(Music playing)
(Music playing)
HI, I'M DAVE SHUFFETT AND
WELCOME TO KENTUCKY LIFE
I'M SO GLAD YOU COULD
COME ALONG TONIGHT
BECAUSE WE'RE GOING
DOWN ROADS AND WATERWAYS
FEW FOLKS TRAVEL ANY MORE
FIRST WE'LL LISTEN TO SOME
OLD-TIME FIDDLE MUSIC
AND MEET A MAN WHO'S
DEDICATED SOME 30 YEARS
TO UNDERSTANDING AND
DOCUMENTING ITS TRADITIONS
THEN WE PUT DOWN THE TOP
ON A '60s CONVERTIBLE
THAT'S MORE THAN A CAR
YOU COULD SAY OUR SHOW TONIGHT
IS SOMETHING OF A TIME CAPSULE
THROUGH OUR TWO STORIES
WE MEET PEOPLE PROFOUNDLY
INTERESTED IN THE PAST
JOHN HARROD IS A FORMER RHODES
SCHOLAR AND HISTORY TEACHER
A MUSICIAN, TOO
IN THE 1970s
HE BECAME INTERESTED
IN THE FAST DISAPPEARING
FIDDLE TRADITIONS OF KENTUCKY
HE AND FRIENDS SOUGHT
OUT THE PRACTITIONERS
AND BECAME PART OF THEIR LIVES
THEY LEARNED FROM THEM
RECORDED THEIR TUNES
JOHN EVEN PERFORMS THEM
AS A MEMBER OF A GROUP
CALLED "THE CLODHOPPERS"
IT WAS A MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP
THE FIDDLERS KNEW THAT WHAT
THEY DID WAS QUITE OLD
JOHN CAME ALONG JUST WHEN
THEY WERE THINKING THEIR MUSIC
OUGHT TO BE RECORDED
IT WAS HISTORY
SPEAKING AFTER ALL
AND SOMETIMES YOU COULD HEAR
ECHOES FROM AS FAR AWAY
AS THE CIVIL WAR
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
ALL RIGHT
ALL RIGHT
ALL RIGHT, WONDERFUL
THAT "CHRISTMAS CALICO'S"
A GOOD OLD TUNE
NOW WHERE, WHERE
DID YOU GET THAT?
WAS THAT ONE OF YOUR...
DID YOUR DAD PLAY THAT?
UH, YEAH, MY DAD DID
(Chickens clucking)
♪ ♪
WELL, THE FIDDLE WOULD BE...
SOMETHING YOU COULD
CARRY ON HORSEBACK
OR YOU COULD CARRY
IT IN A WAGON
UH, YOU COULD PACK
IT OVER THE MOUNTAINS
IF YOU WERE COMING INTO
KENTUCKY FROM NORTH CAROLINA
UH, IT WAS EVEN SOMETHING THAT,
THAT WAS FAIRLY EASILY MADE
UH, I'VE SEEN SOME,
SOME PRETTY GOOD FIDDLE
FIDDLES MADE WITH NOT MUCH
MORE THAN A POCKET KNIFE
UH, AND YOU COULD PLAY ON THEM
THERE WERE, THERE WERE
EVEN LITTLE TOY FIDDLES
MADE OUT OF CORNSTALKS
AND A LITTLE BETTER
FIDDLES MADE OUT OF THE
OLD WOODEN CIGAR BOXES
SOMETIMES YOU SEE THOSE
AND SO IT WAS SOMETHING
THAT, THAT UH, COULD BE MADE
AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT
COULD BE CARRIED AND SO
UH, CERTAINLY THE FIDDLE
WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
THAT WAS BROUGHT INTO KENTUCKY
UH, BY, BY EUROPEAN PEOPLE
OR PEOPLE FROM THE EAST COAST
AND UH, THERE'S RECORDS OF THE
FIDDLE FROM THE VARIOUS...
