Their front man and acoustic Guitar player is Splinter Middleton. He is a great singer/songwriter and formerly wrote for Mel Tillis Publishing as well as produced his own show in Branson, Missouri for 20 plus years with a big following. He has also been seen many times on RFD channel as a featured performer on “Midwest Country”. Two of his songs, performed by the “Honkytonk Renovators”, are being played on Texas radio on “Big G’s Texas Road Show” at KOOK 93.5 in Junction, Texas.
These guys are more than just a good dance band. They are an act with a direction that is nothing if not unique. One of the founders of the group is Jack Pearman, one of the best bass players you will ever have a chance to hear. He uses an upright “Doghouse” bass fiddle instead of the standard electric, and solidifies the foundation for every tune they play.
Their drummer is Steve Graham, another founder of the ensemble. He is also a great vocalist that stands as he plays only a kick drum and snare and that’s all he needs to keep this band “Rock-in”.
New to the band is Michael Johnson from Little Rock, Arkansas. Michael started playing guitar in junior high school after listening to Dwight Yoakam’s “Hillbilly Deluxe” album . Injury to his left hand had resulted in nerve damage and loss of feeling in all but 2 fingers but Michael was determined to play despite the setback.After forming The County Line Band they were invited to perform for Star Search and became champions for 3 rounds then was picked up by Milam Management who managed Toby Keith’s band in the mid-90′s. That spawned a 2 year road tour across the USA opening country shows for name bands and closing down bars with blues friends. No stranger to the Honkytonk scene , Michael joins the Renovators to help keep pure Honkytonk music alive.
We recently caught the set the Honkytonk Renovators performed at the Ozarks Celebration Festival this past weekend. They are a fantastic group of musicians and it was great to see them be a part of such a wonderful event. Some of you who were at the 2012 HHFO may remember that the Renovators played for the us just prior to the awards ceremony. They were joined by Jody Bilyeu, formerly of Big Smith, as they helped to make the afternoon extra special. Having been prodded into action by my son, who has become a big fan, I managed to work up the courage to ask if the guys would be kind enough to come back this year to play for the folks. I am pleased to report that they accepted the invitation! If you didn't catch them last year, you are in for a treat. Here is a little background information on the Renovators, who have been likened to "Johnny Cash on steroids." This will be an acoustic show, as the Honkytonk Renovators will take us on a musical tour of some of the important country music of the mid-twentieth century. The music will start at 3:00 pm in the atrium of Strong Hall on October 11th. So be sure to stake out a good seat and prepare for some toe-tapping fun! In the meantime, here is little sample of their work to tide you over!
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We are excited to announce that Bigfish Screenprinting is, once again, a proud sponsor of the Homeschool History Fair of the Ozarks! Last year, with the generous help of Bigfish, we were able to provide each entrant with a commemorative t-shirt. We are hustling to raise the necessary funds to make that happen again. But this goal would be herculean were it not for the support of Bigfish. Bigfish Screenprinting is very active in the community, working with numerous charities and other causes that make a positive impact on the region. We hope the you will look to them for all you screenprinting needs, as they are a class act. It is one of the reasons why we originally approached them for help. The history of Bigfish says everything you need to know about this fine organization Bigfish Screenprinting opened for business in August 2001 with just one employee. The business has grown to currently employ 14 staff members plus our fearless leader for a total of 15 employees. As of now, there are 9 full-time positions and 3 part-time positions filled within the company. It is hard to find fault with a business model like that. Thank you, Bigfish Screenprinting for allowing us to benefit from wonderful work!
Besides creating a fun day of history for young people, and helping students develop a greater awareness of what historians do, one of the goals of the Homeschool History Fair of the Ozarks is to encourage more home-educated students to participate in the National History Day competition for elementary and secondary school students in grades 6 through 12. Last year, two participants in the HHFO when on to compete in the Regional NHD in Missouri event held at Missouri State University. Both placed among the top finishers and were invited to compete in the state-wide competition in Jefferson City. We could not be more proud of these young people and their achievements. Though it was the hard work and discipline demonstrated by these students that directly led to their success, we would like to think that the HHFO provided a environment in which they were able to receive valuable feedback and encouragement. We sincerely hope that more students will challenge themselves and enter future NHD competitions. And for some of our older students there is not time like the present to begin thinking about a potential project. Regional 7 History Day Coordinator, Gail Emrie, and the History Department at Missouri State University, would like invite area homeschooled students to participate in this year’s National History Day contest. Missouri’s Region 7 contest will be held on Friday, February 28, 2014 in Plaster Student Union on the campus of Missouri State University. The theme for the contest this year is Rights and Responsibilities in History. The attached materials provide a more precise description of the theme, as well as suggestions on how topics might be developed. Additional information on the contest is available to you and your students on the state and national History Day websites http://whmc.umsystem.edu/nhd/nhdmain.html and http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/. The website of the MSU History Department (http://history.missouristate.edu/) has links to these sites. For those students who qualify, the state History Day contest will be held Saturday, April 26, 2014 on the University of Missouri – Columbia campus. As was the case last year, there will be an on-line system of registration in place. Instructions, outlining how to register, will be made available later this fall. Registration will begin in December. Ms. Emrie has been kind enough to pass along the most recent rule book for the contest and a booklet produced by NHD with suggestions on how to approach this year’s theme for History Day, which can be accessed by following the hyper-linked text. These resources are also available in electronic form at the National History Day website, but if you would like a hard copies, Ms.Emrie would be happy to supply you with them. If you intend to participate, please respond by e-mail to [email protected] at your earliest convenience so she will be able to maintain an accurate group contact list for updates on this year’s contest. If you should have any questions, Ms. Emrie may also be reached by phone at 