We feel blessed each month to be able to write about so many interesting area people and events. And since this is the official month for Thanksgiving, I’ll share a couple of "thank yous" I’ve received about people we’ve recently featured in our pages.

Gene and Dorothy Gasaway of Huntington say they were "overwhelmed" by the standing-room-only crowd that showed up in Fort Smith last month for a concert held in Gene’s honor.

"I didn’t know we had so many friends," the humble, legendary Western Swing fiddler said of the event, which attracted musicians and fans from all over Arkansas and Oklahoma and several other states including Texas, Missouri and North Carolina.

Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame representatives came from Oklahoma City to induct Gene into that Hall of Fame and present a proclamation in his honor from Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry.

Organized by local television personality Robert Huston, one of Gene’s longtime fans, friends and former piano students, the concert drew a host of ace musicians, including two of Gene’s former Bob Wills Texas Playboys bandmates – vocalist Leon Rausch of Fort Worth and fiddler Curly Lewis of Tulsa. Thanks to help from Jeff Beauchamp of Bedford Camera and Video, the crowd of nearly 600 got to see video of some of Gene’s past performances with Wills and the Playboys, Mel Tilles and other famous musicians.

Rausch, Lewis and other musicians who came to honor Gene and were organized into a super Western Swing band by drummer Tony Ramsey of Poteau. The band included Huston, on piano; Dave Musgrave of Springfield, Mo., on steel guitar; Arkansas Rep. Daryl Pace of Siloam Springs, vocals and guitar; R.W. Tenison of Poteau, bass; Steve Ham of Tulsa, trombone, and fiddlers Roger Sparks of Waldron, Paul Moore of Jonesboro and Alan Gene Gasaway and Robert Huston Ward of Van Buren.

Ricky Young, Steve Carter and Steve Clark led their popular Mr. Cabbage Head and the Screaming Radishes, a mostly rock and soul band that does not do Western Swing. But the Cabbageheads contributed a terrific set that paid homage to both Gene and his fans.

The concert raised nearly $5,000 to help Gene and Dorothy with ongoing medical expenses, and it was fabulous from the first tune, a joyous rendition of the Dixieland-inspired South, to the last – Bob Wills’ classic Maiden’s Prayer. At one point all four fiddlers were playing together. What a show! Gene’s only regret, Dorothy said, was he was unable to join the musicians onstage. Gene and Dorothy send their thanks to everyone who attended the magical evening, which they say they will never, ever forget.

Mary Logan’s dad, Charles Logan, was profiled in our September Outdoors issue, and Mary tells us she is thankful her dad has involved her whole family in his love of outdoor activities like boating, hiking, snowmobiling and shooting.

"Like my mother (Patti Logan) taught me how to be a lady, my dad taught me to love the outdoors," Mary said in a phone call from the University of Denver, where she is a senior majoring in finance and economics. "He started teaching me to shoot clays when I was about 8. Target shooting is a good release and it’s fun to compete with my dad. He’s taught me so many things, he’s been a huge, driving force in everything I do."

Mary is looking forward to spending her Thanksgiving break with her family and several of their relatives at her family’s cabin on Beaver Lake.

"Our family does a lot of outdoors stuff together. We’ll probably ride four-wheelers and my dad and I will probably go target shooting at the range near our cabin," Mary said. "But when he and the other men go fishing, I’ll go shopping with the women. Fishing is not really my thing."

 

Linda Seubold, editor of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, can be reached at lindaseubold@efortsmith.com. Read her archived columns and articles online.

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