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“Preserving and Perpetuating Old Time Fiddle Music”

July-August 2018

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Presidents Message

A new look for Grant Wheelerwho won the 2018 CertifiedBest Male Entertainer of theYear!! CongratulationsGrant!!

Weiser pictures courtesyof Liz Warner

2018 National Old Time Fiddlers’ ContestCertified Best Male Entertainer of the Year!

I hope all of you are finding a way to stay safe and saneand COOL this summer! As I write this, the predictedhigh for today is 110. Don't know how we ever gotalong without air conditioning. I suppose fiddlers havean advantage over say, golfers, in that they can stayindoors to practice, right?!

We had the opportunity to attend the first ever DunsmuirRailroad Days Fiddle Contest in June. They had a small,but enthusiastic number of participants and Tex and Iare already scheduled to meet with their organizersabout next year's event.

We are fast approaching some larger fiddle contests.The Willamette Valley Fiddle Contest is Friday, August3, at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis OR.That would give you a chance to get up into the coolerenvirons of Oregon.

September 21 and 22 will see the 42nd Annual Fiddlin’Down the Tracks contest in Tehachapi. And, ofparticular importance to Tex and me, the 36th AnnualWestern Open Fiddle Championships will be heldOctober 25-27 at the Red Bluff Elks Lodge.

I know these are not the only events around, and againwant to encourage you to seek opportunities tosubmerge yourself in the music and the atmospherearound old-time fiddling that is always so wonderfuland soul-restoring.

See you down the road...

Sharon

Tehachapi Memorial Day Parade

The Famous Fiddle Float that has belonged to severalDistricts over the years!!

DISTRICT MEETING LOCATIONS, DATES, AND TIMES:

District 1 4th Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m.: Feather River Senior Center 1335 Meyer St. Oroville

District 3 2nd Saturday 2:00-5:00 p.m. 21100 Lonely Lane, Tehachapi Ca

District 4 1st Sunday 1:00-4:00 p.m.: Orange Thorpe Pk. Activity Bldg., 1414 Brookhurst, Fullerton CA

District 5 2nd Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m.: Orangevale Grange, 5807 Walnut Ave. Orangevale CA

District 6

District 7 2nd Sunday: Terrace Estates Clubhouse, 1815 Sweetwater Road, Spring Valley, CA

3rd Sunday: Village Park Rec Club #2, 2099 Mountain Vista Dr., Encinitas, CA 92024

4th Sunday: Rancho San Diego Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego, El Cajon, CA

District 8 2nd & 4th Sunday 1:30-4:00 p.m.: Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Rd. Oak View CA

District 9 4th Sunday 1:30-5:00 p.m.: United Methodist Church, 19806 Wisteria St., Castro Valley CA

District 10 4th Sun.+ traveling jam: Redwood Café, Cotati call Mark Hogan 707-829-8012 or Katy Bridges 415-331-9661

President: Sharon Barrett- texshar@pacbell.net

V. Pres. : Kathy Kampschmidt - kdkampy@sbcglobal.net

Secretary: Mary Rose Preston - maryrose@wavecable.com

Treasurer: Robert Curtis - rocurtis@gatewayacceptance.com

Membership: Charley Oveland - croveland@sbcglobal.net

Editor: Cathy Agnew - themimi@roadrunner.com

California State Old Time Fiddlers’ AssociationP.O. Box 1703 Oroville, CA 95965

State Officers State DirectorsDistrict 1: Teri Rockwell - tbrockwell456@gmail.com

District 3: Gayel Pitchford -- captgayel@cybersurfers.net

District 4: Pat Nelson -- rpnelson@pacbell.net

District 5: Lyle Dixson - Lyle@DATEQ.NET

District 6: Tex Ash -- texshar@pacbell.net

District 7: Chuck Murtomaki - chmurt@cox.net

District 8: Charletta Erb – charlettaerb@gmail.com

District 9: Bob Palasek - r03palasek@sbcglobal.net

District 10: Mark Hogan- hogiemoon@comcast.net

1st Sunday of each month 1:00-4:00 St. James Lutheran Church, 2500 Shasta View Blvd. Redding, CA3rd Sunday of each month 1:00-4:00 Palo Cedro Community Hall, 22037 Old Forty-Four Drive, PaloCedro, CA Open Jam 1:00, Concert 2:00 and Open Mic 3:00. web site: www.northstatefiddlers.com

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Former California fiddle champion and now an Oregon fiddle champion Grant Wheeler placed 5th in the Adult Division andwas announced as the “Best Entertainer Ever” in the certified round. John Francis, former California champion and NationalGrand Champion, won the Senior Division.

