Johnny Ray Bruce
Johnny Ray Bruce was born April 28, 1939 and as an adult lived about a mile outside of the small town of Bosworth, Missouri, in Carroll County. He made a living as a “dirt farmer” and a welder and ran a business with a cousin laying field tile. Mr. Bruce came from a musical family; his father, Tyson Bruce, was a well-known square-dance fiddler. Johnny began playing the fiddle at age nine. He credits his father and an uncle, Dewey “Dude” Bruce as musical influences, as well as friends, radio, and recordings.
b. 1939 d. 1992
Bosworth, Missouri
Old-Time Fiddle
Apprentices:
1986 Holly Gorsett
1987 Robbie Schiezer
1988 David Bruce
1989 Heather Tietjens
1990 Robert Patrick
1991 Patricia Spainhour
Mr. Bruce made many friends as a contestant and judge in state and national fiddle competitions, as well as through his teaching in places like the Bethel Fiddle Camp and through TAAP. He played for “enjoyment, money, making people happy and most of all, hopefully passing on and keeping alive the art of old time fiddling.”
Bruce recognized that enjoyment is intrinsic to learning the instrument, as noted by folklorist Margot Roberson in 1986. She observed Mr. Bruce “doesn’t believe in the easy-to-difficult approach . . . they pick a tune [the apprentice] likes or they both like, and, difficult or easy, she learns it.” He was particularly interested in teaching his apprentices the subtleties of good playing. Outside evaluator, James M. Shirky, observed during a TAAP site visit in 1987, “Not just once, but several times, Johnny Bruce noted that ‘John Q. Public’ wants ‘show tunes,’ a lot of elbow action, burning up the strings – effect instead of essence.”
In a letter to MFAP in 1990, apprentice Robert Patrick (who was also a master blacksmith with TAAP) said, “I am really happy with what I learned from Johnny. He doesn’t realize how much he inspired me and helped me & the tunes have stuck–I am getting better at them all the time.”
Johnny Bruce died in a car accident in the summer of 1992 at the age of 53. In an obituary in the Daily Democrat, folklorist, fiddler and former director of the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center Howard Marshall had many warm recollections of Mr. Bruce: “He had a character that people really enjoyed, and he put Carroll County on the map.” Mr. Bruce’s wealth of knowledge and openness to sharing that knowledge were evidenced by another of Marshall’s comments: “’When a person like Johnny dies, it’s like when a library burns down.’”
Audio clip: As part of their participation in TAAP, Johnny Ray Bruce recorded his lessons with apprentice Holly Gorsett. Many tapes from these lessons are archived at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the Missouri State Historical Society in Columbia, Mo.
Richard Martin
Richard Martin was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928, and in the course of his life lived in Chicago, New York, and Mire, France. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration and worked with computers and in teaching positions like adjunct faculty at the Harris-Stowe State College in St. Louis. An active member of the arts community in Missouri, he founded the Children’s Performing Arts Academy in St. Louis and was a member of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis and the Missouri Folklore Society.
b. 1928 d. 2008
St. Louis, Missouri
Jazz Tap Dance
Apprentices:
1987 Dana Jackson, Alan McLead, Jimmie Lee Meyers, Jayda Guinn
1988 Dana Jackson, Alan McLead, Wallace Robinson
1989 Phylis Davis, Jayda Guinn, Dwayne K. Robinson
1990 Allyssa Brown
1991 Netasha Williams, LaTonya Frison, Kashita Wicks
1992 Sean McGilberry
1993 Troy James, Joe Hayden, Albert Wilson Hodge
1995 Lavette Bluett, Ken Turner
1997 Mark Gladney
The nephew of the world-renowned dancer Josephine Baker, Mr. Martin’s desire to perform seemed fated; his very first venues included the living rooms of his family and neighbors. His formal career began with a performance with the legendary Bill “Bojangles” Robinson when Mr. Martin was only four years old; at the age of 10, he had performed at places like the St. Louis Municipal Opera, community centers, and neighborhood taverns.
Mr. Martin founded the Children’s Performing Arts Academy, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to teaching arts like jazz tap and other arts to disadvantaged youth in the St. Louis area. Martin intended the Children’s Performing Arts Academy as a source of motivation and discipline that translated to all aspects of his students’ lives. He took a great deal of pride in noting that his pupils obtained at least a high school education, if not further. His students’ admiration was evident in their desire to emulate Mr. Martin. In an application dated 1991, apprentice Sean L. McGilberry stated that he wanted to be a professional performer and teacher himself, and ““I take pride in the knowledge that I have obtained through Mr. Martin’s leadership and being aware of who I am and having some focus to where I am going with my skills.”
Mr. Martin co-produced the African & Irish American Multi-Cultural Concert in St. Louis in collaboration with TAAP master Helen Gannon; the event featured performances in both African-American jazz tap dance and Irish American step dance, in an innovative display of the relationship between the two art forms.
Mr. Martin’s frequent involvement with the TAAP program often included multiple apprentices in a range of ages from grade school to high school. His commitment to teach the art form and to educate his students about its complex cultural heritage was apparent in the statements from the apprentices themselves. Missouri Folk Arts Program Director Dana Everts-Boehm relates in a site visit report in 1991 of how “they loved the dance classes–but how Mr. Martin was a tough taskmaster.”
Audio clip: Richard Martin asks a student to demonstrate a new step and then supervises the whole group practicing it in a lesson recorded September 9th, 1993.
Martin J. Bergin
In his 1986 application to the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, Martin Bergin wrote, “The highest honor I have received or could ever receive is the acceptance and recognition of my saddles by my peers and those buckaroos and cowboys whom I serve.”
b. 1939
Overland, Missouri
Saddlemaker & Cowboy Poet
Apprentices:
1986 Franklin Holler (saddlemaking)
1987 Caroll Ray Wayne (saddlemaking)
1988 Suzanne Polson (saddlemaking)
1989 Michael Phillips (saddlemaking)
1990 Michael Phillips (cowboy poetry)
1997 Donald Dascher (saddlemaking)
2001 James Messner (saddlemaking)
2011 Mike Massey (saddlemaking)
Martin Bergin learned saddlemaking from old-time saddle makers in West Texas and New Mexico, where he worked as a cowboy, horsebreaker and rodeo competitor as a young man. He had already been a saddlemaker for fourteen years when he enrolled in the J.M. Saddlemaking School in Whitewood, South Dakota. Mr. Bergin described his commitment to teaching to Alex Primm during an outside site evaluation in 1988. “I figure that I’ve learned so much from other people during my life, that I feel I have some kind of obligation to pass on what I’ve learned to others.” His work with seven different apprentices during eight partnerships in TAAP demonstrates his drive to share his knowledge and skills.
Suzanne Polson (1988 TAAP apprentice) met Martin Bergin when she brought him a 1902 West Texas trail saddle for restoration, after trying unsuccessfully to get other saddle shops to take on the difficult project. She spoke highly of Martin Bergin’s teaching: “he showed confidence in my ability to learn saddlemaking and was willing to teach me without taking into consideration the fact that I am a female.” Another apprentice, Michael A. Phillips, observed, “After working with Mr. Bergin for a couple of years I have recognized the vast amount of saddlemaking knowledge that he has and more importantly the fact that he is willing to work with apprentices and teach the tradition. Most saddlemakers won’t take the time to pass the tradition to others.”
Mr. Bergin is not just a saddlemaker, however. He is also a well-known expert in the history, composition and performance of cowboy poetry. In 1990, he was the first TAAP master artist to teach a verbal art. After a site visit in March of 1990, MFAP staff member Patrick Janson wrote, “Bergin is not only a wonderful spokesperson for the state’s traditional arts, he is a well-informed practitioner. Most everyone who comes into contact with Martin appreciates the artistry of his saddlemaking, but few understand his depth of knowledge when it comes to Missouri’s historic ties to the nation’s cowboy/western heritage.” Mr. Bergin’s poetry was described by MFAP staff member Julie Youmans as “witty…and bittersweet.” He frequently signed his correspondence “Take care, hoss, and keep your saddle blankets clean.”
Audio clip: Jim Messner and Martin Bergin describe their “real technical tool”—a doorknob—to MFAP Folk Arts Specialist, Deborah Bailey in a 2002 site visit.
Bob Holt
b. 1930 d. 2004
Ava, Missouri
Ozark Fiddling
Apprentices:
1988 Venae Heier
1989 Venae Heier
1990 Emily Longworth
1992 Hannah Dowden
1993 Mike Fraser
1994 Mike Fraser
1998 Liz Amos
1999 Liz Amos
2000 Travis Bently
2001 David Scrivner
Master Bob Holt’s place in the Ava fiddling tradition is a prominent and proud one. In his 1989 application to the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, he wrote about how he learned to play from uncles and other local fiddlers; his father also whistled tunes for his son to learn, and Bob Holt listened to recordings from the 20’s and 30’s. In his learning, Mr. Holt gained a deep appreciation for the relationship between old-time fiddle music and square dance in the Ava area. In another TAAP application, he wrote, “I grew up as the only fiddler in a large family of good dancers and probably learned as much about playing dances from them as I ever did from any fiddlers, and it has always been a great part of my life.”
Mr. Holt’s lessons with his apprentices emphasized how to cater to dancers, particularly by making the tunes “more danceable.” Mr. Holt stated, “The difficult thing is to teach someone else the rhythmic style of bowing and the speed which is required to make them acceptable to our dancers. My father once told me in explaining how to play for dances, ‘you have to give dancers a place to put their foot down.’ That says it all.” Mr. Holt recognized how important dancing is to a square dance fiddler’s education; in his work plan for his 2001 apprenticeship with David Scrivner, he wrote that along with one-on-one lessons, he would encourage Scrivner to keep on attending, playing, and dancing at local dances “to learn about the interrelationship between the music and the dance.”
The mutually satisfying relationship between master and apprentice was evidenced by the frequency with which he took on apprentices for a second year. Apprentice Venae Heier, whom Bob Holt had known “all her life,” wrote in 1988, “I have had the privilege of being an apprentice under Bob Holt’s instruction…Bob and I have developed a mutual understanding and respect for the art of fiddling.” Another apprentice, Mike Fraser, stated after his first year of apprenticeship, “I feel that I learned more about fiddle playing from Bob Holt in 16 lessons than I would have in 5 or 10 years doing it alone. Maybe never!”
TAAP outside evaluator Catherine Parce, in a 1990 site visit report, noted how Mr. Holt valued the relationship between music and his community. She stated that he “cares about the Ava music community and does all he can to help it thrive by teaching and by frequently playing for Saturday night dances held in the basement of the Ava Masonic Temple. “
Mr. Holt received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1999.
Audio clip: Master Bob Holt surprises his apprentice Liz Amos with his decision to play “The Missouri Waltz” in an afternoon performance at the “Tuesdays at the Capitol“ series on April 14, 1998.
Pete McMahan
Pete (Preston) McMahan was born near Bluffton, Missouri. Throughout his life, he worked in tire sales and service; he was a veteran of World War II. Mr. McMahan became interested in playing the fiddle at age six listening to old time fiddler Clark Atterberry play at local dances.
b. 1918 d. 2000
Harrisburg, Missouri
Old Time Fiddle
Apprentices:
1989: John Griffin
1990: John Griffin
1991: Victor Phelps
1998: John P. Williams
1999: John P. Williams
Mr. McMahan and his seven siblings all played musical instruments; he stated, “We just entertained ourselves” at home and at parties. He won his first fiddle competition at age fifteen, and he remained an active, much-honored contestant (calling his prizes “grocery money”) and contest judge for decades. Among his many accolades, Mr. McMahan was inducted into the Missouri Old-Time Fiddling Hall of Fame, and he recorded several albums of fiddle tunes, including a selection in the Grammy-nominated Now That’s a Good Tune: Masters of Traditional Missouri Fiddling. In 2005, a 2-CD set titled, Pete McMahan: 50 Old-Time Fiddle Gems, was released. Produced by Mr. McMahan’s long-time friend and fellow fiddler Howard W. Marshall with assistance from Sarah McMahan, these recordings are reissues of four LPs made by Mr. McMahan in the 1970s.
Mr. McMahan’s quick, lively “Little Dixie” style was well suited for dancing. Apprentice John Griffin stated that emulating the master fiddler’s style was difficult, because although he had been able to learn some by listening, Mr. McMahan played with such speed that figuring out the correct bowing and fingering was hard. In his lessons, Mr. McMahan slowed the tunes down and Griffin was able to keep up. In 1989 Griffin wrote, “For me, Pete’s delivery of his music is more full of life and emotion than any other fiddler I have ever heard. He is the best.“
In a TAAP site visit report from 1990, Howard Marshall stated, “McMahan is an impeccable master fiddler and known far and wide for his music. He has deep authentic roots in the strictest definitions of traditional art in Missouri. “ Mr. McMahan often told Marshall, “You’re not playing the fiddle unless you make people want to dance.”
Audio clip: Pete McMahan discusses and demonstrates harmonic notes on the fiddle in a lesson with John Williams from 6/11/1998.
For further online reading, check out the profile of Pete McMahan at Missouri Traditional Fiddle & Dance Network and a tribute in 2000 from Howard W. Marshall in Fiddler Magazine.
Darold Rinedollar
Blacksmith Darold Rinedollar is known for his horseshoeing and agricultural blacksmithing, as well as fine decorative and household work. Originally from Rockford, Illinois, Mr. Rinedollar learned his trade from aging German blacksmiths in upstate New York when he was a young man. Mr. Rinedollar takes great pride in his work and communicated that pride to his apprentices. “That’s what I was taught by the old Germans I apprenticed under in New York State. Besides trying to get across why we do each step that we carry out, I try to get across the difference between crap and the best that we can do. The old timers were concerned with getting it right. Speed wasn’t that important to them. It had to be done right. We know the difference.” A working smith since 1956, Mr. Rinedollar told MFAP staff in 1985 that blacksmithing “is my life. I have never wanted to do anything else.”
b. 1937
Augusta, Missouri
Blacksmithing
Apprentices:
1986 Marty Pehle
1987 Paul Harvey
1988 Paul Harvey
1989 Paul Harvey & David Gronefeld
1992 Richard Lortz
1994 Michael Brewer
Outside evaluator Sandy Primm observed in 1988 that, “pride is one of the main things Rinedollar tries to get across.” Apprentice Paul Harvey understood Rinedollar’s teaching and clearly felt a similar pride in the work he performed with his hands, writing in a 1987 TAAP application, “I stand there black as the coal I use, with people looking in wondering, how can he do this? Where is the machine? I can honestly answer, right here in my own two arms.”
Rinedollar was very warm in his praise of apprentice Paul Harvey in his letter supporting the partnership for 1987. He had worked with him in the past, and said of Harvey’s maturing within the profession, “I hired a typical teen-age boy who couldn’t wait to get paid and leave early Friday to go “cruising” up and down 5th St. and ended up with a very responsible man who, on more than one occasion, has worked with me up until 1 or 2 AM when I had to have a project done or was going to a show the next day.”
In his application to apprentice with Mr. Rinedollar, Michael Brewer wrote, “Darold Rinedollar is probably one of the more accomplished blacksmiths in this region and from my observation is a very patient and willing teacher. His knowledge of ornamental ironwork is extensive and his style is well known.”
Passing his knowledge on through first-hand learning was extremely important to Mr. Rinedollar. He said, “Even something as simple as heating steel “cherry red” cannot be explained in a book. It must be part of the tradition; until someone shows each beginner what it should actually look like, the beginner has no reference. Each person’s eye has to be trained, everyone has to learn the color for themselves.”
Audio clip: Mr. Rinedollar explains the different types of coal, including green coal and coking coal, used to achieve the proper temperature and flame type in the forge to MFAP staff members during a January 1986 site visit.
William Graves
When William Graves was asked in 1987 if there was anything in particular he wanted to include in Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program publicity about his art or his life, he wanted it known that he’d “soon have enough grandchildren to dob a house.” William Graves lived in Lebanon, Missouri and among his professions he listed were farming and construction. He was also a valuable link in the continuance of the Graves family tradition of the walking cane dulcimer.
b. 1917 d. 2001
Lebanon, MO
“Walking Cane” Dulcimer
Apprentices:
1986 Lynn Wosilait
1987 Stephen Atwell
1988 Stephen Atwell
1989 Connie Renee (Graves) Welch
1990 Paul Vandaveer, John Graves
The “walking cane” dulcimer is an integral part of the Graves family tradition; that particular kind of dulcimer was created by his grandfather, John Mowhee, a Cherokee who served with the Union Army as a scout. The instrument got its name for its dual purpose as a musical instrument and, according to family stories, a walking aide for Mowhee. This dulcimer variation has three strings and is played by strumming the strings with a turkey quill.
Mr. Graves learned to play dulcimer from his mother, who was herself a fiddler. “When I was learning to play this dulcimer,” Graves said, “mother made me pick it with my thumb before she gave me a turkey quill to use. I wore all the hide off that thumb! I wasn’t but nine when I started playing.” As an adult, Mr. Graves performed frequently in his community with his wife Doris, his sons Don and John, and his daughters Vivian and Daisy.
The walking cane dulcimer’s appeal as an instrument and William Graves’ appeal as a master are evident in the number of apprentices he took on through the years. Not only did he work with his own children, he also took on neighbors and others from the surrounding area who had an interest in learning the instrument. His son John and daughter Vivian were both motivated to keep on the family tradition; Vivian stated, “I grew up listening to this way of playing. Maybe someone else would enjoy it and I can play it.”
John recognized the difficulty in keeping the tradition alive, and he said, “I have been wanting to learn how to play the dulcimer for some time, but could never get dad to take the time I needed. I feel I had an extra bonus by being in the program and having my dad for a master.”
Apprentice Connie Welch (TAAP 1989) stated, “Mr. Graves is a traditional Ozark music man,” and his abilities, she said, were “outstanding.” Today the walking cane tradition continues to be a part of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program through Bill’s son Don, a master of the walking cane dulcimer himself, who is creating, playing, and teaching the instrument to this day.
Audio clip: William Graves instructs his apprentice and son John Graves. The Graves recorded many of their lessons, which are now housed at the Western Historical Manuscripts collection at the Missouri State Historical Society.
John Glenn
b. 1926
St. Joseph, Missouri
Blacksmithing
Apprentices:
1996 Melvin Glenn
1997 John Wiggington
1999 William Glenn
2002 Calvin Glenn
2006 Calvin Glenn
2007 Frank Hurt
John Glenn learned the art of blacksmithing from his father, a practicing blacksmith in St. Joseph, Missouri. According to town tradition, St. Joseph was the last stop for wagon repairs for those traveling West, so blacksmithing has a long and venerable history in that area.
In his lessons, Mr. Glenn’s first goal is to orient the apprentice on the safety rules of the shop. Then he taught his apprentices metal identification, composition, and properties. With this background knowledge in place, Mr. Glenn demonstrated methods for handling the fire and shaping and forging the metal and supervised the apprentice in his work. Mr. Glenn was also interested in teaching team hammering, in which, he said, “The smith and his three helpers would stand around the anvil in a circle. The smith would strike the work and each helper would duplicate his strike in turn.”
Mr. Glenn’s work complements the historical richness of St. Joseph; for example, in a TAAP application dated 2005, he stated “I make, restore, and repair ironwork fences that are found around some of the old Victorian era houses in St. Joseph,” and he also fashions tools to aid in the restoration and upkeep of historic buildings.
Mr. Glenn’s lessons were applicable to the many functions of blacksmithing, as evidenced by the wide range of interests his apprentices had in the craft. According to former apprentice James George in a letter written to support Mr. Glenn’s application to TAAP, Mr. Glenn’s apprentices learn “early American rifle building, ornamental iron work, hobby knife making, iron art sculpture, and medieval weaponry,” as well as creating camping equipment.
Mr. Glenn’s apprentices included family members like his grandson, Calvin Glenn, who began his apprenticeship when he was still in high school, as well as his son, William Glenn. William praised the usefulness of the lessons with his father, stating that he “has helped me in the making of my specialized tools for working on old and historic buildings,” and said that Mr. Glenn was “extremely knowledgeable and quite skilled.”
Audio clip: John Glenn demonstrates tongs specifically designed to work with horseshoes to an audience gathered at in Jefferson City as part of the Tuesdays at the Capitol program on April 28, 1998.