VERY EARLIEST TIME
OF KENTUCKY HISTORY
♪ ♪
THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT,
KENTUCKY IS FIDDLE COUNTRY
BACK IN THE 1970s
I BEGAN TO WONDER WHY KENTUCKY
HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE
IN THE HISTORY OF FIDDLING
SO A BUNCH OF US, THE
LATE GUS MEADE, MARK
WILSON AND SOME OTHERS
TOOK OFF ON THE BACKROADS
AND WE COVERED MANY MILES
WE CROSSED A LOT OF CREEKS
AND SWINGING BRIDGES
TO TRY AND TRACE BACK
THE LOCAL TRADITIONS
AND WE WANTED TO DESCRIBE FOR
POSTERITY THE CONDITIONS THAT
ENABLED THESE TRADITIONS
TO FLOURISH
♪ ♪
I'M NOT ONLY A FIDDLER,
I'M ALSO A HISTORY TEACHER
AND I SUPPOSE I'VE ALWAYS
BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT THE ORIGINS
OF ANYTHING THAT INTERESTS ME
THESE DAYS I PLAY WITH A GROUP
CALLED THE KENTUCKY CLODHOPPERS
EVERYWHERE I GO,
I HEAR A NEW TUNE
AND MEET OTHER FIDDLERS WHO
WANT TO LEARN THE TUNES I PLAY
♪ ♪
WORKSHOPS PROVIDE
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY
TO PASS ON THE FIDDLE TRADITION
THAT GOES SO FAR BACK
IN THE HISTORY OF KENTUCKY
AND OUR COUNTRY
AND I'VE CONTINUED THE WORK GUS,
MARK AND I STARTED SO LONG AGO
PRESERVING THE TECHNIQUES
AND THE MUSIC OF THE
OLD-TIME FIDDLERS
♪ ♪
I THINK OUR MOTIVE WAS REALLY
TO LEARN TO PLAY THE FIDDLE
UH, WHEN, WHEN GUS AND I WERE,
WERE DOING THIS COLLECTING
WE WEREN'T AT THE TIME THINKING
ABOUT PUTTING IT OUT ON A RECORD
WE WERE JUST SORT
OF RECORDING IT
FOR OURSELVES SO WE COULD
STUDY IT AND LEARN TO PLAY IT
IN THE OLD-TIME WAY
AND UH, THERE WAS A LOT
OF STUFF OUT THERE THAT
NOBODY ELSE WAS PLAYING AND
NOBODY ELSE WAS LEARNING
AND SO, THAT, THAT MADE IT UH,
EVEN MORE INTERESTING TO US
ONE OF THE THINGS I TRY TO
GET UH, MY STUDENTS TO STUDY
IS, IS WATCHING THE BOW HAND
AND THE... ♪ ♪
THE OLD-TIME FIDDLERS I LIKE
BOWED IN CIRCLES
♪ ♪
IT IS NOT JUST A CIRCLE
GOING ONE, ONE WAY
YOU GET A CIRCLE GOING
AND THEN YOU REVERSE IT
♪ ♪
IT'S SYNCOPATED
KIND OF LIKE RAGTIME
IT'S A LITTLE BIT JERKY
♪ ♪
SOMETIMES WE WONDERED WHY
WE WERE SO CRAZY ABOUT IT
BUT WE JUST... WE JUST
CALLED THE WHOLE THING
OF TALKING ABOUT IT
"FIDDLEOSOPHY"
WE'D HAVE PROBABLY DRIVEN
A LOT OF PEOPLE CRAZY
IF THEY WEREN'T INTO IT
BUT UH, THERE, THERE IS
A KIND OF A LORE TO IT
UH, AND THERE'S A
LOT OF HISTORY TO IT
THERE'S LORE ABOUT
FIDDLES THEMSELVES
AND THERE'S LORE
ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO
WHO PLAYED THE FIDDLE
AND THERE'S LORE ABOUT
THE, THE NAMES OF THE TUNES
AND WHAT THEY'RE NAMED AFTER
AND SO THERE, THERE'S A LOT
OF STUFF THAT JUST KIND OF
IS ALL ABOUT THE AREA
AND THE PLACES PEOPLE LIVED
♪ ♪
I'LL PLAY YOU A LITTLE
BIT OF A TUNE
THAT PRETTY COMMON
OLD-TIME TUNE
IN NORTH CAROLINA THEY
CALL IT "PEAR TREE"
AND IN KENTUCKY IT WAS CALLED
"SHOOT THE TURKEY BUZZARD"
A NORTH CAROLINA FIDDLER
WOULD PLAY IT LIKE THIS
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
BUT A KENTUCKY FIDDLER
WOULD BOW THAT LIKE THIS
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
LET'S SEE
YOU READY?
