 Cape Breton & Nova Scotia Traditions
Concert Workshop Concert |
Before there was asphalt, folks banded together and built roads of wooden planks. The plank roads of the 1800s kept the mud at bay, helped folks get to the mill, and made the isolation a little easier to endure. These were the times of homemade music - when handmade banjos, mountain dulcimers, drums, fiddles, and guitars hung on the wall and folks looked for any excuse to celebrate with dance, music, songs, story-telling and comradely conversations. One of the longest went from Springfield to Chicago (after Abe Lincoln's Long 8 had the capital moved from Vandalia). They called it The Plank Road. Its still exists (some parts of it with the old name). But then they renamed it for a fellow that was the City of Chicago's first mayor - Ogden Avenue. In the 1970's some like minded folks (folks that sang and played together and enjoyed each other's company) in the western suburbs helped a new fangled coffeehouse get started in the 1970s - The Old Quarter. They all lived near the first plank road and decided to start an organization that could sponsor concerts, sing-a-rounds, music parties and special events in the Western Suburbs. Of course, that's why you're here, isn't it? Welcome aboard and we're glad you're here! For details on how to join us and share the fun, click here.
©2004-2007, Plank Road Folk Music Society |