I grew up in Carthage, worked summers in factories and at the city pool in Monett while in Fayetteville and Springfield for college, taught at Springfield Parkview from 1984 to 1990 (Chappell's dad Dwight Amstutz was a junior class officer under my sponsorship in 1989-1990, and her mom was a freshman there that year)--and yeah, you nailed it first sentence to last. She's a reason for me to be proud to be a Missourian--there aren't as many as I would like, that's for sure.
Thank you for sharing that, Phillip. One of the unexpected treats for me today has been all the people who've reached out on various socials to say, Hey I'm from the Ozarks! I'm KC all my life, but my dad's people were from Morgan and Camden counties, there around the Lake, and my wife's family was all from Stone County down on the Arkansas line, so I've spent a lot of time down there, still do (spent a couple nights in West Plains as recently as Feb), and just love so much of the place--though of course that affection has lately become pretty fraught. --dc
Hi, Phil, great to hear from you again. Apropos of nothing, I was born in Columbus, KS, a 40" drive due West of Carthage. We used to drive through it on the St. Louis -> Columbus route for holidays.
I just looked up the Liberty Theatre in Columbus, KS; my grandparents lived a few blocks away @ 527 West Maple [across the street from the high school].
Loved this, David, as always when you write about place, class, and country. One thought: I take your point re: Roan's Grammys health-care speech, but I looked at it more like she was staging a workplace action - the bosses who potentially could change health-care arrangements for musicians were *there in that room*, so while it would have been better if she'd added something like "until we have universal health care across the nation", it made sense to me that she was addressing what the music industry *itself can change, *now, in the absence of that broader change. After all, the only change on that front coming from Washington today would be for the worse. I was more disappointed that she and everyone else didn't directly confront that regime in their speeches - though she did address the trans part, on the red carpet - but she was taking the opportunity to say something practical and also obviously very personal to her.
Thank you, Carl, and I think you're right about all of that. I was trying to not be too hard on her there or to insist on any political purity on her part--that's why I dumped my notes in parentheses and complimented her sound instincts and righteousness and threw in that "even when to my mind..." Since we're strategizing together, though, I'd suggest she and we could have it both ways: "We need universal health care in this country, but until that happens, the music industry should make sure artists have the health care they need." She's figuring it all out on the fly, in rocky times, and I'm so impressed by her.
I grew up in Carthage, worked summers in factories and at the city pool in Monett while in Fayetteville and Springfield for college, taught at Springfield Parkview from 1984 to 1990 (Chappell's dad Dwight Amstutz was a junior class officer under my sponsorship in 1989-1990, and her mom was a freshman there that year)--and yeah, you nailed it first sentence to last. She's a reason for me to be proud to be a Missourian--there aren't as many as I would like, that's for sure.
Thank you for sharing that, Phillip. One of the unexpected treats for me today has been all the people who've reached out on various socials to say, Hey I'm from the Ozarks! I'm KC all my life, but my dad's people were from Morgan and Camden counties, there around the Lake, and my wife's family was all from Stone County down on the Arkansas line, so I've spent a lot of time down there, still do (spent a couple nights in West Plains as recently as Feb), and just love so much of the place--though of course that affection has lately become pretty fraught. --dc
Hi, Phil, great to hear from you again. Apropos of nothing, I was born in Columbus, KS, a 40" drive due West of Carthage. We used to drive through it on the St. Louis -> Columbus route for holidays.
Whatever happened to your music blog?
Cheers, Charles
From age 15 to about 19 I danced and drank many nights at The Liberty Palace Disco (1977-1981) in Columbus.
I post a cumulative list of my favorite records of the year at the end of each month at http://livingtolisten.blog and I post monthly on my Substack, which follows my teaching adventures as well as my failure to be able to retire from it (beginning Year 42 in August)! https://open.substack.com/pub/phillipovereem?r=2cj0k&utm_medium=ios
Good to hear from you, Charles!
What a trip!
I just looked up the Liberty Theatre in Columbus, KS; my grandparents lived a few blocks away @ 527 West Maple [across the street from the high school].
Small world!
Loved this, David, as always when you write about place, class, and country. One thought: I take your point re: Roan's Grammys health-care speech, but I looked at it more like she was staging a workplace action - the bosses who potentially could change health-care arrangements for musicians were *there in that room*, so while it would have been better if she'd added something like "until we have universal health care across the nation", it made sense to me that she was addressing what the music industry *itself can change, *now, in the absence of that broader change. After all, the only change on that front coming from Washington today would be for the worse. I was more disappointed that she and everyone else didn't directly confront that regime in their speeches - though she did address the trans part, on the red carpet - but she was taking the opportunity to say something practical and also obviously very personal to her.
Thank you, Carl, and I think you're right about all of that. I was trying to not be too hard on her there or to insist on any political purity on her part--that's why I dumped my notes in parentheses and complimented her sound instincts and righteousness and threw in that "even when to my mind..." Since we're strategizing together, though, I'd suggest she and we could have it both ways: "We need universal health care in this country, but until that happens, the music industry should make sure artists have the health care they need." She's figuring it all out on the fly, in rocky times, and I'm so impressed by her.
Excellent. Thank you.