Home | Table of Contents

This is the Valle Crucis String Band which operated during most of the 1930s era, and some of the band members continued to play for dances, etc, after WW2 was over. My dad's brother, George Farthing, played the tenor banjo and also played a saxaphone in some instances. He is shown second from left and is holding his tenor banjo. My brother, Wheeler Farthing, is at lower right and holding his fiddle.( sometimes Wheeler also played the guitar ). At left of Wheeler is Uncle Hard Thomas also holding his fiddle.

Standing at right in back row is Earl Tester, who played guitar. At left of back row is a guitar player, but am not positive of his name. To the right of Uncle George Farthing is, probably, Dave Draughn, from Banner Elk. Dave Draughn played a drum, as shown in front. It is my recollection that he used a large rubber band which was attached to the drum. He would pull on the rubber band and " thump" the band with something like a pencil as he either pulled on the band, thereby making a higher pitched " thump " or letting off somewhat in order to produce a "lower" sounding thump, depending on the "tempo" etc of the tune being played. Also, another band member was Ira Potts, also from Banner Elk, who played a WASH BOARD regularly with the group. He usually had thimbles on his fingers that would produce the desired sound as he played the washboard !!!

The 1934 Chevrolet car belonged to Uncle George Farthing who was a school teacher at the Cove Creek High school at Sugar Grove.


PREVIOUS PAGE......NEXT PAGE