Local fiddler takes 2nd at Cowboy Gathering

Fiddlers, pickers, chuck wagon cooks and aspiring cowboy poets converged on Cartersville, Ga., March 6- 9 to participate in the 5th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering, held at the historic Grand Theater and the Booth Western Art Museum.

The Southeastern Cowboy Gathering included competition in mandolin, banjo, guitar and fiddle, as well as the semi-finals in youth and adult cowboy poetry. Judges for the music competition were co-founders of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame, Phyllis Cole and Fiddlin' John Carson, as well as entertainer Paul Pucket.

Local fiddler, Alex Thomlinson of Suches, was awarded 2nd Place in Junior Fiddle (under age 18) playing Yellow Rose Waltz, Limerock, and Gray Eagle. Aerin DeJarnette of Snellville Ga., placed 1st, and Greer Kimbell of Murphreesboro, Tenn., placed 3rd. Alex Thomlinson also competed in Open Fiddle, which is primarily a Senior Fiddle event, and took 3rd Place. Lewis Taylor of Ringgold, Ga., a fixture at fiddling competitions throughout the southeast, provided rhythm guitar back-up for many of the contestants.

The day also featured the Southeastern Chuck Wagon Cooking Contest with teams of cooks preparing beans, meat, potatoes and desserts the way it was done on the rowdy cattle drives of the 1800s. A Dutch Oven Cook- Off was held Sunday on the museum grounds, with hearty samples for visitors to the Booth Western Museum.

The End Of The Trail Supper and Concert was held on Friday evening. Reminiscent of the end of a long and arduous cattle drive, the nostalgic event featured cowboy poets and singers, taking turns performing their favorite Western material surrounded by the chuck wagons which had gathered for the weekend's activities.

Acowboy gathering is designed to bring both amateur and experience poets and singers together to share their love for the West with the public. Throughout the weekend visitors were delighted with talented musicians, artists and cooks coming from across the country and around the state. An informal concert amidst a gathering of chuck wagons provided a glimpse of how cowboy poetry began with cowboys lingering around the campfire after a hard days work. A more formal concert in the historic Grand Theatre (circa 1929 and recently restored) on Saturday night featured America's leading cowboy singer, Red Steagall. Steagall is a famed Western singer, songwriter, poet and guitarist, a native of Texas, he has been called "a singing scholar of the old West."

Rounding out the weekend's festivities were Western storytellers, many children's activities and Cowboy Church. Those wishing to learn more about the Booth Western Museum, the extensive Western art collection and the yearround activities which allow one to visit the West without leaving the South, may visit the web at www.boothmuseum.org