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| Uncle Frank and me around 1940 |
As a child, one of my favorite people in the world was my Uncle Frank Durham. Actually, he was not 'blood kin' ; he was married to dad's foster sister, Louise. Living their entire lives in the mill village of Bynum , North Carolina, at the time
of his retirement, he had risen to Superintendent of the mill.
He kept my brothers and me supplied with dimes and Juicy Fruit chewing gum.
The archives of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Southern Oral History contains an interview with "Unk" that I treasure. His and other interviews in time became Like a Family, a study of Southern cotton mill villages, published by UNC Press.
A hallmark of many of these villages was their "string bands", as they were usually called. Bynum in the 1920's and '30's also had several musicians that attained some regional acclaim. One such group was "The Chatham Rabbits", for which Uncle Frank was one of the guitarists. In recent years, a husband and wife duo calling themselves the Chatham Rabbits is achieving wide recognition. (Check their web page.)
So, what's with the 'Rabbit' ? There is even a great coffee shop here in our town with the name "Chatham Rabbit".
And, this mural on another downtown business pays further tribute to the past importance of the rabbit.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the furry rabbit was prolific in Chatham County (NC) and was valued for its fur and its meat. Huge quantities were shipped by rail along the Eastern US seaboard. Between 1910 and 1914 , according to an article in a local newspaper, 94,342 rabbits were shipped from Siler City alone. (If this interest you, put your search engine on 'origin of the Chatham Rabbit.) According to Unk, an illness of some type virtually decimated the rabbit population, probably in the early 1930'.
When he was around 20 years old, Uncle Frank became part of the 'Rabbits'. By the late 1920's there were several string musicians in the village. The chief influence for this was a string virtuoso named McKinley McDaniel. 'Unk' credited McDaniel with his own early training and decision to purchase a guitar from a pawn shop.
Uncle Frank identified the original members as "two good fiddle players" (Walter Farrell and his son, Frank), a "banjo player" (David Baker), "a harp blower" (harmonica) (Talt Riggsbee), "a mandolin" player (Briggs Atwater)and himself and Bob Clapp as guitarist and vocalists. The band quickly gained local recognition and soon was performing on radio station WPTF in the capital city of Raleigh. He remembered that "we got a lot of telegrams, including one from Alabama".
The radio gigs apparently ended when spouses complained about the amount of time the men were away.
Walter "Corkey" Harris , 'unofficial' historian of Bynum. remembered that his grandfather (Frank Farrell) told him stories about the band. "They played for a lot of dances in the area and had a pretty good reputation. Pa played the fiddle as did his daddy. . . . They would travel to Raleigh and play on WPTF radio station." He further recalled his grandfather's telling him that "they had to walk down a long hallway to the studio where they were to play. At the end of the hallway was a large wall mirror. As his daddy, I.W. Farrell (Walt) came to the turn, he tipped his hat to the man he saw coming toward him. That fellow tipped his hat at the same time to Mr. Walt who never realized who it was that was so polite."
Unfortunately, no recordings by the original Chatham Rabbits have been located. Uncle Frank continued to play with other groups as this photo indicates:
Back: Uncle Frank and Cecil Ellis.
In researching for this post, I came across the names of other Bynum musicians, including Raymond Gerringher and Archie Ross. The new Chatham Rabbits who also live in Bynum wrote of having learned that a former occupant of their house, Randolph 'Suzie' Riddle, had played guitar with the original 'Rabbits'.
Thanks to the new "Rabbits" for honoring and keeping the music alive.
Satchel
