Almost a decade ago, Bill and Larry Brown created a couple of BGA events: 1) an evening of Camp HyLake songs and reminiscing on stage in the auditorium, 2) Camp HyLake reunion lunch followed by spontaneous recollections and a couple of camp songs in the athletic building. Both events were led by some of us octogenarian guitar-playing camp alumni.
We met a few times to prepare for these occasions and to enjoy some country tunes from our youth. One of them sounded pretty good, Blue eyes crying in the rain. The lead singer in this video was Larry Stumb, who assembled some pickers perhaps a year later to lead music down at the Nashville Rescue Mission for morning devotionals led by one of Larry’s friends. We did that several times over the next year or so. Preparing for those events evolved into a song circle that met every few weeks at the homes of the pickers, early on in Larry Stumb’s back-room den, then in Coach Stewart's sun room and eventually in Bill Brown’s basement den.
We were all in our eighties and unsteady, so we decided to name ourselves “The Stumblers” – alluding to our infirmities and honoring our founding member, Larry Stumb. Early on, Bill’s energetic young friend and helper Ashlie Jewel joined the group and became the sine-qua-non of the circle, as can be appreciated in the following videos: I am weary and Last Cheater's Waltz .
I had to quit a few years ago, having dozed off at a few traffic stops on the way home. Larry Stumb became too crippled to continue and he died about a year ago. He was the consummate people person, interested in and supportive of everyone he knew. His devotion to country music was inspiring; his knowledge of it encyclopedic. This long-lasting song circle, The Stumblers, keeps on regenerating itself owing to Bill Brown's generous hosting and Ashlie's loving direction. It is a worthy tribute to its namesake, our modest and devoted friend, Larry Stumb.