YEAH
"SUGARFOOT RAIN"
♪ ♪
THE NAMES OF OLD-TIME
FIDDLE TUNES
ARE AN EDUCATION IN THEMSELVES
THEY'RE NAMED AFTER KENTUCKY
TOWNS LIKE MAYSVILLE
SHIPPENPORT
WHITESBURG
AND ONE'S NAMED "CRAB
ORCHARD QUICK STEP"
♪ ♪
THERE ARE TUNES NAMED
FOR CIVIL WAR BATTLES
EVEN REVOLUTIONARY WAR BATTLES
AND CREEKS TOO
I BET YOU CAN'T FIND
A CREEK IN KENTUCKY
THAT AT ONE TIME DIDN'T HAVE
A FIDDLE TUNE NAMED AFTER IT
TUNES LIKE "SEVEN CREEK"
"BOATING UP THE SANDY"
AND "THE BRUSHY
FORK JOHNS CREEK"
OTHER TUNES ARE NAMED FOR
LADIES LIKE "MARTHA CAMPBELL"
THOUGH NOBODY'S QUITE
SURE WHO SHE WAS
AND TUNES ALSO BECAME KNOWN
BY THE NAMES OF FAMOUS
FIDDLERS THEMSELVES
LIKE OLD VIRG, JIMMY
ARTHURS AND BOB WALKER
♪ ♪
(Chickens clucking)
THE FIDDLERS THAT WE WERE
MEETING IN THE 1970s
WERE, WERE OLD FIDDLERS
AND UH, THEY WERE PLAYING MUSIC
THAT, THAT PREDATED THE RADIO
SO IT WAS TRADITIONAL
IN, IN THAT THEY DIDN'T
LEARN IT OFF OF RECORDS
OR FROM THE RADIO
BUT UH, IT WAS MUSIC
THAT HAD BEEN PASSED DOWN
IN THEIR COMMUNITIES
AND SO YOU COULD TRACE
SOME OF THAT STUFF BACK
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
UH, EASILY
DARLEY FULKS, UP IN WOLFE COUNTY
LEARNED A LOT OF HIS MUSIC
FROM HIS GRANDFATHER
UH, WHO WAS PLAYING
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
SO, IN THE 1970s
WE WERE, WE WERE IN TOUCH
WITH SOMETHING THAT
THAT WAS OLDER
THAN THE CIVIL WAR
AND OF COURSE, SOME OF IT
WENT BACK BEFORE THAT TO UH
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND
IRELAND
UH, FRANCE
AND GERMANY
UH, WELL, EVEN AFRICA, A LOT
OF THE MUSIC IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY
REALLY UH, HAD A BLACK INFLUENCE
♪ ♪
DARLEY FULKS SAID,
"A TUNE IS A FEELING"
IN OTHER WORDS
ALL TUNES DON'T SOUND ALIKE
LIKE SOME PEOPLE SAY
BUT I THINK WHAT HE MEANT WAS
FOR HIM, EVERY TUNE HAD AN
ASSOCIATION OF SOME KIND
EITHER WITH THE PERSON
HE LEARNED IT FROM
OR WHAT IT WAS NAMED AFTER
OR SOME KIND OF STORY
AND UH, DARLEY WAS A