417.836.5915. In the meantime, be thinking about questions that you might have about this year's theme Rights and Responsibilities in History. On Tuesday, October 8, 2013 from 4:00 to 6:00pm ET, the NHD will be holding an online discussion about this year’s theme, during which staff members will address questions from teachers, students and parents. Questions may be posed to respondents ahead of time from October 3 - 7 by emailing [email protected]. Please make sure you have “NHD THEME DISCUSSION” in your email subject line. To send questions during the 4 – 6 live discussion time, use the same [email protected] email address. To view the discussion, go online to the National History Day website, www.nhd.org. There will be a button on the homepage that will take you directly to the online discussion page. Please note that this is not an “online chat” in the usual sense, but all questions and their answers will be posted on the discussion page on our website as quickly as possible in the order received. The NHD program is a very worthwhile endeavor. We hope that as you map out your academic year that you will consider making it a part of your agenda. Remember, students who complete a project in the Senior Divisions of the HHFO should have a leg up on their competition as they will have completed what is likely a very polished "first draft." Put all that hard work to use and perhaps your young person will find himself or herself serving as Missouri delegates to the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest in College Park, Maryland next summer! Click photos for link to more information. September 8, 1504: Michelangelo's David was unveiled in Florence. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favored subject in the art of Florence. Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence. September 9, 1739: The Stono Rebellion, the largest slave uprising in the American colonies prior to the Revolution, erupted near Charleston, South Carolina. the uprising was led by Catholic Kongolese. Their leader, Jemmy, was a literate slave who led 20 other enslaved Kongolese, who may have been former soldiers, in an armed march south from the Stono River. They recruited nearly 60 other slaves and killed 22–25 whites before being intercepted by the South Carolina militia near the Edisto River. In that battle, 20 whites and 44 slaves were killed, and the rebellion was largely suppressed. Most of the captured slaves were executed, while survivors were to the West Indies. In response to the rebellion, the South Carolina legislature passed the Negro Act of 1740 restricting slave assembly, education, and movement. It also enacted a 10-year moratorium against importing African slaves, and established penalties against slaveholders' harsh treatment of slaves. It required legislative approval for manumissions, which slaveholders had previously been able to arrange privately. September 10, 1972: The United States suffered its first loss of an international basketball game in a disputed match against the Soviet Union at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. With the U.S. team trailing 49–48 in the waning seconds of the contest, American guard Doug Collins stole a Soviet pass at halfcourt and was fouled hard by Zurab Sakandelidze as he drove toward the basket, being knocked down into the basket stanchion. With three seconds remaining on the game clock, Collins was awarded two free throws and sank the first to tie the score at 49. Just as Collins lifted the ball to begin his shooting motion in attempting the second free throw, the horn from the scorer's table sounded, marking the beginning of a chain of events that left the game's final three seconds mired in controversy. September 11, 1893: Parliament of the World's Religions opened in Chicago, where Swami Vivekananda delivered his famous speech on fanaticism, tolerance and the truth inherent in all religions. The 1893 Parliament, which ran from 11 to 27 September, had marked the first formal gathering of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. Today it is recognized as the occasion of the birth of formal interreligious dialogue worldwide. September 12, 490 BCE: Though the date is subject of some debate, the Athenians and their Plataean allies, defeated the first Persian invasion force of Greece. The Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten; the eventual Greek triumph in these wars can be seen to begin at Marathon. Since the following two hundred years saw the rise of the Classical Greek civilization, which has been enduringly influential in western society, the Battle of Marathon is often seen as a pivotal moment in European history. The battle is perhaps now more famous as the inspiration for the marathon race. Although thought to be historically inaccurate, the legend of the Greek messenger Pheidippides running to Athens with news of the victory became the inspiration for this athletic event, introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics, and originally run between Marathon and Athens. September 13, 1814: In a turning point in the War of 1812, the British fail to capture Baltimore. During the battle, Francis Scott Key composed his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry," which is later set to music and becomes the United States' national anthem. Key, accompanied by the British Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner, dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant, as the guests of the British Skinner and Key were there to negotiate the release of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, who had been arrested after putting rowdy stragglers under citizen's arrest. Skinner, Key, and Beanes were not allowed to return to their own sloop because they had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with the British intent to attack Baltimore. As a result of this, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13–14, 1814. September 14, 1975: The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, was canonized by Pope Paul VI. On 31 July 1809, Elizabeth established a religious community in Emmitsburg, Maryland dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. It was the first congregation of religious sisters to be founded in the United States, and its school was the first free Catholic school in America. This modest beginning marked the start of the Catholic parochial school system in the United States. The order was initially called the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. From that point on, she became known as "Mother Seton". Festival season has returned and around our home, this may be one of our favorite weekends of the year. We rarely manage to get to all the places we plan to visit, but we always have a great time trying. Here are some of the highlights coming this weekend. We hope that you and your family will get out there this weekend and support a few of these wonderful events! The Sixth Annual Greek Festival Great music, dancing, food, and activities for the kids! What more could you ask? Well . . . it can be educational too, as the folks at St. Thomas open their doors to share with visits insights about their Orthodox faith. If you haven't attended this event, you have been missing out! The 16th Annual |
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