2011
The Frontporch Stage was nominated in 2010 for The Bootstrap Award.
The Bootstrap is awarded for achieving succss "on a shoestring" having
limited resources or finances. The Frontporch definitely fits in that
regard!
John Henderson, Betty Williams, Jane and Jerry Babbitt attended the Awards
Banquet in Little Rock on March 8th. Although we didn't win we did get our
picture taken with Miss Arkansas and had a fine chicken dinner!

Betty Williams, Richard Davies, Jane Babbitt
John Henderson, Jerry Babbitt and Alyse Eady
Richard is the Executive Director of Parks &
Tourism
Elyse in the reigning Miss Arkansas
Our 2012 Montgomery County Possum Queen, Donna
Jones

The 2011 Possum Parade, Picnic & Crownin'
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It all starts with
Potentate John directing the Possum Sheriff David on the intricate
Parade route!!! |

John and the
Hasbeen Queens
Before the parade |

Possum Potentate
John Henderson
cutting a fine figure |

Queen Jerline
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| The Wannabees |
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The Hasbeens |
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The Procession
Potentate John with Queen Jerline XVI |

The Hasbeens |

The Wannabees |

Royal Musicians
Clyde & Dorothy
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The Royal Court
of 2011... |
| Miss Betty says a few words about the queens... |
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Queen Jerline
awaits the results of the election with obvious joy! |
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Potentate John asks for "The Envelope Please!" |
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The Wannabees await nervously |
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John makes a few more remarks..the
tension mounts... |
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These ladies are now and forever Possum Princesses
of Montgomery
County Arkansas |
| But there is only one wannabee to be crowned
today... |
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Yippeeee
I won , I won
I'm the Queen!!
Queen XVII
Donna Jones |
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You get all this stuff for being queen... |
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| And here's a bunch of pictures of the whole thing |
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Hasbeen Queens
but Queens
None the less
Forever... |
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What a beautiful day for all of us to enjoy...Thanks to the
wonderful spirit of all the ladies of Possums Unlimited |
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The Lansdales from Daisy OK
Our Friends!!! |

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Thanks everyone, come back and see us as often as
you can... |
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It was a great time at the
Posey Hill Show...here are a few pictures

