BY ELAINE TURNER

Avid area musicians gathered Feb. 17th at the Mannford Seniors Citizens’ Center for an opportunity to ‘jam’ with Lucille Reilly, three time International Auto Harp Champion and National Champion of the Hammered Dulcimer. A graduate with a Major in Music Education from the West Minister Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. She is well known also as an instructor and has students via the internet as far afield as Australia. From Mannford she will travel to the Winterfest of Acoustical Music in Irving, Tx, where she will hold five auto harp workshops. Mrs. Reilly, long time friend of Mannford’s retired City Attorney Jesse Swift, came for a few days from her home in Aurora, Colorado. Some thirty years ago, her family was in Winfield, Kansas, at a Bluegrass Festival, as were the Swifts. She became sick there while camping in a tent in hundred-degree weather. When Swift saw the situation, he invited her to come into their Motor Home where there was air-conditioning. Swift says they’ve been “jamming together” ever since. Song after song was played by all musicians when beginning notes were heard and a qualification of that’s in key of G or A-Minor. While some tunes may have been familiar, others may not have been unless you’ve frequented Bluegrass Festivals. Liberty and Westfalia Waltz were instrumentals while Cross the Brazos at Waco, begin more of a story rendition, was sung by Mary Lewis. More current songs played were “Those Were The Days My Friend,” “Never on a Sunday,” “Snowbird,” and “Tennessee Waltz.” From time to time, Lucille could be heard to comment with a smile and a roll of her eyes, “Are you tired? I was just getting warmed up,” or with a tilt of her head, “Time out. Let’s do something different.” She requested that Swift do the ‘spooky song’ for her friend M.J. Green of Tulsa. “Boogie Man and Deep Fork-lurking through the bottoms. We could see him now and then. Cockle burrs in his hair, high top tennies; wild and woolly in his mud stained underwear.” Buddy Williams said he first heard the spooky song at Terlton, OK, when he was a kid. It came from some Gypsies who were camped down on the Deep Fork River near Stroud. Playing guitar were Jesse Swift and Mary Coleman Lewis (known in our area as the lady with the purple western hat). Mary’s brother, Earl “Buddy” Williams played the mandolin and violin, Deena Key dropped by for a short time to join in with a violin and Lucille played her hammered dulcimer. In audience were Nancy McIntire, Stephanie Brasier, Nicole McKinney, Harvey Williams, and his mother Wanda, M.J. Green of Tulsa, sisters Helen Grennell and Lucille Reilly’s website is www. thedulcimerlady.com