The Dan Blocker Singers
In 1964, W. Dixon Bowles, a charismatic and talented musician, formed a group of singers out of Odessa, TX. The singers later changed their name to the Dan Blocker Singers after Dan Blocker, of Bonanza fame, offered his name and support in securing the singers opportunities in Hollywood. They made it big in Hollywood in 1966-1967, appearing in a number of television shows and venues such as Milton Berle show, Lucille Ball show, stadiums, night clubs, etc. All the performances, rehearsing, as well as a concern about the Hollywood lifestyle led the singers to call show business quits. In the late 1960s, The Dan Blocker singers moved to the Arkansas Ozarks to live communally. Under the leadership of Bowles, the commune was very strict and entrepreneurial. The Group as they became known as operated a guest ranch around the Clarksville area of Arkansas as well as a set of hotels, butchery, local newspaper, and other businesses at Mount Magazine in Greer’s Ferry. After a series of misfortunes as well as hostility from local citizens The Group left the Ozarks in the early 1970s.
The Kudzu Digital Archive
Check out the digital archive for one of the major underground papers in Southeast during the late 1960s to early 1970s.
Lucky Shot
A lucky shot of a Coopers Hawk on the outskirts of Clinton, MS. Canon EOS Rebel T61 200mm.
Celebration of Life 1971
From MS Sovereignty Commission Online. SCR ID 99-200-28-1-2-2. Originally from Rolling Stone, May 27, 1971. Pg. 27.
Delta Fest 1970
Article reported that seven bands to play at Delta Fest. They were Mississippi X from Jackson; Ginger from Cleveland (MS?); Electrik John of Montrose, AR; Candy Shoestring from Greenville; World Bank of Cleveland; Mississippi Rain from Jackson; and Leon Wright from Greenville.
Edge City
EDGE CITY (1971) 140 North Gallatin Street
“Edge City is a people’s community center…Its main function is to be a cultural center with a progressive outlook which local young people of all races and classes can identify with and be a part of…Because of Edge City’s progressive outlook and democratic non-profit organizational approach, Edge City does not generally appeal to the people in this society who have large sums of money at their disposal…One way to look at it is to think of Edge City as the local seat of Woodstock Nation.”
“Edge City is officially owned by Youth Enterprises, Inc., a non-profit corporation chartered by the state of Mississippi.”
From the beginning people of Edge City were harassed and surveilled by authorities. Despite pleas from influential people in the community to give the group a break, Mayor Russell Davis, the police, the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, and many Jackson citizens did not want Edge City to exist.
The red pins indicate the geographic distribution of people associated with Edge City. Original Source of Data: Mitchell Memorial Library, Mississippi State University
The Trickster
I would love to know what Carl Jung would say about the contemporary state of affairs in the United States. Consider this clip about the “Trickster” from his book The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (1969), p. 263.
A Touch of Color, Eureka Springs 2016
Chris Welkin, Planeteer! 1950s cartoon.
Tmkersen's Blog 