VERY EMOTIONAL PERSON
AND HE... THERE WERE
TUNES THAT HE WOULD PLAY
THAT EVERY TIME HE
WOULD PLAY THAT TUNE
HE WOULD CRY BECAUSE IT WAS
ASSOCIATED WITH SOMEBODY HE KNEW
OR SOME SAD STORY
AND IT DIDN'T MATTER HOW MANY
TIMES HE PLAYED THAT TUNE
HE COULD PLAY TUNES THAT
WOULD, WOULD MAKE HIM CRY
AND SO UH, I UNDERSTOOD
WHAT HE MEANT BY THIS
BUT EVERY, EVERY TUNE
HAS GOT A LITTLE
BIT DIFFERENT MOOD
AND A LITTLE BIT
DIFFERENT FEEL TO IT
AND UH, TO ME, IT'S HARD
TO LEARN A FIDDLE TUNE
JUST BY EAR
YOU CAN LEARN THE TUNE BY EAR
YOU CAN PICK OUT THE NOTES
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
THAT WE ALWAYS
NOTICED ABOUT IT WAS
YOU HAVE TO SEE IT
AND WHEN I TRY
TO TEACH FIDDLING
LIKE UP THERE AT WHITESBURG
UH, I EMPHASIZE THE,
THE VISUAL PARTS OF IT
AND I DO ALL THESE UH, EXERCISES
OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT SOMEBODY'S DOING JUST
BY WATCHING THEIR BOW HAND
BECAUSE THAT WAS THE
ONLY WAY I COULD FIGURE
OUT SOME OF THAT STUFF
IT'S REALLY GRATIFYING TO BE
ABLE TO PASS ON THIS MUSIC
I'VE LED WORKSHOPS
AT BEREA COLLEGE
APPALSHOP AND THE COWAN
CREEK MOUNTAIN MUSIC SCHOOL
THAT HOSTED A GATHERING
OF SOME OF THE AREA'S FINEST
OLD-TIME MUSICIANS
THE WORKSHOPS AND JAM
SESSIONS AT COWAN CREEK
LET US BRING IN GOOD FIDDLERS
LIKE PAUL DAVID SMITH
TO SHARE TUNES AND STORIES
WITH THE YOUNGER PLAYERS
♪ ♪
THAT TUNE'S CALLED
"DEVIL EAT THE GROUNDHOG"
IT'S ONE OF "SNAKE"
CHAPMAN'S TUNES
IT'S ABOUT DOG NAMED "DEVIL"
THAT ATE THE MAN'S GROUNDHOG
BEFORE HE COULD SKIN HIM OUT
♪ ♪
WE'RE REALLY INTO, INTO
THE TONES OF FIDDLES
AND WE KIND OF PUT...
DRAG YOUR BOW ACROSS IT AND
SHOW THEM HOW DARK IT SOUNDS
♪ ♪
SEE, IT KIND
OF GROWLS AT YOU
YEAH
AND HERE'S MINE
♪ ♪
IT'S A REAL DARK WOODY SOUND
AND SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THIS
SOME PEOPLE
LIKE...
NO, SOME PEOPLE
LIKE THEM BRIGHT
BUT FIDDLERS...
I KNOW I AM
OR HAVE BEEN
AND I'M SURE
YOU HAVE
DOWN THROUGH
THE YEARS
ARE CONSTANTLY
SEARCHING FOR, FOR...
A BETTER FIDDLE
YOU KNOW
YOU LOOK FOR
SOMETHING
THAT SOUNDS MORE
TO YOUR NOTION
THIS IS THE BEST THAT I'VE
BEEN ABLE TO COME UP WITH
(Laughing)
I THINK LIKE THAT
BUMPER STICKER SAYS
úI FOUND IT'
YEAH
(Laughing)
I'M NOT REALLY
LOOKING ANY MORE
BUT UH, MINE'S AN OLD UH, I
GUESS, JUNK STORE FIDDLE THAT UH
WAS ALL BUSTED UP AND I TOOK
IT TO MY FRIEND-- GARY CORNETT
AND HE RESTORED IT
AND THIS IS PROBABLY FROM
THE 18th CENTURY AND IT'S UH
WELL, IT'S GOT A
LOT OF CRACKS IN IT
BUT THAT JUST
MAKES IT SWEETER
THAT'S RIGHT
IT'S GOT A LOT, IT'S
GOT A LOT OF CHARACTER
♪ ♪
MOST OF THE FIDDLE
MUSIC, NOT ALL OF IT
WAS ORIGINALLY DANCE MUSIC
AND SO IT SORT OF EVOLVED
AS, AS MUSIC THAT
PROPELS A DANCE
AND SO I THINK IT STILL
HAS THAT AFFECT ON PEOPLE
THE RHYTHM UH, OF FIDDLING
HAS ALWAYS BEEN, UH
SORT OF A DANCE
RHYTHM TO GET YOUR
YOUR FEET AND YOUR BODY MOVING
AND A GROUP OF PEOPLE
MOVING TOGETHER
SO UH, I THINK IT STILL
HAS THAT AFFECT ON PEOPLE
AND UH, I, I DO PLAY
FOR A LOT OF DANCES
THAT'S ONE THING A
FIDDLER CAN DO
WHERE THEY DON'T GET
TIRED OF LISTENING AT YOU
IN FACT, THEY'LL
WORK YOU TO DEATH
YOU KNOW, MOST FIDDLERS
SAY IT'S A PRETTY HARD JOB
PLAYING FOR A DANCE
♪ ♪
SOMETIMES PEOPLE MIGHT
THINK THE OLD FIDDLERS
WERE JUST BACKWOODS PEOPLE
AND OF COURSE A LOT
OF THEM WERE
SOME OF THEM HAD BIG OLD,
ROUGH HANDS FROM FARMING
OR WORKING IN SAWMILLS
BUT THEY COULD DO THE
MOST DELICATE THINGS
WITH THEIR FINGERS
AND THEY BOW HANDS
BUT THERE WERE ALSO FIDDLERS
LIKE CARLTON RAWLINGS
WHO WORKED IN A BANK
AND SOME WERE DOCTORS AND
QUITE A FEW WERE BARBERS
BARBERSHOPS SEEMED TO BE ONE
OF THE FAVORITE GATHERING PLACES
OF FIDDLERS IN THEIR LITTLE
TOWNS AROUND KENTUCKY
"SALLY GOODIN"
♪ ♪
GOOD FIDDLERS CAN MAKE
A CHEAP FIDDLE SOUND GREAT
BUT UH, IT'S JUST...
IT'S JUST FUN TO
TRY THEM ALL OUT
AND SEE WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE
AND YOU KNOW, EVERY ONCE
IN A WHILE YOU CAN FIND ONE
YOU JUST FALL IN LOVE WITH
AND YOU GOT TO
HAVE IT, BUT UH...
AND ADD IT TO YOUR COLLECTION
BUT I'M NOT A COLLECTOR
LIKE BILLY DON, HE...
HE USED TO HAVE 200 FIDDLES
AND I THINK HE'S ONLY
GOT ABOUT HALF THAT NOW
♪ ♪
THIS ONE IS...
IS THE BIRD'S EYE
FOR A, FOR A HOMEMADE FIDDLE
♪ ♪
IT'S GOT A PRETTY GOOD BALANCE
♪ ♪
ESPECIALLY THE BASS
♪ ♪
IT'S BEAUTIFUL
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
I'M JOHN HARROD AND WE'RE
GOING TO PLAY YOU SOME
SOME OF THE TUNES THAT COME
FROM THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY
THE FIRST ONE WE'RE GOING
TO DO IS MY FAVORITE
AND IT'S CALLED
"EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE"
I THINK THAT WAS ONE THING
THAT DISTINGUISHED, UH
THESE, THESE FIDDLERS,
ESPECIALLY
IS THAT THEY, THEY KNEW
THAT WHAT THEY WERE DOING
WAS REALLY OLD
AND THEY WERE PROUD OF IT
AND THEY FELT A GREAT
RESPONSIBILITY TO PASS IT ON
AND SO THEY ALWAYS WELCOMED US
AND THEY WERE
GLAD THAT, THAT...
