From: mack
Date: June 23, 2005
Good site and way to keep alive one of the original and great movements in true all-American music - - - - - -- - THANKS!!
I have been Bob Wills, Johnnie Lee Wills, Billy Jack Wills, Luther J. (Luke) Wills and Leon McAuliffe (bands) fan all my life - - - saw them all regularly. Lived near Fort Smith and in Tulsa and often was an in-person appreciator - -- - as well as on radio. I tried to play fiddle a little and wound up a serious collector of fiddles and bows - - - but especially anything of the Wills era. Had one of Bob's old fiddles, and I got it autographed by several original Playboys. It was an old Mittenwald violin and later I sold it to Byron Berline, who generously has loaned it to the present Bob Wills Exhibit at the Sand Springs (OK) Museum - - in downtown Sand Springs. It's an interesting exhibit with both Bob and Johnnie Lee, as well as other related memorabilia. If anyone is interested and near, it's worth your while to re-think the "good ole' days." I have a good-sized collection of old original photographs of all the Wills' and bands and various scenes and several are on display at the Museum now. I have used your site to learn about some of the guys I'd lost track of. Thanks again. Mack Bettis - - Tulsa