40 years ago, I worked with Don West, Hedy's father. Hedy cam to visit him some in West Virginia and we played some together then. Here mother painted a picture of Franklin George, Old Man John Fitgerald Hilt and me one year and about three years ago that picture was hanging in the West Virginia archives art center in Charleston. A tourist lady saw me standing next to the picture and asked me if she could take my picture in front of that one. What a treat.

I like Hedy's playing style and many of her tunes. One was this tune. My father sang this tune to me throughout my childhood and here is what he used to sing:

Whatcha goin a do with the baby o (Repeat three times)

Wrap him up in calico

Dance him north and dance him south (sX)
Pour a little moonshine in his mouth

Cradle and churn up and down (3X)
Rock him off to sleepy town.

I had a cradle as did all of my family for 300 years in this country. A leather strap (strop like razor strop in sound) was attached to the handle of the churn and then to the edge of the cradle. As the churning process commended, the cradle would rock gently and the women could get their work done and the baby slept.

Anyway, though you would like to hear a story about Hedy and her family and learn a new verse from Boone County, WV at the same time.

Fred Coon
jobdoc@cox.net