A great version of an Old-Time Fiddle tune is like a great meal, If it's good you'll want to eat their (hear it) again. Jehile Kirkhuff was / is known for exceptional versions of the tunes he loved and played for Dances, Grange Halls, on Radio, House [+]A great version of an Old-Time Fiddle tune is like a great meal, If it's good you'll want to eat their (hear it) again. Jehile Kirkhuff was / is known for exceptional versions of the tunes he loved and played for Dances, Grange Halls, on Radio, House Parties, and at the 1954 World Championship Old-Time Fiddlers Contest in Crockett, Texas - which he won after a close tie with an excellent Texas Fiddler, Smokey Butler.
Public Television, channel 44 in Scranton / Wilkes Barre area, made a one hour documentary on a four county region in Northeast Pennsylvania called the Endless Mountains, where Jehile lived his entire life. After hearing the story and music of Jehile they decided to dedicate the entire show "to the music and memory of 1954 World Champion Old-Time Fiddler Jehile Kirkhuff". You can order this great video from WVIA by calling (570) 344-1244
Many now popular Fiddlers learned and admired Jehile including me, Ed Berbaum, who tours the East Coast as a full time, Old-Time Fiddler with Geraldine, and as a Solo Fiddler with programs for Families, Kids and Seniors.
Here is the Eulogy written for Jehile in 1981
“When friends entered William Brotzman’s home, Jehile would often be found lying down taking a nap. Learning that company was present, Jehile would slowly rise, and in a short time he would metamorphize into something of an elf whose energies for having a whale of a good time seemed unbounded...he collected and stored his fiddle tunes not only for their entertainment value, but because these songs represented life...they interpreted the past for the present generation to relive...so Jehile hasn’t just passed on an immense repertoire of songs to you, his students, fellow players, or listeners, he passed on our history and our values. Others may come after him who may execute the songs he has given them with equal skill. But it was Jehile’s fine, strong spirit vibrating off the strings, and his being in tune with the message of a song that will make him into a legend. He was our friend, our father, an uncle, a story teller, poet, composer, naturalist, philosopher and our teacher. We sought him for his music, his crisp humor and his wisdom. More than being a champion of fiddle music, he was a champion of mankind. He loved us and
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