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My grandmother, Hazel Juanita Almond (nee McGee) was the oldest daughter of Roscoe McGee, himself the second oldest of 16 children born to Will McGee and his wife, Mary Fulp, known to most as Granny Toad. Will McGee was famous for having the first car in Stokes County and also for being a terrifyingly good left-handed fiddle player.
Roscoe, before becoming the first chair barber at the Winston-Salem Greyhound Station, was also a well-known left-handed fiddle player, and he briefly toured the vaudeville circuit playing music for minstrel shows. Even better was his younger brother Ralph, who went on to win at the Galax Fiddler’s Convention well into his nineties.
The family had largely dissipated by the time of my birth, but I still have the vaguest memories of going to see my Great Great Uncle Ralph play the fiddle at the Ponderosa in King, NC. And ever so often, my father would show me Roscoe’s fiddle, the veneer nicked and scarred on a bed of purple velvet, the bow long un-rosined.
Sadly, the gift of music, passed down for so many generations in my family, has been treated much like Roscoe’s fiddle—appreciated but not activated. I took lessons but never stuck with anything; the fact that I can’t really play an instrument is one of the greatest regrets of my life. I see the joy that being able to make music brings to so many people that I love, and wish that I could honor them and the memory of my family in that way.
Fortunately, 16 children make for a lot of other children. While searching for some information on my Great Great Uncle Ralph, I found the website of his grandson, Rex McGee, who, together with his brother Ralph, is carrying on the McGee tradition.
Here’s Ralph, playing the mandolin with his brother Rex accompanying him on guitar, off-camera:
And here’s Rex, playing a waltz originally performed by my Great Great Uncle Ralph:
