The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 23, 1983 Page: 3 of 20
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THE CLIFTON RECORD, THURSDAY, JUNE 23,1983 PAGE 3A
STRINGED GROUP PERFORMS — Area musicians
have been gathering every Tuesday evening at Bill
Dorsey’s Lean Years & Collections since the sessions
began last winter, merging their musical talents and
instruments for several hours of old-fashioned guitar
picking, fiddle-sawing country-western entertainment.
As many as 50-60 people can be found there each
session, either joining in to play, or to listen. [See
separate story].
—Clifton Record Photo
20th Century Clifton!
COUNTRY JAM — Some of the musicians who meet
each Tuesday evening in Clifton as part of the Bosque
County Stringed Instrument Group include [clockwise
from center-foreground] Jigg Wells on guitar, George
Hughes on bass fiddle, Jessie Gomez on saxophone,
George Hurley on fiddle, and Curtis Evans, second
fiddle [see separate story],
—Clifton Record Photo
Stringed Instrument Group
Sets Toes Tapping Tuesdays
By MIKE REEDER
Clifton Record Editor
CLIFTON - They’re "pickin',
grinnin’," and just mainly "enjoying
life," every Tuesday evening at Bill
Dorsey's Lean Years & Collections at
the north end of downtown Clifton.
Since November of last year, the
Bosque County Stringed Instrument
Group, made up of Bosque Count-
ians from all walks of life, gather by
the dozens to saw their fiddles, pluck
guitars, and generally just provide
their own entertainment in a way
most people haven’t seen since
television took over the job for them.
Dorsey’s art shop, with its rustic
interiors, split-log framed paintings,
and cowboy memorabilia, forms a
perfect environment for a musical
scene that looks like it could have
been lifted directly from a frontier
movie.
"There's a Mexican fellow from
Cleburne who works part of the week
at the railroad here in Clifton,"
Dorsey said. "He drops in a lot of the
time and plays seven or eight songs
on the accordian during intermis-
sion. He’s just another one of those
super nice people that come by. ”
One of those people, present for
last Tuesday's session, is Jigg Wells,
a Valley Mills barber, whose band
provides the entertainment for most
of the Senior Citizens dances each
Friday in Clifton.
Other members of Wells' band
who show up most Tuesdays at
Dorsey’s include Jesse Gomez, who-
se saxophone provides a taste of jazz,
and Chris Paulson, who, when he’s
not serving on the Texas Water
Board, can be heard picking the bass
auitar
Monroe Billman, a former worker
at Goodall-Witcher Hospital, plays
one fiddle, while Curtis Evans, for
fifty years before his retirement a
teacher and later superintendent at
the Meridian I.S.D., also spends his
time now fiddling around.
Other regulars include Edgar
Finstad, who Dorsey says plays a
"mean guitar;” George Hurley,
formerly of Gatesville and now of
Clifton, described by Dorsey as
"exceptional;” George Hughes of
Kopperl, who "plays a bass fiddle
twice as big as he is;” Betty Miginty
of Meridian, who both writes and
plays music; and steel guitar player
Louis Robison of Kopperl, whose
parents and sons also play.
Clifton Mayor Charles Rummel is
another frequent visitor to the
GUITAR PICKERS - Walter May [seated] and Chris Paulson
provide two of the guitars that contribute to the music produced each
Tuesday evening at Bill Dorsey’s Lean Years & Collections near downtown
Clifton [see separate story).
—Clifton Record Photo
Tuesday sessions, Dorsey said.
"The mayor plays nearly every-
time we meet,” noted Dorsey. "He
plays about half a dozen different
instruments, and he sings a little,
too.
"About all I do is just keep the
place going."
Dorsey gives credit to Essie Green
of Clifton and Gomez for starting the
stringed instrument group, and said
that before longer summer days
encouraged moreoutdoor activity, as
many as 50-60 people showed up
every Tuesday to play or I isten.
"We just play until we give out,”
Dorsey said. "Everybody gets a
chance to play with everybody else,
and play solo, too. Mostly it’s
country-western, waltzes, polkas,
and two-steps.
"Anybody else in Bosque County
who wants to come is perfectly
welcome. It’s not limited to the
present group. Just come on down,
and we’ll make room if we can't find
it.
"All it really amounts to is a bunch
of people trying to enjoy life. ’ ’
If the sweet sounds floating out the
doors of Dorsey's Lean Years and
Collections each Tuesday evening
are any indication, the folks inside
appearing to be succeeding real well
at achieving that last ambition.
BUSY MUSICIAN - Jig Wells,
well known in the area for his band’s
performances at regular meetings of
the Clifton Senior Citizens, as well fes
other engagements, also finds time
to sit in with other Bosque County
musicians who meet each Tuesday in
Clifton as the Stringed Instrument
Group [see separate story].
Count on the
Classifieds
to Do the Job'
GAP FARM & RANCH
SUPPLY, INC.
NORTH 3rd ST. &
CLIFTON
CRANFILLS GAP, TX
OPEN: MONDAY thru
FRIDAY -
7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SATURDAY -
7:30 a.m. to 12 Noon
Handling —
• Paymaster Acco Feed
• Paymaster Seed
• Liquid Fertilizer (custom application)
• Custom Spraying
• Animal Health Care Supplies
Phone: 817/597-2281
RANDY LEE, MANAGER R.B. CAMP. OWNER
Spenrath
Window & Screen
!
&
£ Window & Screen %
& 307 N. Ave. D 675-6276 &
& Clifton (Home) 675-3187 5
FIDDLE GUITAR - Fiddler
George Hurley and guitar player Ed
Finstad hook up for the pleasure of
listeners and other musicians pres-
ent at a recent session of the Bosque
County Stringed Instrument Group
in downtown Clifton [see separate
story].
—Clifton Record Photo
FIDDLES, NOW - Monroe Billman [left] and Curtis Evans [right]
strike up a lively tune during a meeting of the Bosque County Stringed
Instrument Group last Tuesday evening in Clifton [see separate story].
—Clifton Record Photo
$ Storm (Insulating) Windows
Bronze, White Or Mill Finish ^
Also Tinted Glass Available $
2 Styles To Choose From
Also Replacement Windows
Some
old-fashioned
ideas
still work...
Like the idea of doing
business at home, where
you help your neighbor
make a living. In doing so,
you keep that business or
service locally available and
you keep those all-import-
ant sales tax monies here at
home where they work for
you, your family, and your
community as a whole.
As Clifton grows and prospers, we like to think it does so
because of the support given it by its local citizens. There is
no longer-lasting influence you can give to your community
than dealing with those here that make life a little better for
us all.
Local businesses need your support now more than ever
before. We think that the idea of helping your neighbors,
although old-fashioned, holds true, in that you are also
helping yourself — and your community.
H InterFirst
InterFirst Bank
Clifton
505 West Fifth Street-Telephone [817] 675-8341
Member F.D.I.C.
t
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Reeder, Mike. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 23, 1983, newspaper, June 23, 1983; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth798524/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.