The Burnett Party! |
Nothing like a little Saturday party to lift the
spirit! |
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He Huffed, He Puffed Blew that 50 right over...
mmmm cake! |
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Mr Chuck Hughes
Banjo Player
Mandolin Player
Guitar Player
Teller of bad jokes |
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Pete, Clyde &
Dorothy enjoy the great weather |
We come early, we want front row seats
for this show!
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Just the vocal warm up was a treat. Doug Erin and Kristain have
such beautiful harmonies! |
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Getting ready to throw down some tunes! |
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Sound Check was awesome...
Shady Grove!!! |
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Doug
Erin
Kristain
Chuck |
Yeah, I'm fifty!
So far so good...
I got Cake!
Doug Burnett |
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Everybody had
Cake!!
Really good Cake |
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And Music...
Really Good Music |
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Yep...we're having
a real good time! |
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Look here's a
Shady spot... |
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Can we see over these people...
yes we can |
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Yep, got here early, stake out this shady spot! |
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Shameless Commerce
Ready!!! |
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Your Majesty...
All Hail Queen Anita
and... hey Dan! |
Mike, Pete, Carol
Hodge....!!!
Yep we're liking
this... |
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Your Majesty...
All Hail Queen
Barbara...
and Hey Daniel |
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Hey Greg! Great Cake...Great Music |
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The regulars gather
in the shade for every show! |
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I'm gonna grow up and be a star! |
We sit back here near the food...
sounds great out here... |
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The Barbaras and
Possum Princess
Miss Ida Mae! |
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Yay, Frontporch
ah...youth!! |
Seeya |
From Patterson Danley & Reid
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Moonlight Over
Mt Ida |
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Laura
Danley
Justin Patterson
Gene Reid |
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| Earlier when all was quiet... |
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Welcome to Mt Ida and the frontporch
stage...there's an announcement I must make |
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The beautiful and talented
Laura Danley |
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Justin Patterson
looking good |
Gene Reid , that's
R E I D scotch not... |
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Hey Bill!
There's that guy with the camera... |
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Princess Barbara,
Idamae, Pam
behind the store |
These young fellers from Memphis riding the trails
on their bikes |
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I've got elves up there working on your Christmas.. |
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What a show...! |
Princess Idamae |
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| Greg was loving the show... |
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We like it...
Front Row Seats |
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On the Aisle... |
| Thanks for coming folks |
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Thanks for having us... |
Ouachita River Ramblers Sept 24th
| The Stage sits all empty just waiting for a show to
come along... |
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Here's some folks who are ready to do a Show, They
are friends we have here pretty often |
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From the hills around Mt Ida
The Ouachita River Ramblers!
Al's bass .... |
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The Band folk just lookin for a little shade... |
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Cool License Plate
Get You One!!! |
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Hats too!!!
right ladies? |
| Great tunes from the Ramblers... |
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Al Crawford keeping that bluegrass beat... |
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The Ouachita River Ramblers |
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All kinds of folks before the show... |
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the back yard crowd... |
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The front yard crowd... |
| even LSU fans like the porch... |
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And little doggies like the porch |
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And this lets you see the....
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Such a beautiful evening... |
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Special guests
Glenn and Angie from Lonsdale! |
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Let's take another band shot |
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Seeya next week at the picnic! |
Photos from Dewayne Hodges Show
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It's good to get
started on a beautiful day! |
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Miss Betty
getting ready! |
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You never know what these two
are up to!? |
| You can be sure of of this, Dewayne Hodges... |
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comes to play! |
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Dewayne rests up before taking the stage! |
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The crowd gathers for the show |
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We're ready! |
Hodge and Mary are ready..
Hey ED! |
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Ready to enjoy a great show! |
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Did you get your ticket yet? |
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Get your CDs here |
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aaaawwwww
shucks,, |
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I'm getting popcorn and a root beer float and.... |
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Our backporch has great hot dogs and good coffee!!! |
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you know, I just love to come up here for good music and
friends! |
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Hey Gloria! |
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We had to come see Dewayne! |
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We'll be right here
at the frontporch! |
Pictures from the Rena Wren Show Sept 10th
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Rena Wren and Roxy Lynn opened the show! |
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Roxy Lynn!
Thanks!! |
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Rena brought a
smaller version
of the Band |
| Dave Bishop provided the beat |
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Rodgey Roach on the Bass
Rena on guitar
Roxy on Viola |
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Rena had CDs for sale! |
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John appears to be sleeping at the wheel... |
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Rodgey's biggest best fans! |
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Roger & Sherri came early for the best seats! |
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George & Suzette from Fordyce! |
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Glenwood Gals!
great to see you... |
Ed came over from Hot Springs
Hey Ed! |
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The little folk like it close to the ground! |
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It's a dance we learned! It's called the swingnspin! |
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Reminds me of a Picnic... |
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These Hot Dogs are So Good! |
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| I've seen this beautiful gal here before! Hey
