved the dance, and Misty even had a go at dancing it, even though she is not a line dancer. Her forté, when she was younger, was tap dancing.

During those few days in Sanford, I attended the classes of all three of these teachers. I was surprised to find how many of the dances they were doing were ones that I already knew. I guess the international sharing of top favourite dances in the linedance magazines, and by the choreographers who toured the world, had a lot to do with that. Many other dances they were doing were ones that I found easy to follow and, of course, they taught a few new dances during their classes too. The classes were well attended and I made several new friend there.

Driving on the Wrong Side

May 1, 2015 by Moragh Carter Leave a Comment

First time driving on the wrong side (for me)

In England, we drive on the left-hand side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car, so, for us Brits, it seems as if we are driving on the wrong side of the road when we come to the USA.

Landing in Orlando for the first time, after a nine-hour flight, I deemed it not wise to pick up a rental car from the airport the same afternoon I arrived. Having never driven in the USA before, I didn’t want to try driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time when I was tired from the flight. So I took a taxi to my hotel in Sanford. The next morning, after a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast, I contacted a local car rental company and arranged for them to pick me up at my hotel. They took me to their depot to choose a suitable car for my needs over the next few days. The car I chose was an economy car, a 2007 Dodge, if I remember right, and after all the paperwork was signed, I set off for my first drive.

It felt strange driving on the right-hand side of the road at first, rather than on the left. But it’s just as well that the brake and accelerator (gas) pedals are on the same side in cars on both sides of the Atlantic, else I would have been in trouble. The fact that virtually all rental cars in the USA are automatics was no problem to me as I had been driving automatics for almost twenty years by then.

I soon discovered that my choice of car was not a good one. The driver’s seat was very uncomfortable and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be driving that car over a long distance. Fortunately, I only needed this car for a couple of days as I was due to fly up to Boston to see my sister on my third day in Florida, so I was only going to be driving it locally round Sanford before leaving for the airport again.

I drove around in the immediate vicinity of rental company’s car park a couple of times, to familiarize myself with the controls, before setting off around the nearby roads. I did not have a SatNav (GPS) in this car … in fact, I didn’t even discover what they were until later in this trip … but I had studied a map of the town, so I had some idea of my bearings. I found that I soon started to get the feel of driving on the other side of the road. The transition was easier than I had thought it would be, and having the steering wheel on the left side certainly helped.

I had been driving around for about 20 minutes when I took a left turn. Almost as soon as I’d taken this turn, I realised that I had got myself onto the ramp leading up to the I-4 freeway, but I was committed and there was no turning back. I decided that my only course of action was to just come off the freeway at the next junction and hope that I could find my way back to my hotel. Fortunately the next exit was very close to the hotel and, with what I remembered from my map studies, I got back there safe and sound, much to my relief.

After that, I managed to keep my bearings pretty well … that is, until I had to get back to the airport three days later. But more about that in the next post.

Partying at the Dumas Walker House

My First Visit to the Dumas Walker House

The Venue for The Party

Spreading the Word