Fiddlin' Around: Competitors take the stage in Clarksville

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

Warming up prior to the contest start are (top photo) Vance Golden and (above) Parker Tibbets. Golden won first place in the youth division, and Tibbets came in second. -- Staff photos by Cope

October 2, 2003 -- Thirteen-year-old Vance Golden of Detroit captured the youth division win of the Sept. 20 Fiddler's Contest during the Red River County Fair. Golden, who has been playing fiddle since the age of 8, credits his "Uncle Bob" Thornburgh for developing his interest in the string instrument.

"One time, when I was little, I went to a bluegrass festival with my Uncle Bob and I heard him play 'Milk Cow Blues,' and I knew I wanted to play. ... He started teaching me, then when I was 11, or 12, I started taking lessons from Boyd Hurt," Golden said.

Claiming the second place win in the youth division competition was Parker Tibbets, 11, of Paris. Tibbets said he enjoys playing the fiddle because "it's relaxing."

Cash prizes for the two winners were $75 for Golden and $50 for Tibbets.

In the adult division, Wayne Head of Idabel, Okla., fiddled his way to a first place win. "It's all about playing and having fun," he said about the competitions. "We go to every one we can."

Head began playing mandolin at age 5, and didn't get into playing the fiddle until he was 25. "But I like it best," he added.

Wayne Head (left) and Tim Martin (right) take a practice run with accompanist Ray Stevens of Gatesville (center). -- Staff photos by Cope

He won the $75 first place cash prize, but also collected the $100 grand prize from the competition.

Winning second place, and $50, was Tim "Grasshopper" Martin of Gatesville. He's been fiddling since the age of 9, and when asked if he had earned any other notable titles during his 30-plus years of playing, Martin said he won "most likely to put up my fiddle and quit."

The Fiddler's Contest drew a great crowd to the fairgrounds in Clarksville. Jack Holt, organizer of the event, said many music-lovers were present at the end of the event when well-known musician Tom Rogers of Annona collapsed after dancing a waltz. "He had a four by-pass (heart) surgery the next day and then the next day he was sitting up in bed," he related. "So he's doing okay."

During the fiddler's competitive performances, each fiddler was accompanied by a standard guitar and bass guitar player. Taking home a first place accompanist title, and $35, was earned by Joe Julian of Paris.