THEY WERE JUST THRILLED THAT
PEOPLE LIKE US WERE INTERESTED
NOT JUST IN RECORDING
IT AND DOCUMENTING IT
BUT, BUT LEARNING IT
BACK WHEN GUS AND MARK AND I
WERE MAKING OUR RECORDINGS
WE HOPED TODAY'S FIDDLERS
WOULD LISTEN TO THIS OLD MUSIC
IT WOULD BE LIKE GOING
BACK TO THE PRIMARY SOURCES
WE HOPED LEARNING THE OLD TUNES
MIGHT HELP TO UNSTANDARDIZE
MODERN FIDDLING
I THINK TO SOME EXTENT,
THAT'S HAPPENED
THERE ARE A LOT
OF GOOD NEW FIDDLERS
THAT JUST DON'T SOUND
LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE
THEY'VE STUDIED THE OLD STUFF
AND THEY, JUST LIKE
THEIR INNOVATIVE
AND IDIOSYNCRATIC PREDECESSORS
ARE CONTRIBUTING TO
THE HISTORY OF FIDDLING
♪ ♪
JOHN'S WORK, WHICH HAS
HELPED FURTHER THE RICH
HISTORY OF FIDDLE TUNES
IS NOW INCLUDED IN A BOOK
OLD TIME KENTUCKY FIDDLE TUNES
IS BY JEFF TODD TITAN
AND PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY
PRESS OF KENTUCKY
THE AUTHOR USED MANY RECORDINGS
MADE BY JOHN AND HIS FRIENDS
AS SOURCE MATERIAL
THE TAPES THAT JOHN COLLECTED
ARE NOW PRESERVED
IN THE TRADITIONAL MUSIC
ARCHIVES AT BEREA COLLEGE
WELL, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
IF YOU SAW A CUTE, 1960s
VINTAGE CONVERTIBLE
SUDDENLY ACCELERATE
TOWARDS THE WATER'S EDGE
PROBABLY THAT IT'S DRIVER
HAD LOST HIS MIND
OR AT LEAST HIS WAY
WELL, OWNERS OF AMPHICARS
ARE A LITTLE CRAZY OVER
THEIR AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLES
THEIR VINTAGE AUTOMOBILES
BUILT IN GERMANY
BETWEEN 1961 AND 1968
THEY ARE THE ONLY CIVILIAN
AMPHIBIOUS PASSENGER CAR
EVER MASSED PRODUCED
ONLY A LITTLE LESS THAN
4,000 WERE EVER BUILT
IT'S ESTIMATED THERE ARE
500, MAYBE 1,000 LEFT TODAY
WELL, AS SUMMER TURNED TO FALL
REGIONAL AMPHICAR OWNERS
GATHERED AT LAKE CUMBERLAND
AT LEE'S FORD MARINA
WOULDN'T YOU LIKE
TO TAKE A RIDE?
(Music playing)
IT'S EXCITING TO GO AMPHICARRING
UH, IT ATTRACTS A CROWD
NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE
AND OFTEN TIMES YOU CAN READ
THEIR LIPS OF ASTONISHMENT
WHEN YOU HIT THE WATER
UH, DEPENDING AT WHAT
SPEED YOU HIT THE WATER
HOW BIG A SPLASH YOU MAKE
IT CAN BE VERY DRAMATIC
(Music playing)
GOING INTO THE WATER IS QUITE
AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE
YOU'RE DRIVING ALONG ON LAND,
EVERYTHING SEEMS FINE
YOU APPROACH A BOAT RAMP AND
JUST SLIDE RIGHT
DOWN INTO THE WATER
AND IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE...
