Kickin’ out the Jams
Published 12:42 am Monday, March 27, 2017
- Cheryl Askew of The Dallas Band sings and plays during a Bethlehem Ruritan Jam.
It’s the fourth Friday of the month, and the Bethlehem Ruritan clubhouse on Manning Road is buzzing.
Folks are finding the same seats they sit in twice a month, ordering the same refreshments they eat twice a month and greeting the same folks they sit near twice a month.
Amid the buzz, The Dallas Band sets up guitars, drums, keyboards and a pedal steel guitar. Finally, it’s time to start.
But the first song doesn’t come from the band. It comes from the 120-strong crowd singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer.
Bethlehem Ruritan Jam visitors, including Louise and John Robert Harrup, foreground, recite the Pledge of Allegiance before each event.
“Good evenin’, Lord,” Janet Brinkley prays. She asks for blessings on a member of another band that was supposed to be performing tonight and had to cancel due to health issues. The Dallas Band stepped in at the last minute.
And now The Dallas Band steps on stage. It doesn’t take long for heads to nod, toes to tap and hands to pat knees as the band starts a rousing version of Dion’s 1961 hit “Runaround Sue.”
“Hey, hey, bum-da-diddy-diddy,” the band hums.
The music at the Jams varies — country, beach music, oldies and Motown are the most common. But the crowd, and the seats they sit in, rarely change.
“We try not to miss it,” says Louise Harrup, who always sits in the same seat near the front with her husband, John Robert Harrup. “We just enjoy the music, the fellowship, meeting new friends and seeing old friends.”
On stage, The Dallas Band croons Patsy Cline: “I’m crazy for feeling so lonely. I’m crazy, crazy for feeling so blue.”
The Jams started in 2010 and are now held the second and fourth Fridays of every month, except during holidays.
Rachel Jones and Cathy and Bill Rissell fill an order at the concession stand
“We hope this will be our main fundraiser,” Ruritan member George Fowler says in between hawking 50/50 raffle tickets. “It is a whole lot more fun than going out and selling barbecue tickets.”
Bobby Buck, a 47-year Ruritan member, agrees.
“I wish we’d’a done it a long time ago,” he says. “It really gives back to the community, and that’s what the Ruritans are all about.”
The event benefits scholarships, Boy Scouts, church food pantries, local families in need and other causes the Ruritans support. But it also benefits the community by providing an inexpensive evening of good, clean fun. There’s not even an admission charge — just the raffle, concession sales and a tip jar for the band.
“You can’t find good country music anymore, unless you go to the bar, and a lot of people don’t want to do that,” says Frances Pride, who helps promote country bands in the area. “It’s nice, clean family fun.”
Bethlehem Ruritan Club member George Fowler sells 50/50 raffle tickets during a Bethlehem Ruritan Jam.
The Dallas Band channels Linda Ronstadt: “I’ve been cheated, been mistreated. When will I be loved?”
“You don’t have to go to a bar to listen to good music,” Ruritan Fred Brinkley says. ←
