The yearly autumn Folk Festival at the Boonslick State Park is a time-travel excursion into the pioneer life of rural Missouri in the 1800`s. The fest offers demonstrations of 19th century hand crafts like rope making and quilting, period dress, exhibits on frontier living, the Civil War, and Native American artifacts.
Bluegrass pickers again provided an acoustic backdrop of traditional music for the 500 plus mid-Missourians who visited the one-day Fall festival. A burly listener in overalls and hunting cap recognized the BRC founder as a banjo picker who performed at a rural saloon 25 years earlier. “Are you originally from these parts?” he inquired. The banjoist replied that he grew-up back East, and the response was, “So, you’re a Yankee?” Hoping the festival-goer was familiar with Mark Twain, the musician politely fibbed, “Well, a Connecticut Yankee.” The listener declared, “Well, I’m a hillbilly.” The banjo player offered, “I`ve lived in Missouri since 1979, so maybe that makes me half a hillbilly?” The man in overalls slowly smiled, nodded in agreement, and strolled away.
A few days before the Boonslick gig, a fiddler/singer in the BRC founder`s band gave him a well-worn banjo to study that she had discovered in an antique shop. It appeared to be an unmarked entry/student level “flush fret” 5 stringer with design features suggesting that it was manufactured circa 1890. The pot was fashioned from a singe piece of wood bent into a ring- a lost art form of rim construction. Closer inspection revealed telling clues.
When the uniquely structured tailpiece was cleaned-up with metal polish, a patent date of January 4, 1887, was unveiled. An online search indicated that this patent was held by C.P. Post and G.N. Durkee, and their tailpieces were assigned to the Lyon & Healy Company in Chicago. (At the turn of the century, Lyon & Healy was the largest music publisher and instrument builder in the world.) The undersurface to the ancient calf skin banjo head bore faint inscriptions which were clearly undersigned by “O.H. Boon, Laplata, MO.” The Boonslick State Park is located about 65 miles south east of Laplata.
No Comments