Jim French and Ben LiaBraaten accompanied fiddlers again with their guitars. Alex dePue, former national twin champion,provided the entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights with Jim French backing him up.

A special tribute was held on Wednesday night for fiddle family members who passed on since last year. Bill Whitfield andJoan Pollard were among those remembered.

Randy Pollard, former national champion from California, and his wife Kelly attended the Thursday evening performanceto see former California fiddler Evelyn Horner, his first fiddle teacher, receive the Oldest Fiddler Award. Evelyn gave adelightful performance playing and singing “Compadres of the Old Sierra Madre”.

Tallon, Eddie and Lori Sandoval dropped in for a quick visit. Tallon broke his arm the week before Weiser so he was unableto compete this year.

Three fiddlers from Nevada made the trek to Weiser: Leah Bowen (Junior), Fiona McNeil (Junior Junior), and Randy Warner(Senior). The number of contestants was down again this year, to 160 from 180. But the weather was perfect and the extrafree time between classes allowed more time to jam and nap.

Here’s a summary of the winners by division:Katrina Nicolayeff, Grand ChampionVivian Williams, Senior SeniorJohn Francis, SeniorJay Dean Ludiker, AdultAndrew Lin, Young AdultRidge Roberts, JuniorTeo Quale, Junior JuniorBrie Dietrich, Small FryPaul Anastasio, Swing 18 and OverWill MacDonald, Swing 17 and UnderRidge Roberts and Leah Sawyer, Twin

National Old Time Fiddlers’Contest & Festival

The National Finals of FiddlingWeiser 2018

By Liz Warner

The National Old-Time Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho drew fiddlers from as far asKentucky and Pennsylvania this year and the fiddling was better than ever.

California fiddlers who competed included Johnene McDonald; Ben and DawnitaLiaBraaten; Eric and Owen Anderson; Clara, Caite, and Cora Boyle; Mason Miller; Teo,Niko, and Miles Quale; Tristan Clarridge, Shira Ellisman, Alex Sharps and others.

Teo Quale beat out 40 fiddlers to win the Junior Junior Division. Tristan placed 4th in the Grand Champion Division (wonby Katrina Nicolayeff for her 4th time). Alex placed in the top 9 in the Grand Champion Division and played outstandingrounds. Eric judged this year.

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Here’s an assortment of photos by Liz Warner that hopefullygive the flavor of Weiser. Thank you Liz for the great picturesand article!

The Small Fry were charmers, as always.Idaho was the host state this year. Herethey are warming up before an eveningperformance.

Martha Boyle’s three girls (Clara, Caite and Cora) and hernephew Mason Miller (Dan and Susie’’s grandson) had fun inthe campground.

Tallon Sandoval wished John Francis luckbefore the Senior Division.

The number of contestants dropped alittle but it was a great time, as always.

Eric Anderson andRandy Pollard

Uncle Randy. Lord of Camp "Compound W"at National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest

Camping out and jammin’ is the funpart of the contest.

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District Reports

District 1Mary Rose Preston

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District 3Gayel Pitchford

District 4Pat Nelson

We were in the Memorial Day Parade here in Tehachapion Monday, May 28. As you can see, we had a lot offiddlers in the float of all ages. Lots of fun! The Dist. 342nd Annual Fiddlin’ Down the Tracks Fiddle Contest willbe Sept. 21-22 in Tehahapi. Please see attached flyer andalso the HOWDY FORRESTER MEMORIALSCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION which is open to AllCSOTFA members who have finished their Jr. or Sr. yearof high school in 2018 and plan to attend college. Deadlineis quickly approaching.

District 4 had our annual Summer Barbeque at our June meeting. We had a great turnout, including some guests,and lots of fabulous food brought by our fiddlers. Our group is small, but mighty, and we appreciate each others'talents, both musical and culinary!

