Palatka Bluegrass Festival - Thursday

Norman Adams and Tony Anderson are fair-minded men who put on fine, very well-attended bluegrass festivals from Florida to West Virginia each year. They bring together many of the finest bands on the bluegrass circuit. Rodeheaver Boys Ranch, located along state route 19 south of Palatka, has gone to extensive and expensive lengths to provide a model festival facility for producing bluegrass events. All the care and planning notwithstanding, the most tension producing event of the festival routine revolves around the placement of seats. This year, in order to make the system orderly and fair, they provided placement numbers to attendees on arrival which placed them in numerical order for putting their chairs in place. However, no system is perfect and there are always people who figure out how to cheat the system to their own advantage, and there are always well-meaning people who abide by the rules who get run over by those with less respect for the intent of the system. Thus, individual people with low numbers were able to bring in chairs associated with others who had much higher numbers, meaning that a low number might have brought in a dozen chairs by having a dozen arm bands hanging around their necks. The early seats went down in 36 minutes and most people found themselves acceptable seats, but it’s a shame that some cheaters have the capacity and will to gum up the works.


By Thursday morning, feelings were calmed and a huge crowd kept the seats largely filled for a fine day of traditional bluegrass music and southern gospel. The bands’ performances were first rate, the audience was large and enthusiastic, the weather was warm, and attendance was high, especially for a Thursday.

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road

The current version of the Carolina Road Band has had only minor changes in the past couple of years. John Wade’s coming to the band on bass has added maturity and humor to the band as well as a solid and reliable harmony voice. Every member of the band sings as they configure themselves in different ways for different songs. Ben Green, always more than reliable on banjo, also chimes in with an increasingly strong bass voice on gospel quartets. Josh Goforth is a hugely versatile musician on fiddle and guitar as well as tenor vocals. Lorraine makes a humorous point that he’s not allowed to play mandolin in her band. Jerry Butler’s voice and strong rhythm guitar showcase the songs, and his humor and good nature are always on view. Lorraine provides the glue for this highly enjoyable group. She sings and plays well, and her good sense and leadership show through her willingness to highlight the talents of her entire ensemble.

Lorraine Jordan

Jerry Butler

John Wade

Josh Goforth

Ben Green

The Gary Waldrep Band

Gary Waldrep brings his band out of the sand hills region of Alabama largely to festivals in the southeast. His energetic showmanship and fine banjo play in both three finger and Clawhammer styles draw cheers from the crowd. With all members coming from Alabama except the exceptional Mindy Rakestraw on rhythm guitar and vocals, this band deserves much wider attention than it gets. Ken and Donna Townsell (Gary’s uncle and aunt) are strong on fiddle and bass. This week 16 year old Josh Palmer substituted for his mandolin teacher Stan Wildmon to tremendous support from the audience. He’s quick and plays both solos and backup well. Josh will bear watching in the near future as he enters the bluegrass world. Palatka is quite a place to make your festival debut.

Gary Waldrep

Mindy Rakestraw

Donna Townsall

Ken Townsall

Josh Palmer

Gary Supporting Josh

The Chuck Wagon Gang

This pure southern gospel band originated on the radio in Texas about 70 years ago as a western band. Today they’ve become an all gospel group with vocally very strong gospel quartets backed by electric guitar and bass, ably played this weekend by sound man Gene Daniell. They provided a distinct change of pace at this bluegrass festival.

Dave Emery

Penny Green

Stan Hill

The Larry Stephenson Band

Larry Stephenson made a brilliant personnel decision when he hired Kenny Ingram to play banjo in his band. Kenny, from his early days with Lester Flatt through his years with Rhonda Vincent, has been a standout banjo picker. As we walked back to the shed after a brief break, I noticed that Kenny is playing in the center of this band, right next to the leader, rather than on the outer fringe he previously inhabited. He’s an integral part of this band, playing inventive breaks on nearly every song and contributing superb backup and banjo solos. He’s also singing. His power and drive lift the efforts of the rest of the band. Even more important, his obvious joy in his new role energizes the band and the audience. Stephenson’s pure, clear, high tenor voice carries the songs associated with him such as “Knoxville Girl,” “Patches,” and a very fine “Muleskinner Blues” as well as the rest of his large and varied repertoire. Kyle Perkins on bass remains solid and strong. It will be very interesting to see other new members emerge in this band as Mike Fagin, leaving Larry Sparks, will soon join Stephenson’s band, too. Steve Day filled in very well on fiddle here at Palatka. Kevin Richardson, on guitar, is a very good flatpicker, plays reliable rhythm, and sings. Major changes are difficult for any band. Stephenson seems to be improving his sound and dynamism with each of his recent moves.