Rena |
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Break time is time to visit! |
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Grasshoppers!
Bait! Lets go fishin! |
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I'm so glad it's not 100 degrees! |
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How much for the Possum? |
Until next week... |
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A few pictures from The Prairie
Grove Band Sept 3rd
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The Prairie Grove
Band |
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Mark hiding
from the Sun!
Made in the
Shade |
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Doyle Rowland
in his new hat |
Big John Turk
always smilin' |
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Bob Anderson
pedalin! |
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Joe carmack was all ears while John said a few
words...
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John had a few more words... |
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as the crowd
grew... |
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Miss Betty sets up the store!
Charles smilin' |
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Tim, Freddie & Phyllis chatting about the weather |
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these folks just enjoying it all! |
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more folks on the side... |
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we're here for a Rootbeer Float! |
Y'all come back
Seeya next weekend! |
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The Ouachita River Ramblers August 27th
The Day was
absolutely
Beautiful |
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Al Crawford and
Mignon from Atlanta |
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The real power behind the
Ramblers |
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So, when Jerry comes around with the camera,
you grab it! |
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What key is that? Let's ask
Dan or Al... |
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It's this'n right here
Right Danny? |
| And when they take it to the stage..it's right |
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Man, it's Hot...
How Hot is it? |
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I wasn't standing in the rain, this is my sweat! It's hot up
here! |
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Kinda fuzzy...
Jerry's sure happy... |
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If I stand back here, I can keep my eyes in the
shade! |
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| Get Your Ramblers Cd right here~!~ |
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Up The Creek
The 1st from the
Ramblers! |
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Lets get this party started! |
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We had three of our wannabees with us... |
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Tressa Howard
Liz Aikens
Barbara Hulsey
all got potential!! |
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View over Danny's shoulder |
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I love the Ramblers!
So do I.. |
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so do we! |
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Old Friends get together ...New ones too!! |
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Break time is
time to visit! |
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| The Royal Scepter in good hands... |
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Until Next Week
Y'all Come back and visit us!!
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Arkansas Trainwreck
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We sure enjoyed having a trainwreck in Mt Ida! |
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Big A & John getting the stage all set... |
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Richard, Al and
Memphis Mere |
| Fill this space with music lovers |
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Getting it all ready is part of our day... |
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and who might these happy folks be...find out next week! |
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A few of our crowd... |
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Yes, for years I was
trapped and the
Hokey Pokey was
what it was all about |
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Texas will never be the same, Possums taking over. Babies
love the porch too!! |
| Some of our canine friends... |
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All well behaved and music lovers too! |
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Banjo Mike
Mandolin Dan
Johnny Bass |
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The Crowd Gathers as the clouds move on by... |
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Break time is always a good time to visit with new friends |
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Robert Cavanaugh
took this shot...share your shots with us! |
The Ouachita River Ramblers July 30th
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The Jam was pretty Lonely
It was Hot... |
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In Fact there's
nobody here... |
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John came by for
a quick visit... |
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| The Ramblers showed up... |
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So they just jammed to get warmed up! |
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That's right we were here in this exact spot |
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That's right, room to be really comfortable! |
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Doug Dumont Potentate Emeritus! Hail! |
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I just glue'm to the pipe...!!! |
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See that smile! |
| Thanks! Our friends at the wayback there... |
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And Way Up
Here... |
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It was hot up there on stage! |
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I just can't make up my mind... |
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Joyce was enjoying the grandkids... |
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Jerry was enjoying the tune |
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Singin' with Our Granpa
Jerry |
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sometimes the light gets funny |
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Thanks Win for helpin...
See y'all next weekend!!! |
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Often
Runnin On the porch July 23rd
Banjo Jam with Bruce...
he gets the smallest jam award |
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Often Runnin on the porch |
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They Found the AC for a few minutes... |
Then a little practice outside |
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| Great Tunes! |
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Good Crowd! |
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A little campaigning for
Possum Queen |
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future Possum Queens??? |
| And we brought them girls over here... |
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We came from Wisconsin and it's hot there too! |
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From Miss Betty's
point of view... |
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These are the best nachos!!!
I'll get ice cream later... |
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| Just a blanket or a chair is all you need... |
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Come see us for a show, have some nachos |
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Seeya Next Weekend... |
The Hartley Family Bluegrass Show!
| The Jam, |
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I get to unload the truck!
Just Kidding! |
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Tuning!
Makes for better music... |
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Hartley FamilyBluegrass |
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Abbi plays that guitar and sings! |