State Fiddle Contest - We would be happy to hear yourcomments on the annual Oroville State Fiddle Contest ...both compliments and suggestions for improvements.Please send your opinions/observations to:csotfadistrict1@aol.com

Fiddle Workshops -Fiddle Workshops are held on the firstand third Monday evenings. We usually have about 15 to20 people, and have a great time. The first hour we workon new-ish tunes that we are learning, then take a shortbreak, then the second hour we have a circle jam, and areoften introduced to new tunes, some of which become partof our standard play lists.

Group lessons for banjo (first Monday) and mandolin (thirdMonday) are available before the workshop, 6:15 - 6:45,$15.00. To participate in these lessons, call Jimi Beeler(282-3205).

The workshop is open to all acoustic instruments. Theworkshop is free, with a $2.50 museum fee. Sheet musicfor the tunes is available on the District 1 website:csotfad1.weebly.com

District 1 fiddle jams are on the fourth Sundays at 2:00,and are enjoyed by our members and visitors. For a realtreat, come early and enjoy some country/western/ “okie”music with guitar playing and singing. Bring a potluck dishand join the fun.

Photos by Marilynn Hogan.

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District 6Becky Huskey

District 6 continues it's tradition of enjoying 2monthly jams, the 1st and 3rd Sunday of eachmonth from 1:00-4:00. We enjoy an hour ofjamming, then an hour of open Mic followed byan hour concert. This months concerts were TheDistrict 6 Board Band and Blackberry BlossomFarm.

Blackberry Blossom Farm is the SkillmanFamily Band, made up of 3 Sisters; Madison (20)on fiddle, Mariah (18) on guitar, Macy Jae (13)on Mandolin and Jonathan (Dad) on bass. Theyplay gospel, hymns and bluegrass standards.Even their little brother, Nathan joins in the funonce in a while. Mom, Angie, is always anintegral part of their group. The sisters beautiful3 part vocal harmonies are an added bonus.

The Skillman Family will be traveling across thecountry for 6 weeks sharing their music on their2018 Motorhome Tour. Their first CD "Mama'sApron Strings" will be released in July 2018. Besure to follow the The Skillman Family onFacebook as they tour across the country sharingtheir music.

Visit them on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/BlackberryBlossomFarmBluegrassBand/

District 7Greg Gross

Summer came on with a dose of fun at the San Diego CountyFair. Members of District 7 braved the traffic & bureaucraticdelays to entertain at Bluegrass Day at the Fair on June 10th.This activity is arranged each year by the San Diego BluegrassSociety and the North County Bluegrass & Folk Club.Representing District 7 are (l-r in whole stage photo): GeorgeRinner on guitar, Dan Touchstone fiddling, Steve Green* onmandolin, Katleen Green* on fiddle, Tom Dillon* on fiddle,Willie Randel on fiddle, Chuck Murtomaki on guitar andGregory Gross on bass. Also featured was bassist Charlie*.*Special guests to the performance. Photo courtesy David Cupp.

District 10Mark Hogan

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District 9Bob Palasek

Our regular 4th Sunday District 9 jams continued fromspring into summer with slightly smaller turn-outs goingalong with the hot weather. Long time pickers andsingers were joined by some new visitors, both inplaying music and in sharing lunch.

In the 3rd week of June some of our members againfound themselves in Weiser, Idaho for the National OldTime Fiddlers' Contest. We found fewer olderCalifornia fiddlers making the trek, but our youngercontingent made good presentations.

Congratulations especially to the Quales, from ourdistrict. Miles Quale took 4th place in the 17 and UnderSwing Fiddle division, with an especially strong 2ndround. Teo Quale won the 1st place ranking in theNational Old Time Fiddlers Junior-Junior division.

And younger Niko Quale competed in that sameJunior-Junior division. Niko's older brothers are givinghim really stiff competition--for now .Specialacknowledgement goes to their parents, Marie andChris, for fostering such musicianship in their household.

For several years now the California State Old TimeFiddle Association District 10 has participated in amonthly jam at the Ely Stage Stop on Soda Bay Roadin Kelseyville, California. District 10 is now helpingto support an old time and bluegrass festival tosupport the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Associationand the Lake County Historical Society.

