Watermelons and a fiddler

August always brings with it nostalgic memories for me. Two vivid recollections include watermelons and a fiddler. Both reminiscences from my youth are connected to the Sheldon Old Settlers Picnic. From Aug. 18-20, Sheldon, will host its 112th annual, "Old Settlers Picnic." I don't know if there will be a fiddler, but I'm guessing there will be a watermelon contest.

We lived only three miles from Sheldon, for the first 10 years of my life, so the picnic time of year was always a big part of our end of summer social calendar.

The Sheldon I remember from that time was a vigorous community. The Beeny family owned a business downtown. I remember that was where my family purchased our first television, in the mid 50s. Gary Beeny was a classmate of mine for a short time in the first grade class taught by Miss Flo.

That first television was an RCA black and white console. Our television in those days did not have a very large screen, but the mahogany housing, which contained all the tubes, was quite large.

About the only stations we could receive on our antenna, were KOAM in Pittsburg, and KY3 in Springfield. Reception for even those stations was problematic. The antenna had to be aimed and moved, depending upon which channel you were attempting to view. Weather and airplanes regularly caused interference in the picture quality.

The lineup on KOAM offered several types of variety shows, news, and weather. My father swore by Early Ludlum, the weatherman on Channel 7. I never missed Vic Cox, the sportscaster, during his sports segment of the news broadcast.

At noon everyday, Melody Matinee was a fixture. Lou Martin hosted this combination of local news and variety. The show included a lot of musicians and singers. Each of the artists became household names for viewers. Roy, Earl, Virgil, and Vi, were all part of the ensemble that played and sang everyday. This past year, KOAM presented recovered reels of shows from the past. I was amazed to discover that Virgil Glenn, the lead guitar player on that show, was still alive at age 90.

There was one musician that I recalled from those days, that they did not mention during that historical look back. He was a small man in stature, who was fixture in the band, as the fiddle player. I am hoping, as is often the case, that some of the readers of this column will help me to rediscover his name. For some reason, the nickname, "Shorty" comes to mind, but that may not be the case.

The connection between the Sheldon Picnic and this fiddle player is the basis for my look back into history for this article. I cannot be sure of the year, but it had to be in the late 50s or early 60s, when I saw this very same musician, perform at the Sheldon Picnic.

Each year at the Picnic, they pulled in a large flat bed trailer that was used as an events platform. During the week, local talent and various ceremonies were performed on this stage. People brought their lawn chairs, and sat in front, to view the shows.

It was probably the Saturday night finale of the Picnic, when I witnessed this fiddler perform. As a kid I was enthralled watching his fingers and the bow, as they moved effortlessly across the strings.

One final note about this musician. I think he was associated with the A. J. Cripe Bakery and bread company. In those days, that company and their premiere product, "Town Talk Bread," sponsored many of the shows on Channel 7, and the local radio station.

The Picnic in those days always included a carnival, with many rides and sideshows. I loved all the rides, but the Ferris wheel was my favorite. When you crested the top of the wheel, you could see all of Sheldon and the picnic grounds.

The community building hosted many contests during the picnic. As a kid I was not very happy when my parents dragged me away from the carnival, to visit the sights in that building. Once inside, you could see everything from quilts to produce exhibits. Although the exhibits were not my favorite part of the picnic, they did make quite an impression.

One thing I do remember were the amazing sizes of the watermelons that were entered into the annual contest. Again, I will have to defer to some experts, who were actual participants or judges from that time, to give you the exact factual sizes. Fantastic as it sounds, in my memory, some of those watermelons weighed in at nearly 100 pounds!

There seems to be something in the prairie ground that makes up most of the area near Sheldon that enhances the raising of good watermelons. In past articles, I have mentioned a couple of memorable growers from the past (Mac Honecker and Bob Houdeshell.) Both raised what I still consider to be the best variety of watermelon that can be found, "Black Diamond."

I am sure that many of you have your own memories of past Sheldon Picnics. I also suspect that many of you will fondly recall the early days of Channel 7 KOAM, and shows like Melody Matinee and the Fun Club.

An entire generation of kids watched and sometimes attended the Fun Club, hosted by the "Forty-niner." Groups of kids from all over the 4 State area often stopped by for a visit, so they could be seen on television.

It's August, and it is once again time, for both the Sheldon Old Settlers Picnic and watermelons. So here's hoping, that someone will remember the name of that long ago fiddler, and also recall their own times from past Picnics. It's also a good time to go buy a dark green "Black Diamond," get it good and cold in the fridge, and enjoy the bounty from southern Vernon County.