Daniel on the fiddle... |

Debbie (MoM) bass and vocals! |

Micah at 8 playing Banjo!
And also plays a few licks on that fiddle too! |
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It was a great day for bluegrass |
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Warm with a nice breeze and good music! |
| All of these folks came from Germany! |
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Josai on Mandolin
Anna writes the songs! |
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Abbi really plays the guitar! |
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Break time is time to visit |
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Great Fun and good music... |
Pictures from The 106th Army Band Show
Pictures from The Prairie Grove Band
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A Stage full of
Prairie Grove! |
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And a lawn full
of good folks |
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Look! maybe we can hitcha ride to California! |
| The Prairie Grove Band |
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Doyle was having a great time! |
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Jason was glad to be back where there isn't a fire! |
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Terry had a breeze at his back |
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Bob Anderson had the pedal singing! |
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Joe! Whaddayaknow? |
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Big John Turk in the left corner...
Big White Hat! |
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Dart Wants to know why he's always in the sun?
He's cool with it... |
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Mae says that
Stilwell could use a frontporch! |
| You never know who you might run into here! |
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We got the shade and we're keepin' it.... |
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Layla, Dad George and Randi had a great time! hi Heidi! |
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Yep, my Grandaughter |
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We could move right up there... |
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Smile! you're on the Mt Ida Camera.. |
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You can't see me
Can You? |
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Yep, we're hangin' out in Mt Ida! |
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This Roadkill Spread is going home with me! |
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Helping out with our Shameless Commerce
Charles Wood |
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Yeah, it's good to be home...
Jerry Lambert is
also a sometimes
Keyboard guy. |
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Ashworths, Carters and McCools well represented today! |
Look guys, we're gonna be
on a website! |
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We're happy to be here... |
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Miss Betty runs
The Possum Store real good! |
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Watch out LD, that Bella dog is a trained killer! |
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| Yep, we're stickin with the cold stuff today |
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Popcorn Anyone!
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What a great day...nice breeze
good Music... |
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Bye Y'all Come back next weekend
we'll do it again! |
Ouachita River Ramblers Show from June
25th
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The Hamner Girls opened our show with some gospel |
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The Ouachita River Ramblers |
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Jerry Robertson
Guitar & Vocals |
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Terry McClardy
Guitar & vocals |
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Danny Williams
Mandolin & vocals |
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All Crawford on the Bass and Jokes |
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Don Knowles on the Banjo and vocals... |
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Cayden Knowles
Perfect pitch
Perfect Time |
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He wants a banjo!
he's blind but what a spirit... |
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| Photo credit to Tim for a few of these photos |
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Get Your
Root Beer Float
right here! |
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Let me get that for you...it's right here in my
purse! |
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New friends...you just never know who you will meet.... |
| John and a friend from Iowa, now from Oklahoma |
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Our shameless commerce goes on... |
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Stay out of my way...i'm doing good thins here! |
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Donna Jones trying to hide from my camera... |
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Hey Bud!
Hey Donna! |
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Good Times with our friends on the lawn in Mt Ida |
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This is Bain and he's a handful...
and under the bush, look close |
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Break time is when the visiting is just the best! |
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Seeya Next Week! |
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From Our Shady Grove Show
Still trying to download pics from the concert band....
Shady Grove!
Photos by
T.Qualls on his phone |
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Diann & Thomas Glover and Erika Hitt |
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Erika Got married last weekend! |
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| These girls had themselves a lttle square dance! |
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Our good friend Redmond Keisler stopped by! |
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Our Possum Store (shameless commerce) |
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Jerry & John are scheming as usual! |
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Little kids and babies love the Frontporch |
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All the way from Chicago!
SEEY'ALL |
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Our June 11th Acousticatz Show was rained out.
Pictures from the Prairie Grove show!
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Ralph can play that Harp! Wes and Terry agree |
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Love the Jam!
Hey Pam! |
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And of course we like doggies |
| Big Bill with Kohl...he's a real picker for sure |
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She's eight and we can't wait! And she can sing! |
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Barbara brought Jethrow BoDean
But..... |
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Jethrow turns out to be
Jethrine....OOPS |
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| A beautiful day to be on the porch |
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It was pretty warm at showtime! |
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The
Prairie Grove
Band |
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Bob Anderson on peddle steel!
Terry Kinsey on Drums |
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John Turk on Bass
Joe Carmack lead guitar |
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Mark Willborg
Acoustic and vocals |
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Doyle Rowland
with his new
Telecaster! |
