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One More Time for Musselman's Grove

It had been a while since Sandy Davis thought about her days scampering around Musselman's Grove in Klahr, but mention of the place brought a laugh from this Martinsburg-area woman and a flood of sweet memories.

"Oh I remember Musselman's Grove, I used to go there all the time," she said. "I lived in East Freedom and my grandparents lived in Klahr and I'd stay with them on weekends."

The entertainment history and the nostalgic memories linked to Musselman's Grove as time passes have prompted a renewed interest in the facility itself, the crowd it attracted and the music heard across the valley on many Sundays.

After months of trimming, brush-cutting, cutting grass and painting, the grove will be the site of a reunion of sorts.

While the program will not mirror the top-notch county artists of seven or eight decades ago, the much-anticipated June 25 show will feature a dozen or so well-respected bluegrass and country bands from the region, said Rich Allison, a lifelong Claysburg-area resident with wide knowledge of the area's history.

'Filled a void'

The ideal setting of Musselman's Grove, in Greenfield Township, and its capacity to handle a crowd, filled an entertainment void in the region.

"There was no TV or anything," Allison said, explaining the popularity of the site which attracted country entertainers arriving in stretch limos and tour buses.

According to historical documents provided by Allison, John Musselman and his family came from Lancaster County as early as 1803.

Musselman built his cabin in front of what is now the Lower Claar Church of the Brethren. Allison said the existing cemetery behind the church started as the Musselman plot.

It took about 100 years for Musselman's Grove to materialize when it became site of he Claar and Walter reunion.

It was in the 1940s that the Musselmans began holding reunions at the site, but it was the Claar and Walter reunion that first attracted entertainment.

"At one point, the Claar and Walter reunion was one of the biggest events in the state," Allison said. "Someone (in the family) was a big promoter of the event and brought entertainment in."

Country comedian Minnie Pearl was at the reunion in the 1930s and Grandpa Jones, a well-known country entertainer, was a performer at the event about five times, Allison said.

"He would come and stay in local homes and at one point he shared a bed with one of my uncles," Allison said.

Vaudeville stars

Word of Musselman's Grove spread to Doc Wiiliams, a promotor from WWVA Radio, Wheeling, W. Va.

"It was Doc Williams who put Musselman's Grove on the map with big-name country music stars combined with vaudeville acts and comedy," Allison said.

In a document authored by Williams, he wrote, "At the time in 1947, it was the heyday of country music parks in Pennsylvania. The crowds we had there were huge."

Estimated are of 5,000 people attending on one particular weekend, while another account sets a record crowd estimated at 8,600.

Williams rented the Grove for $25 a week for three consecutive years 1947, 1948 and 1949.

The increased focus on the property brought about significant improvements to the stage and concession stands.

Painting in Esquire magazine

Williams continued to rent the property sporadically until the early 1970s, according to Allison.

Some of the entertainment Williams brought in included vaudeville acts such as Martinez and his Animal Circus, which included a mouse and a cat crossing on a wire.

A circular Coca Cola sign and two Coke bottles highlighted the top of the stage.

It was that logo that helped identify the stage in a painting in a December 1959 edition of Esquire Magazine. The picture was painted by Tom Allen, described by Allison as a "well-known New York illustrator."

The illustration shows a group of people dressed in black clothing standing at the right-front, near the stage.

The Esquire article described them as a group of Amish giving their silent approval to the entertainment.

Not so, said Allison.

"They were Church of the Brethren people from Upper and Lower Claar churches," he said. "Up until the 1960s, especially, older members of the Church of the Brethren dressed in black similar to the Amish or Mennonites."

Williams was a promoter in more ways than one. He had to have Musselman's Grove open on Sunday because Saturday he was committed to the show in Wheeling.

Pennsylvania Blue Laws prohibited stores from opening on Sunday. In his book, Williams admitted that he convinced the Smokey Road Run and Gun Club of Klahr, a non-profit organization, to sponsor the shows, bypassing the law.

 

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