 HURSDAY NIGHT, A small fleet of small old
fashion winnebagos parked near my tent
in the rodeo roundout grounds. They had a canopy set up and so some picking and
singing got done until the wee hours. The outdoor show Friday, started at 6pm. I
had the day to explore Okemah, take some of the photos here, find out that the
public library there has one pc work station with internet access and is get 2
more! The lot where Woody's house was was pointed out to me. The performance that
evening was varied, by the time the full bands were up, the sound was folk rock,
country, and I for one don't think Woody would have minded. One band toward the
end, had a keyboard player who could do that Jerry Lee Lewis thing on the high
end. I met some other dancers and we "cut the rug" in front of the folks. When it
comes to that kind of full tilt boogie on piano, I've either got to give a
jitterbug demonstration or get out of range of the sound! There's no way I can
sit still to such snakey sounds...I helped direct traffic leaving after the show.
There was a stage set up in the rodeo area of the camp grounds, a few of the
booked performers got up each night and some members of the Guthrie family stayed
to hear us all.  Y SATURDAY MORNING, people in the camp
grounds were getting well acquainted with
their camper neighbors and there was a good lot of story sharing and song swapping
going on. for, me it had been several years since I'd been in a camping situation,
so I greatly enjoyed the sleeping in, the napping and the walking the walkable
distance to and from the town center of Okema. After I'd helped put up the stage I
Woody Guthrie Coalition members who were ther addressing me by my name and being
quite friendly. One of the things I remember the Hassidic Singing Rebbe, Shlomo
Carlebach say when he once gave a concert here in Bloomington, was "You
don't have
to go to the Gobi, or the Sahara desert to find desolation - the biggest desert I
know," Shlomo said, "Is the distance between people in the United
States..." I'm
happy to report that for those few days of the festival this was far less true.
Friendships were formed that will continue through the years. Saturday night the
music started at 4pm. Again, solo singers or duets sang some of Woody's songs the
way they felt it, it was good to hear the Deportees song sung more than
once and
to hear Pastures of Plenty sung so many times. After decades since I
first heard it, Pastures of Plenty still gives me "goosebumps" whenever I
hear it. As the evening continued, bass
players, drummers and piano players were added, but the spirit of Woody hovered
over the stage the same.Sunday's Show and Afterthoughts
  The fiddle player, a short blonde woman who stood between the guitarist and a tall
lanky banjo man who doubled on mandolin was such a joy to watch up that
close.Country Joe McDonald closed out the event with a mix of songs, chanteys, and guitar instrumentals. One bottleneck piece was called Thinking of John
Fahey. He played an affecting version of his Section 43. Hey, Ho and Up she Rises,
lined the
story of the turning of whaling into a factory ship killing machine. Another song
Woody would have loved - it spoke about abuse in the family and pleaded: Break
the silence, STOP THE VIOLENCE! In line with this plea, another song
described the life of an infantry grunt - does it REALLY * STILL *
MATTER which country? In the infantry it's universally the same: soldier,
YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED A CONSCIENCE!!! Then, Joe narrated the
history of the infamous F--- Cheer, and sang Fixin' to Die! with
Kosovo verses substituted by the end of the song. Interested in what Joe's got cookin' these days?  OE ALSO SANG his song about the nearly
unsung hero/ine/s of medicine: Nurses.
Besides that he sang his paeon to Florence Nightingale. Joe has truly taken the
mission of exposing the work and the life of this important woman to heart. He's
written a total of 4 songs about nursing, and has devoted a web page to Nightingale. Bless you
Joe.I stayed to help
break down the
stage. The two guys from the company were just as
cheery as Thursday's set-up sessions. It was a rare view into the world behind the
screen that few people ever witness...I sat with the official photographer and his
family as they relaxed by their RV. I'm looking forward to seeing the official
pics he snapped all festival long. Campers were allowed to stay until Monday in
the Rodeo Round-up's field. Two carloads of folks stayed the night. I policed the
area for trash, but most of it had already been neatly placed in 55 gallon drums
provided by the Round-up Club. All the campers there seemed to share the ethic of
LEAVE NO TRACE, I am happy to report. One morning while I was there, I
walked the road into the area and picked up as much litter as I could carry back
to a dumpster nearby.The last camper to leave gave me a
ride to the Okema Public Library in his pick-up
truck. Okema has Internet access computers in its library! Then I walked by the
lot that was told to me was the location of the Guthrie homestead. The lot was
overgrown. Nothing but some of the foundation. I thought about something Maryjo
Guthrie, Woody's sister had said one night. People had been making pilgrimages to
Okema and leaving messages carved in the wood of the ruins of the original house.
So, the family removed the wood, cleaned it up and is keeping it stored for
placing in a museum as part of a life known as Woodrow Wilson Guthrie.I turned the corner, saw a few
huge tree-trunk sized wood carvings in front of a
bungalow house on the corner. A tree trunk stood ready to be worked. I walked up
the road. Then, I heard a voice. A man in a pick-up truck had stopped to ask where
I was headed. Told him the Greyhound depot. We talked about the festival. He was
the wood-carver! Then I told him I was headed back to Bloomington, Indiana. He got
a big smile, and said he'd lived here!! The circle is ever ROUND. When I
got back to town, I mentioned the carver to a fellow I know who works in a record
store. My friend here knew Crazy Eddie! Said he'd painted the interior of the
store when it was being opened. Around it goes..."ROLL ON, COLUMBIA, ROLL
ON..."
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DIDN'T STAY up late Saturday night, on
purpose. I wanted to be rested for the
stint in the afternoon sun, on Sunday, July 18. The music began around 1pm.
Chuck Pyle the This page updated: July 20, 2001
Arlo Guthrie has posted, as of September 18, 2001,
A prayer for Peace in the Spirit of Reconciliation
Interested in the Woodyfest/2008?
Check out the folk art of Mary Jo Guthrie Edgmon, Woody's youngest sister.
I joke - in my more oxymoronic moments, about being hopelessly optimistic,
but Mary Jo, whom I met there in Okemah,
personifies optimism!
Woodyfest 2001
Here's some of my songs
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