Pickin' in the Park

Posted by Jennifer

On the third Friday night of the summer months, the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce holds “Pickin’ in the Park” in Veteran’s Park, downtown Warsaw, North Carolina. We don’t get to go terribly often as we work so far away from Warsaw, and since last month was a rain-out we weren’t sure we’d get to make it at all this summer. But as luck would have it, we had lovely weather for an outdoor jam. Pickers gather under the porch and spectators bring their lawn chairs to watch from the grass. Mr. and Mrs. Martin sell hot dogs and drinks for the Chamber and we usually make those our dinner for the evening.

The crowd of pickers was a small group this night. Football season has started for the schools so Pat Mathis was unfortunately unable to make it there. We sure missed hearing him sing the “Pickin’ in the Park National Anthem”- otherwise known as “Just a Bowl of Butterbeans” sung to the tune of the gospel song, “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.” But J. B. Herring was there with his harmonica, good friends Ray Carter and Tom Evans with their guitars, and trusty David Merritt with his banjo. Lou Gagliano was also there fiddling and… well, what does one call fiddling on a viola? Faddling? (Hmm, maybe that’s where Fiddle Faddle came from? Yum…) William Best and the Bullards were also there to enjoy the festivities.

One fellow from the Duplin Times was there taking photos for the paper. He said a good photo might also be used in a free community calendar next year. As he came around asking for pickers’ names, he said to me, “I hear you’re a championship fiddler, is that right?” I was a little surprised by this, wondering who would’ve told him such a thing. I replied, “No, I’ve never competed.” Only after this did I think of a hundred wittier things I might’ve said- but being quick-witted is David’s forte, not mine.

The jam went on and the cicadas sang along but we couldn’t help but be disappointed when the train didn’t come through town in the middle of our jam. It seems that every Pickin’ in the Park I’ve been to was interrupted by the 9:00pm train whistling and chugging along. Over time, the train’s grand entrance lent a certain charm to the event- particularly when you consider that some of the crowd’s favorite tunes are train songs such as the “Orange Blossom Special” and the “Wabash Cannonball.” But no amount of train-tune-picking could bring on the train that night.
We ended, of course, with Pickin’ in the Park’s second signature tune, “Goodnight, Irene.”

Here's the short article that was in the Duplin Times: