Cap Holter and Classic Country

Last Saturday night I went to a dance at the Nashua Senior Citizen Center. The Cap Holter family provided the music. As I listened to the songs I thought how great it was that Cap Holter, who is in his 90s, was joined by his daughter, Joyce, who played the guitar and sang, and his son, Curt, who played his fiddle. Cap played his accordion with an ease gained over the years.

Although there weren’t many people there, you could tell they all enjoyed the music. Granted, it was classic country, but it’s the kind of music that still draws people to the dances in the area.

My mind wandered back to stories I’ve heard over the years of entire families going to country school dances or even dances in homes. Dances that were held before a barn or large equipment shed was put to use. When the children became tired, they could go to sleep on blankets or coats that were piled in one corner.

For a while, though, even the children danced with their parents, learning the steps to the waltz, schottische, butterfly, jitterbug, and more. The smiles on everyone’s faces as they danced or just sat and visited.

Going to a dance on Saturday night brought a respite from the long days and hard work people had put in during the week. It was time to push aside their concerns and problems. Dancing the night away gave them the strength to continue carrying their burdens. The music revived their spirits and determination.

At many of the dances you would find sandwiches, cake, cookies, and pies to feast on. At the barn dances you might even find a keg of beer for the adults and pitchers of lemonade for the children.

When the dance was over, everyone headed home, tired and with a smile on their face. The dance had helped them relax and find enjoyment in visiting with friends and neighbors and listening to the music they had grown up hearing.

A few days ago, I listened to country singer and Country Music Hall of Fame member Jeannie Seely talk about the changes that have come about in country music. She said singers such as Hank Williams, Jim Ed Brown, Faron Young, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and more had had their era in country music. She went on to say although today’s country music isn’t the same, it still is country and now has its era.

But to me, the country music of the 1940s through the 1970s is still going strong. That can be seen at larger dances where young people are still learning how to waltz and two step. It can be seen at the Senior Prom held in Glasgow every spring, where high school students ask the older folks to show them how to do the butterfly or schottische.

Although some may think classic country isn’t really popular anymore, all they have to do is go to a Saturday night dance and they will see that it still is what people want to hear and dance to.