Larry Stephenson

Kenny Ingram

Kevin Richardson

Steve May

Kyle Perkins

The Grascals

About half way through the Grascals’ first set, Irene passed me a note that said, “No matter how often we see this band, they stay fresh.” And she’s right. When we last saw them in Lebanon, NH in November, Kristin Scott Benson was making her first festival appearance with the band and Danny Roberts was absent because of the automobile accident his wife Andrea had suffered. This weekend, with IBMA banjo player of the year Kristin Scott Benson settled in and Danny Roberts returned, the band seemed to be at the top if its game, despite having had a three week layoff. The Grascals have always been an extraordinarily entertaining band, lively and full of fun as well as good music. Now, with their personnel solidified, they have become not only entertaining, but have moved into the very top ranks of bluegrass bands musically, too. Danny Roberts is one of the very finest mandolin players around. Jeremy Abshire on fiddle, while not nearly as dynamic as his predecessor brings fire and insight to his play. I particularly noticed Kristin’s kick-offs yesterday. While only a measure or so long, they introduced each piece with a unique flair for what was to come in an intricate an often highly figured fashion. Great stuff!! Similarly, Terry Smith on bass uses masterful little flourishes to embellish the oh-so-solid beat he provides the band. His harmony vocals fill in the baritone beneath Jamie Johnson and Terry Eldredge’s fine lead singing. Eldredge is also first rate as a rhythm guitar player. The band works as a cohesive ensemble, always showing humor and enthusiasm. They’re one of the very best.

Danny Roberts

Jamie Johnson

Terry Eldredge

Terry Smith

Jeremy Abshire

Kristin Scott Benson

Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers

Larry Sparks, as one of the remaining second generation of bluegrass greats, deserves to be heard just for that. He still possesses, however, one of the most distinctive and finest voices in bluegrass music. At a time when high lonesome was the standard, Sparks’ mellow baritone provided a welcome alternative. His voice remains one of the treasures of our music. Having said that, I’ve wondered why a Larry Sparks performance often fails to excite me the way some other performers do. It might be that the music he chooses is just not to my taste. But yesterday, as I viewed the changes in other bands, something else caught my attention. While Sparks himself is undiminished, his band serves only as a support to him and his voice. I wondered to myself what sort of impact a Larry Sparks band would have if he surrounded himself with dynamic performers and allowed their excellence to help burnish his own while using his strength to highlight their excellence. Larry Sparks remains so good he doesn’t need to be concerned about performing in a band designed merely to support him.

Larry Sparks

Tomorrow, I plan on writing a little more about Rodeheaver Boys Ranch. Meanwhile, take a look at their web site and consider making a contribution to this very worthwhile work that can always use additional support. I also want to mention that Irene is now holding a camera, too. Several of her pictures appear in today's blog and more will show up. Her contribution to the content is terrifically important, and I want to thank her, especially as it's Valentine's Day.

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson - Review

Albert Einstein changed the world forever in 1905. Few people in history have had the impact on how the cosmos is perceived and how science approaches reality than Einstein did in a flurry of papers published in support of what became known as Einstein’s theory of relativity. In his seemingly simple equation e=mc² Einstein undid centuries of adherence to the principles enunciated by Newton. He made possible later thinking that provided the theoretical basis for the development of atomic bomb. And he became a world famed scientist. While he continued to be a productive and thought-provoking theoretical physicist, his work in these few months while working as a clerk in the patent office in Zurich, Switzerland was sufficient to cement his reputation and genius for all time.

I think I remember from my youth an iconic remark that only five physicists in the world understood what Einstein was saying in his great theories of relativity. Today, much of what he said has been proven experimentally and has completely changed the study of physics and the way physical science is conceived. If understand means to be able to internalize an idea so thoroughly that one can satisfactorily explain that idea to another, I can’t say I understand Einstein. If, on the other hand, it means to gain a glimmer of understanding such that a person has a sense of what the thinking is about, I believe I’ve achieved that. Walter Isaacson’s wonderful biography Einstein: His Life and Universe achieves the goal in a lucid presentation of Einstein as a person and as a thinker.

Isaacson presents Einstein with all his warts, and there are plenty of them. Qualities that in later life came to represent the lovable, absent-minded genius, created friction and hostility within his family and served to make his climb up the professional ladder much more difficult than needed. Einstein who, as he grew older, found himself surrounded by friends and family, seemed to have an extremely difficult time forging close personal relationships. His marriage to Mileva Maric, a woman several years his elder, plain, and lame had been a fellow student with Einstein at Zurich Polytechnic. They married despite the opposition of both their families and had two children. Edourd spent much of his life in mental institutions, while Hans Albert eventually immigrated to the U.S. and became a professor of engineering at Berkeley. His second wife, Elsa, was also older than he as well as being his first cousin. According to Isaacson, she apparently provided the mothering care Einstein needed to keep his life sufficiently orderly for him to focus on his science.