IT'S A LITTLE NERVE-RACKING
THE FIRST TIME YOU GO IN
BECAUSE IT'S LIKE WHAT
EXACTLY IS GOING ON?
BUT AS SOON AS YOU,
YOU GET INTO THE WATER
YOU CAN JUST IMMEDIATELY
FEEL WHEN THE CAR STARTS
STARTS FLOATING
AND YOU JUST PRESS THE GAS
AND PULL AWAY AND IT'S...
YOU JUST ARE COMPLETE... IT'S
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FEELING
YOU'RE OUT IN THE WATER
IN A BOAT
(Music playing)
YOU TOOL AROUND FOR A WHILE
AND YOU GET READY TO COME OUT
YOU HEAD RIGHT
TOWARD THE BOAT RAMP
AND AS YOU APPROACH THE RAMP,
YOUR FRONT WHEELS PULL OUT
UP ONTO THE RAMP
UNTIL THE REAR WHEELS
TOUCH THE RAMP
AND THE WHEELS PULL
YOU RIGHT ON OUT
YOU PUT IT IN FIRST GEAR
AND DRIVE RIGHT ON OUT AND
DRIVE AWAY
WHEN YOU COME OUT OF THE WATER
YOU LITERALLY CAN DRIVE
STRAIGHT DOWN THE ROAD
THE ONLY THING THAT YOU DO IS
JUST DISENGAGE THE PROPELLERS
WHICH IS JUST ONE
LITTLE SLIP OF A LEVER
TURN THE PROPELLERS OFF
AND YOU'RE OFF, YOU'RE
DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD
(Music playing)
WELL, THE AMPHICAR WAS THE ONLY
PRODUCTION VEHICLE MADE THAT'S
EQUALLY AT HOME ON LAND
AS IT IS IN THE WATER
IT...YOU KNOW, AT FIRST GLANCE
IT LOOKS PRETTY MUCH
LIKE A NORMAL CAR
UNTIL YOU START WALKING AROUND
AND YOU SEE TWO PROPELLERS
ON THE, ON THE REAR
END DOWN BELOW THE
THE REAR BUMPER
BUT UH, IT WAS A CAR THAT WAS
MADE DURING THE '60s IN GERMANY
FROM '61 TO 67
ABOUT 3,500 CARS WERE MADE
MOST OF THOSE CARS CAME
TO THE UNITED STATES
THERE'S PROBABLY 500 OR 600
IN THE WORLD, STILL RUNNING
IT'S GOT UH, A BACK SEAT
SEATS FOUR PEOPLE
RELATIVELY COMFORTABLY
IT'S A SMALL CAR
AND ALL OF THE CARS
MADE WERE CONVERTIBLES
IT HAS A, A SMALL FOUR
CYLINDER, TRIUMPH ENGINE
IN THE REAR
AND IT'S A FOUR SPEED,
MANUAL TRANSMISSION
WHEN YOU'RE OUT IN THE WATER
THE FRONT WHEELS ACT AS RUDDERS
AND STEER THE CAR
LEFT AND RIGHT
TOP SPEED IS ABOUT SEVEN OR
EIGHT MILES AN HOUR ON THE WATER
ON LAND, TOP SPEED WHEN THEY
SOLD THE CARS, THEY SOLD THEM AS
YOU KNOW, 70 MILES AN HOUR
ON LAND AND... BUT UH
45 AND 50 IS A
LITTLE MORE PLEASANT
WELL, I'M A MEMBER
OF THE INTERNATIONAL
AMPHICAR OWNERS CLUB AND
ACTUALLY I'M THE PRESIDENT
OF THE CLUB, WE HAVE UH
OVER 320 MEMBERS
ACROSS THE WORLD
UH, IT'S BASED RIGHT
HERE IN KENTUCKY
I'M FROM BURLINGTON, KENTUCKY
WHICH IS IN BOONE COUNTY
WE HAVE UH, REGIONAL EVENTS
THROUGHOUT THE, THE COUNTRY
THAT AMPHICARS GO TO
AND OUR BIG NATIONAL
EVENT THIS PAST JULY
WE HAD 64 AMPHICARS
FOR THE WEEK
THE WEEK-END LONG EVENT
MOST AMPHICARS IN THE
