'Echoes' of the old west heard in Fort Scott

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Renowned balladeer Don Edwards performs at the 15th annual Echoes of the Trail at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center Saturday. He sang a range of songs from gospel to folk and Marty Robbins.(Ruth Campbell/Tribune)

At least 250 people got to spend some time on the lone prairie Saturday night as renowned balladeer Don Edwards painted a musical portrait of life in the old west -- with a smattering of gospel and folk thrown in.

The 72-year-old western singer and songwriter was the featured performer at the 15th annual Echoes of the Trail at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center at Fort Scott Community College. Also performing were Johnny Kendrick and his sons Jackson and Sam, known as the Branchy Boys.

Historian Arnold Schofield, who devised Echoes of the Trail with Kendrick, did some recitation and singing himself. "We don't really care who had this idea, we're just glad it was laid and hatched," said featured poet Ken Lorton, who has performed at many Echoes celebrations.

Johnny Kendrick (back center) and sons Sam (left) and Jackson (right) perform with Edwards Saturday at "Echoes of the Trail."(Ruth Campbell/Tribune)

The Warsaw, Mo., resident told the story of his friend D.J. Fry who was in a bad tractor accident about three years ago and almost died. Lorton was in Fort Worth at the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering and Western Swing Festival when he and his wife purchased a get-well card for Fry.

They decided to try and get well-wishes from Edwards and Steagall because those were two of Fry's favorite performers.

Fry, of Orongo, Mo., attended Saturday's performance and had the card with him.

Johnny Kendrick on guitar and sons Sam and Jackson are joined by historian Arnold Schofield on the theme song for the celebration, also called Echoes of the Trail. Kendrick and Schofield came up with the idea for the cowboy, poetry and song gathering. (Ruth Campbell/Tribune)

Steagall and Edwards both advised Fry to get rid of the tractor, but he still has it. When he got the card, Fry said he had been hospitalized for 12 weeks. "It was something that at the time seemed like a dream," he said.

He was thrilled to see Edwards live on stage. "It's a great feeling to see him here tonight and hear him," added Fry.

Renditions of Carson Robison, Marty Robbins, Gene Autry and Emmett Miller songs -- to name a few -- were performed by Edwards, who said he had heard of Echoes of the Trail for several years but never attended before.

Edwards said he doesn't have a set list, he just plays what comes into his head.

"I don't do it for the money. I learned a long time ago money thought I was dead," he said.

Inspired by western author Will James and movie heroes Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Steagall and many others, Edwards has devoted his life to taking people back to simpler times when a man's word was his bond and people looked each other in the eye. His tunes also point out that life on the prairie is not always rosy with songs like "Little Joe the Wrangler" about a boy who runs away from home to run cattle and dies in a stampede.

When he was in his 60s, Edwards met Autry and titled one of his albums "My Hero, Gene Autry," which was also the title of a Robbins song. He was also involved in the making of "The Horse Whisperer," a Robert Redford movie, and got to make an album with one of the last singing cowboys, Rex Allen. The record company gave them five days to make an album, but it only took two. The other three were devoted to telling stories, he said.

As the finale, Edwards brought Kendrick and his sons Sam and Jackson on stage to do "This Land Is Your Land," and invited the audience to join in.

Dale and Betty Johnson, two Echoes organizers, said the crowd was enthusiastic.

"I thought the ending was so neat," Dale Johnson said.

"I thought it was a thrill for those two boys," performing with Edwards, Betty said.

Schofield noted this was the first time a nationally known performer had played at Echoes. "We hope it's just the beginning," he said, and that word about three-day the festival will spread.

"It's been good and the weather's been good. That's all we can hope for," Schofield said.