Beyond the Other Side: Bill's Baby Brother

Sunday - October 12, 2008

John Wilson Hardin is the baby brother of Bill and "Twink" alias Charles Hardin. He is the third son of Clyde and Bertha Marrs Hardin. There are fourteen years between the oldest son, Bill, and John. (There’s approximately seven years between Bill and Twink, and Twink and John.) Several weeks ago we had decided to write an occasional post about the Hardin side of the family. John is a very unique person. He would love to have been raised around the likes of Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, and any other traditional Bluegrass artist especially when they played gospel songs. He loves the Primitive Quartet and a host of others that I can't keep track of, or in some instances didn’t even recognize their names.

Bill and I took John to see The Perry Sisters, The Inspirations, and a few other groups at the Huntington Civic Center years ago. A cousin of Dad's - Curtis Lane - was still alive and could always be seen at most of the song fests in the region. Part of the reason was because he loved gospel music, but another reason was because his son - Harold Lane - was a member of the Speer Family. Curt would go to meet and welcome some of his son's friends to our area. (Good old WV hospitality!) The reason I'm telling you this is because he personally introduced John to members of the Inspirations. Now granted, they weren't Bill Monroe or Ralph Stanley, but they were super stars in John's eyes! They all made over him and then autographed a picture for him which he has framed and hanging in his room!

John use to come and stay with us during the summer when we weren't teaching. Now you might think he came because he wanted to visit with his big brother! Wrong - well maybe not completely wrong. The flea market located at the old bus barn in the West end of Huntington had a vendor that sold tapes, cd's, and videos of all the "old" groups that John loved to hear! To tell you the truth, some of the groups we had not heard of before John started buying the tapes. The owner of this particular place took an interest in John (was quite unusual for a person John's age to be interested in all that "old" kind of music). He always gave John a good deal and sometimes would give John a "free" tape! John thought this was great! This gentleman had to sell out his section for several reasons - one being he was ill and could no longer keep up with the work. This saddened John - where would he go now to get these tapes he loved so much? Since this particular vendor is no longer at the flea market - John doesn't come and stay with us! Thus the reason for his visits (we think) - he wanted us to take him to the various flea markets looking for all those tapes that are no longer being produced! He will crank his player up sky high when at home and listen to it for hours. He and Bill are alike in that way – crank the music up as high as it will go – the only difference is the type of music being played!!!!

Another thing about John is his love for “Tweety Bird” – which stems from his younger days as a child. He has a wide collection of “Tweety” around the house – most of which have been presents from the family. We even found a polo shirt with Tweety on it – now that was a prize. He has a collection of Tweety Birds ranging in size. They have found a place in the front bedroom on the spare bed. He keeps an eye on them when we visit and have to move them from the bed.

John isn’t able to work. He does have a handicap, but does not let that deter him from enjoying his life. As long as he can listen to his kind of music, have Tweety Bird around, go to the store when he wants (prefers going at 7:00 in the morning when the store is virtually empty!), and have his mashed potatoes, corn, and cubed steak, life is good for him.

We have chosen some great shots of John through the years to share with you!

A picture of John with his nephew - David! - at Granny's in Inez, KY (1980)