SUPPORTING THE LOCAL SPIRIT BY DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY!

Remember when we all used to hang out around the American Legion Hall in Harriman on Friday nights? Of course I wasn’t much of a dancer, but I did occasionally try to impress someone by “cuttin’ a rug”, but mostly I stood outside listening to the music while talking and smoking with “the guys”!

Good music and dancing still happens on Friday nights at the Harriman American Legion Hall. As a matter of fact, some of the same old gang that used to make all that music are still “pickin’ and grinnin’” as the “Riverfront Band”! It begins at 7:00 PM.

Remember ol’ Bill and Bobby Wright (no relation), Jim Galyon, Jim Crawley, and Gary Morgan? They are still making good music! Other local musicians also occasionally join them; you never really know who will be there, and YOU could join them if you really wanted to! Why not…let’s bring back the fun of Friday nights with music, singing, and dancing!

Pictured on the left are Jim Galyon, Noel White, David Galyon (Jim’s son from Houston), Jim Crawley (on steel), Don Gullett (on bass), and Forrest Robbins (on drums). The young man in the white cap is not a band member.

In the photo below right, (right to left) are Jim Galyon, Noel White, Muse Watson, Bill Wright (back to camera), Don Gullett, Ronnie Duncan, and Bobby Nelson.

It was that good music and that down home gathering of people that drew Muse Watson to the Legion Hall that last Friday back in November. He had heard about how Roane County folks still get together for some country music fellowship, and he wanted to get right in the middle of it. He, like a lot of us, feel like supporting whatever goes on in our area is the best way to keep our county alive. We have to keep that spark that makes us unique burning for the future generations.

On the left is Bill Wright with Bobby Wright (no relation).

Just imagine how it could be if Harriman had a real stage, with real lights, and a real sound system! What a night we all could have in the kinship of music and entertainment. That is exactly what is in the near future for our city and county. It will be a “sound space”, as Muse calls it, where anyone can come and record for posterity their own particular brand of music, or entertain a crowded auditorium of over 800 seats!

Our county and geographical area is just full of talent with no place to really perform at their best, or to such a large audience. The Princess Theater can be that for all of us. This is just another reason to support this effort. We need YOU to get involved, even if it’s only telling someone else about the dream! It can come true…we can do this!

Contact me at fuzzbert_1999 AT YAHOO if you want to offer your talent/s to the project, or know of area residents that have a musical or acting talent that would be perfect/appropriate for a family stage show.

SUPPORTING ROANE COUNTY MEANS MORE THAN JUST THE PRINCESS

It’s so good that so many people are supporting the Princess Project, but we can’t put all our hopes of restoring our community just into the Princess Theatre basket. We must support Harriman in everything that the cities and county does to promote its communities and businesses.

Two new businesses have opened within the last couple of months, and supporting Harriman means supporting these businesses through patronage and word-of-mouth advertising.

I don’t own a motorcycle or ATV, but I did let my friends that do know about the new store. It’s good for Harriman if “Rising Sun Cycles” (Roane Street) remains a viable business.

Oh, how I remember the old Merri-Mac Bakery and those wonderful “cream horns” Edna McNamer made. She made them for Harriman for 51 years before closing. I heard that she passed her recipe on to Mike Borman, the new owner, so I personally patronized the new “Pattycake Pastries” at 611 Queen Ave. to try them. They were as I remember! I was pleased to have met Mike as he and Kevin catered the “Parade of Christmas Trees” held in the Temperance Building last Friday and Saturday (November 27-28). Just look at those cream-horns and festive cookies!

It’s not just the businesses we need to support; it’s the special events that our communities present. Events like the “Parade of Christmas Trees”, “The Nutcracker”, the “Rockwood Christmas Tour of Homes”, the “Candy Cane Hunt” in Kingston, the “Historic Harriman Christmas Tour”, the “Colonial Christmas Candlelight Tour”, the “Santa’s Carousel Quarter Horse Show”, and “A Christmas Carol”! Never say there’s nothing to do in Roane County, just Google “Christmas Events in Roane County, TN” or CLICK HERE to read more about these and other events.

There are loads of things to do, we just have to get off our duffs and get out there and support them. Put them on your calendar today…make your holiday something special!

Touring the Temperance Building in Harriman was a pleasant surprise for Muse Watson. He insisted on showing his support for the Temperance restoration project while he was in town. He did several promo clips with Pat Mynatt; both did several pieces in one take! Pat had never done anything remotely like this, but pulled it off very professionally and seemed to enjoy showing off the building to Muse. (More photos of the Temperance Building HERE.)

The building looks beautiful to the untrained eye, but there is a lot of structural work that needs to be done, and soon. This is also a need worthy of our support.

Coming Next…Did you know there’s places to dance or listen to live music almost every night of the week in Roane County?