District 8Sus Corez

At the recent Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest, which is anannual mecca for Southland bluegrassers and pickers, District8 hosted a jam stage where attendees found cool water, shadeand mighty fine music to share. Charletta Erb and Jim Frieryled the charge and a good time was had by all.

Our latest membership stands at 168 with younger talentstarting to discover the twice monthly jams and delving intoa rich musical past. We use craigslist.com to announce thejams as well as various social media channels. We are alsobrainstorming ideas to spread the word about our Sundayevents, perhaps playing in local parks in a casual setting…witha handful of brochures!

Part 2 of the well attended workshop “How to play leadguitar” was led by our own Steve Linsky. Our workshops areheld one hour before the Sunday jams and we are fortunate tohave fellow members willing to share their knowledge in theseworkshop settings.

We are preparing for the end of summer barbecue and lookforward to the home made side dishes our members cook up.We’ll start organizing committees and volunteers for thisannual event in early August.

July-August 2018

* Limited Space - Reserve Now *Reservation Deadlines Extended to July 18th

ONE DAY WALK-IN FEE - $20 per person - $30 for 2EVENT FEE FOR WEEKEND $45 per person

FAMILY RATE - $60 - 2 people ($15 ea. addl. person)Children 12 and under FREE

CAMPING FEE FOR WEEKEND - $50 (RV or Tent)(Additional fee for overnight campsites only)

Sponsored by CSOTFA District 10

For MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CAMPOUTContact Don Coffin - 707-477-0458 or drcoffin@att.net

For RESERVATION FORM Contact Janette Duncan707-570-2745 (h) 707-483-6885 (cell) or janettefiddler@gmail.com

WorkshopsKid’s ActivitiesJammingOpen Mic

Contra Dance

Jamming

RV & Tent Camping with Full Hookups and BBQ • BathhouseSwimming Pool • Kayak/Canoe Rentals • Boat Launch • Fishing

General Store (Ice, Beer, Soda, Ice Cream, Candy)Playground, Horse shoes, Ping-pong and more

(Fast Food Restaurants, WalMart, Motels Nearby)

Near Beautiful Clear Lake in Lake CountyAt the Clear Lake Campground on Cache Creek in Clearlake, Calif.

www.campclearlake.com

Come join the fun!

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tehachapifiddlers.net

CALIFORNIA STATE OLD TIME FIDDLERSDISTRICT 3 and BOB FORRESTER

present the twelfth annualHOWDY FORRESTER MEMORIAL

SCHOLARSHIPCriteria: (1) Must be a fiddler (2) Just finished Jr. or Sr. year of high school in 2018 (3) Must be a CSOTFA member (4) Plans to attend college (5) Embodies the “spirit of Big HowdyForrester”Award: $1,000 scholarship and plaque to be presented at District 3’s Fiddle Contest in Tehachapi on

Saturday, September 22, 2018Apply: Fill out application on back and submit with essay and copy of CSOTFA membership card

APPLICATION FOR HOWDY FORRESTER SCHOLARSHIP

Name___________________________________________________________

Address________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip___________________________________________________

Phone______________e-mail_______________________________________

Birthday_____________Grade just completed_________________________

Planned major in college___________________________________________

Number of years you have fiddled___________________________________

Fiddle district where you are a member_______________________________

In addition to this signed application, you must submit the following:

1. Copy of current CSOTFA membership card2. An original essay of not more than 200 words which tells how you “embody the spirit of Big HowdyForrester.”District 3’s Board will screen the entries and select the winner, who will be notified in advance of thecontest. The scholarship will be presented at District 3’s Fiddle Contest on Saturday, September 22,2018. The winner must be present and will read their winning essay to the crowd and play a few fiddletunes.3. Deadline for submission of all materials is July 31, 2018. Your application must be in District 3’shands by that date. Postmarks will not be accepted. Send your completed application to CSOTFA,District 3, PMB 400, 785 Tucker Road #G, Tehachapi, CA 93561.4. The Board’s decision will be final, and all essays will become the property of District 3.

I understand and agree to follow all the rules of this contest.

Applicant Signature