Focus, stubborn persistence, and a willingness to question ideas that at the time were considered to be settled emerge as Einstein’s strongest attributes. Einstein studied what he wished, although it’s a pleasant myth that he was far behind in mathematics. He was merely more interested in visualizing the world through what are called “thought experiments.” Later in his life, Einstein became adept at abstract higher mathematics, although he was often aided by math specialists in his explorations. Isaacson describes many of Einstein’s thought experiments. In these, Einstein imagines physical examples and the results to help him state revolutionary physics principals. In a flurry of papers published in 1905, while he was still working as a clerk in the Swiss patent office, Einstein enunciated first the general theory of relativity and then the Special theory of relativity, overturning ideas that had held firm since the time of Newton. Isaacson’s explanations of Einstein’s thought processes are models of popular science writing. Without ever putting an equation on the page (with the exception of e=mc²), he clarifies the ideas by explaining Einstein’s thought experiments and elucidating their meaning. Throughout it all, Einstein’s personality dominates. His nerve in challenging established ideas and taking on more established figures in the world of physics is without parallel. Self confidence, bordering on arrogance permitted the discovery of ideas never before considered.

Einstein went from being an obscure clerk in a minor government office to being one of the most famous people in the world in only a few years. He became interested in causes such as the establishment of Hebrew University in Jerusalem (he was later offered the presidency of Israel), various approaches to world government, and a reasoned pacifist position. As matters deteriorated in Germany with the rise of Hitler he first traveled the world as a stateless person and finally settled in Princeton, NJ as a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he spent his last couple of decades. While not involved in the Manhattan Project, which developed the atom bomb, his theoretical work made it possible. Later in life, he spent much of his energy in failed attempts to counter the emerging ideas of quantum mechanics and seeking to discover a unified field theory that would combine physics ideas into a universal statement of the cosmos. While never succeeding in this quest, his ideas continued to spur others on. How many scientists have remained productive throughout their entire lives and been honored with tickertape parades down Broadway?

Einstein’s politics were generally left of center but never truly radical. He reserved in his social ideas the same freedom he insisted upon in his science, the right to change his mind. Thus, when Hitler emerged in Germany, he forsook the pacifism that had dominated his thinking through World War I and the immediate post-war period. FBI files assembled at the behest of J. Edgar Hoover were a model of sloppy research, unsupported allegations, and paranoid delusion, but Einstein was never granted the requisite security clearance to become a part of atomic research. Nevertheless, he pretty well surmised what was up. Einstein died, full or honor and the affectionate regard of his adopted country in 1955.

Isaacson’s lucid writing and clear explanations make this book a Must Read for people interested in science but not having the scientific background to focus the problems. It also provides a fine view into the forces at work in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. The social forces swirling throughout the world affected Einstein’s life as well as his thinking. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson is published by Simon and Shuster and available at bookstores everywhere. Support your local independent book store.

Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, Florida

The motto of the Florida State Parks is “The Real Florida.” If the state parks represent the real Florida, then Highlands Hammock State Park is surely one of her crown jewels. Begun in 1932 by the Civilian Conservation Corps on land donated by Roebling family near the village of Sebring in central Florida, Highlands Hammock provides a respite from the state’s current deep recession, just as it did from its rampant development in recent years. An old style campground, it is still capable of providing comfortable camping for all but the very largest contemporary rigs. Most campsites offer plenty of shade along with water and electric. Restrooms with hot showers are convenient to most sites and never terribly crowded. Washing machines are available. A recreation hall provides a weekly (Wednesday evening) pot luck supper, while the original CCC buildings now offer a restaurant and a small but interesting museum detailing the spirit and history of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Park Museum to Civilian Conservation Corps

Statue of CCC Volunteer

Map of CCC Parks in U.S.A.

Museum Display

Located on 9,000 acres, the park comprises a number of habitats in which slight rises lead to major changes in environment. A tram ride, which costs $4.00 per person and takes about an hour, conveys passengers through areas otherwise restricted from access. Our knowledgeable naturalist, Kevin, talked about the various environments including classic hardwood which contains a live oak tree over 1000 years old and 36 feet in diameter, a cypress swamp, a pine forest, and others. Kevin explained the need for controlled burns in the pine forest. The tram tour runs alongside an old drainage canal which provided some of the more exciting elements of the trip, alligators sunning themselves along the bank. There were lots of birds as well as Kevin’s very informed narrative.

Seen on Tram Tour

19th Century Homestead & Orange Grove Clearing

Great Egret

Anhinga

Cardinal Flower (epiphyte)

The park also contains nine separate trails through park environments. The longest of these is just a little over half a mile in length, and they are all relatively flat. Boardwalks are provided over swampy or wet land. There are 177 species of birds that have been observed in the park. As I was taking pictures this afternoon, I was reminded of the environment in the national parks back in the 1950’s. This park is a true delight harkening back to an earlier and simpler day. Give it a try.

Seen on Trail Walk

Imagine the Spanish explorers trying to make their way through this dense underbrush across the entire Florida penninsula. Filled with palmetto leaves cutting through their clothing, clouds of mosquitoes, Florida panthers, and the snakes.




The campground is usually filled on weekends, but pleasantly roomy during the week. Reservations are recommended. While old style, this is a lovely, quiet place to visit.

The Campground
Our Rig

CCC Shower and Restroom Facility