WORLD AT ONE PLACE
OF THE EVENTS ALL
OVER THE COUNTRY
ONE OF THE EVENTS
WE HAD THIS YEAR
HAPPENED TO BE IN SOMERSET,
KENTUCKY AT LAKE CUMBERLAND
THE UH, SWIM-IN OR THE SPLASH-IN
WE HAVE HAD IT AT
LAKE CUMBERLAND
WAS PART OF THE SUMMER
NIGHT CRUISES
WHICH IS A, AN EVENT
THAT HAS DEVELOPED
IN THE LAST COUPLE
OF YEARS IN SOMERSET
SOME LOCAL GENTLEMEN
PUT TOGETHER A, A HOT-ROD
AND CLASSIC CAR SHOW
AND IT HAS PULLED OVER
500 CARS ON A SATURDAY
AND WE ARE FEATURING
THE AMPHICAR SWIM-IN
AS PART OF THE EVENTS
(Music playing)
ONE OF THE UNIQUE FEATURES
OF OWNING THE AMPHICAR
ON LAKE CUMBERLAND
IS THAT YOU HAVE THE
EPITOME OF LUXURY
IN THAT YOU CAN DRIVE
FROM YOUR HOME
DIRECTLY TO THE LAKE
DIRECTLY IN THE WATER AND PULL
UP AND TIE UP TO YOUR HOUSEBOAT
I USE THE AMPHICAR TO
GET TO AND FROM WORK
WHEN WE TIE UP OUR
BOAT IN THE COVE
I WILL USE THE CAR TO COMMUTE
UH, AND SPEND THE NIGHT
AND THE NEXT MORNING,
GET UP BRIGHT AND EARLY
AND DRIVE IN STRAIGHT TO WORK
(Music playing)
(Music playing)
UH, I'VE OFTEN SAID
IT'S NOT A GREAT BOAT
IT'S NOT A GREAT CAR
BUT IT'S A GREAT COMBINATION
(Music playing)
PERSONALLY I THINK THAT
THE AMPHICAR IS
PROBABLY THE BEST CAR
THAT'S EVER BEEN
MADE ON THE WATER
AND IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE
BEST BOATS EVER MADE ON LAND
(Music playing)
PRESIDING OVER AMPHICAR
OWNERS THE WORLD OVER
IS BURLINGTON, KENTUCKY'S
MARC SCHLEMMER
PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL
AMPHICAR OWNERS CLUB
WHOM YOU'VE JUST MET
THE CLUB HAS MEMBERS FROM
THE EAST COAST TO CALIFORNIA
AND IN GERMANY
THE AMPHICAR'S BIRTHPLACE
MANY OF THE MEMBERS HAVE FUN
REGISTERED LICENSE PLATES
LIKE úI SWIM TOO'
AND GET A KICK OUT
OF STARTLING PEOPLE
WITH A PLUNGE INTO THE WATER
I GOT TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE
WELL, THANKS FOR COMING ALONG
ON THE BYWAYS AND WATERWAYS
OF "KENTUCKY LIFE"
YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE A
HEALTHY INTEREST IN HISTORY
AND TRADITION WILL LEAD YOU
BUT YOU KNOW, IF
KENTUCKIANS ARE INVOLVED
IT'LL BE A JOURNEY YOU'LL
WANT TO TAKE AGAIN AND AGAIN
I'M DAVE SHUFFETT, ALONG
WITH MY OLD DOG HERE
AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME
[Closed captioning
by the KET Caption Center]
[was made possible by a grant]
[from the Honorable Order
of Kentucky Colonels]
[and in part by a grant
from The Lexington Lions Club]
[and a gift from the
Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E.
Deutsch Foundation]