Dart (Travis)
Stapp on the banjo and guitar |
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Folks come from everywhere to visit the porch
Californians! |
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Barb & Dennis
Pennsylvanians
until they got the RV... |
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I'm Shrinking as
I get Older! |
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Visiting during the break is part of what makes the
Frontporch a great place to be on Saturday! |
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Mike, I think the pink is your color...NOT |
Sunset in Mt Ida
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Secret Agent
#8 with his escort |
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These two are up to no good...
I can tell... |
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Anywhere is a good spot when it's shady! |
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About to become relatives
Congratulations! |
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Already related
Hello John! |
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As the evening comes to an end |
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Thanks again for coming |
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Good Night
Mt Ida, Lets go find the cool! |
Pictures
from Good Ol Days
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It starts early on Friday as the vendors arrive |
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Earlybirds from Mena! |
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The audience for Good Ol Gospel
grow slowly |
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We get the stage ready for our first show |
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The Canaanland Vocal Band |
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| The Canaanland Vocal Band from Mena, Arkansas |
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Our second show was a little bluegrass |
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Bob Dowdy and Mountain Bluegrass |
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Katie Beth the newest member |
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and she can sing! |
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getting to visit is a big part of the Frontporch! |
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Level Ground is one of the finest! |
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From the Benton Bryant Area! |
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Great Gospel! |
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Two Possum Queens enjoy the show... |
Saturday,
Good Ol Days
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The Crowd grows for the early show |
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John Talley and
Rusty Bobwar |
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| Greg Batterton, the man who invented fun |
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John Talley is our resident song writer and all
around good guy! |
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Mike Adams pickin' & grinnin' |
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It gets crowded around all the vendors! |
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Everybody was looking for a shady spot! |
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A great time to visit on the lawn |
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Get Your possums! |
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| Motorcycles, Hotrods ! |
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Now when I drop my arms! |
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Not really sure what this means |
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Megan came from Oklahoma to get this shirt! |
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Nice to just sit for a while |
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| Steve Johnson has played every memorial day! |
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This year was Robins first time!She was great! |
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We're hanging out waiting for the show! |
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John, you need to catch a few more possums... |
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Vote for me! |
A couple of Wannabees
Liz & Donna |
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Running for Possum Queen is serious business
NOT! |
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These fellers took good care of things during the day! |
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Gary Fox saved the day on Friday!
Thanks and thanks for what you do! |
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Our Pal Vern was out to have a good time! |
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Visiting Mt Ida is always fun! |
| We have all kinds of fans come out for shows |
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We have some great fans...
I love bluegrass! |
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The Cook Mountain Boys were a hit! |
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A great bluegrass set...Thanks a Bunch! |
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Family fun! |
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These girls love the Frontporch!
Future Possum Queens All |
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The Ouachita River Ramblers were hot! |
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We Play Bluegrass! |
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Thanks for playing for us! |
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The Frontporch Stage, Mt Ida
Good Ol Days! |
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Stick a fork in it...we're done...
Thanks & Good Night |
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The Jam got started a little early and
they took shelter from the wind |
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| Dorothy showin' off her new guitar! |
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Clyde, Terry and Bruce on the Bango |
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Our 2011 season kicked off with a great afternoon jam followed by an
incredible show by The Prairie Grove Band!
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Terry & G W
Jammin' |
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Clyde &
Dorothy
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Lucky Donohoo |
Mark demonstrates
his phone
prowess |
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Tim says he
thinks he's got it now |
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Getting set up is the hardest part |
| Carol is PGB's best fan! |
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These fellers have little on their minds... |
You do get choice seating if you come early!! |
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John getting some good advice |
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Hey Ladies! |
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Queen Lynn!
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The crowd grows.. |
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Charles Wood
and our
Miss Betty |
Vern and Barbara have a great spot! |
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The Prairie Grove Band |
On the porch |

Dart and Joe |

Big John! |
Joe Carmack |

Terry Kinsey |
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Mark Willborg leads the band and is really enjoying his
retirement... |
Doyle Rowland |
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The Cheap seats... |
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Our frontporch folks enjoy the evening! |
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The porch after the sun goes down... |

Jane, Johnette and Ty servin' it up for you! |
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