1.Ponderosa Ballroom
 2.Listen to L.C's music
 3 Tracing the Music
 4.Visit My Guest book
 5.Sign my guest book

Six Texans were inducted into the 2006 Pioneers of Western Swing Hall of Fame at the Auburn Eagles Club between Seattle and Tacoma Wa. Aug 13. They were L.C. Agnew, Ray Price, Wayne Glasson, Dave Alexander, Mark Dessens and Jody Meredith. They all had 25 years of western swing music experience.   L.C had 48 years.

TRACING THE MUSICAL CAREER  OF L.C. AGNEW"

 Leonard Charles Agnew (known to most people simply as "L.C.") was born September 4, 1929 on a share-croppers farm near the small town of Cisco, Texas.  L.C. was the eldest of six children born to  William Lester Agnew  and wife Zilla Ruth (Adams) Agnew.

Cisco, Texas is located about 100-miles west of Fort Worth, approximately 50-miles east of Abilene. You can says it's in "west" Texas because Fort Worth has a slogan "Cowtown - where the west begins". The great dust bowl that you've heard and read about affected Cisco because Kansas dust blew down to Oklahoma and both Kansas and Oklahoma dust blew on down to Texas. The several years of constant killer dust storms resulted in a general exodus of a number of people from Oklahoma and Texas, however, others including the Agnews, stayed and toughened it out. Have you read the book “The Grapes of Wrath"  or seen the movie starring Henry Fonda? It purports to tell the story of the hard times during that period.

The Stock Market Crash of October 24, 1929 resulted in a deep economic recession affecting millions of people. Twenty-five percent of the work force were out of work. Before all that happened, most rural people didn't even know what the stock market was. They didn't own any stock and were not affected by the depression as much or as soon as the city people. But as time went by it caught up with just about everybody, Although times were hard everywhere, the Agnew family had it better than most people who lived in the larger cities. They raised a lot of their own food. They grew different kinds of vegetables in the garden. They had milk cows, chickens, turkeys and meat hogs. L.C.'s mother set a good table, no fancy cuisine but good solid food such as meat and potatoes, beans, peas, turnips, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables. They had milk, butter and eggs and enjoyed biscuits and gravy along with bacon, sausage or ham.   The rule was "take all the food you want, but eat all the food you take". L.C. says that to this day he still cleans his plate and hates to see food go to waste when there are hungry people all over the world .

L.C. was a good marksman with the .22-rifle but proudly states that he never used his gun in an unsafe or unfriendly manner toward any other person.  Farm boys just didn't do that.  They didn't have gangs or drive-by shootings on the farms and kids didn't use dope like they do today. A type of plant grew wild in places that was called "loco-weed" because of it's effect on cows if they ate it, so  farmers & ranchers would destroy what today is called marijuana.

The movies paint a rosy picture about life on the farm or ranch, usually skipping over the hardships and inconveniences people endured, especially back in the days before rural electricity was available. Look around your household today and imagine what it would be like not to have electricity or gas, no air conditioner, no refrigerator, no telephone, no washing machine or clothes dryer, no vacuum cleaner, no running water nor inside toilets, you can name some other things.  Many people had no automobiles.

L.C. learned how to drive in an old 1929 Chevrolet sedan. Their mailbox was about three miles from the house and he'd drive down there and back. The car had a hair-trigger clutch and when L.C. would let it out the car would jump about three feet, but he learned to compensate for that and got to where he was a real good driver. He thinks he was  probably around fifteen years old then.

L.C. remembers a lot of good things about  farm life and says he sat on the front porch at times listening to the whippoorwills and watching the fire-flies that were called "lightning-bugs".  The Agnew family loved music and just about all members played instruments of one kind or another. They had time to practice. Music was their main source of entertainment. The radio and phonographs was their tie to the music world, including the Grand Ole Opry. Battery powered radios was a primary source of family entertainment. They'd  listen to Bob Wills &  His Texas Playboys, The Light crust Doughboys, The Chuckwagon Gang, Stamps Quartet,  and the big   bands of that era.  In that day and time, Church was the place that many country and western musicians first performed in public.

L.C. is a natural born musician, coming  from a long-line of musicians, his father, grandfather and great grandfather were all musicians and played the fiddle. His grandfather Neil Agnew lived on a farm about three-quarters of a mile away and L.C. vividly recalls that when his grandfather couldn't sleep he'd get up, go out on the  gallery (porch) and play his fiddle. The notes would carry for miles through the quiet countryside and L.C. would lay in bed with the window open and enjoy the fiddle music. On his mothers side, her brothers Dalton and Macon Adams both played music professionally and  formed a band in the late 20's or early 30's which they named "The Dixie Playboys". (inf.-Years later, L.C. adopted that same name for his own band). Theirs was one of the top bands in the territory, traveling extensively in their bus and playing dances and concerts in the same manner as Bob & Johnnie Lee Wills. So, in true family tradition, L.C.'s ambition and eagerness was to become a musician. It was in his blood! In the imagery of Jimmie Rodgers who was very popular at the time, L.C. learned to yodel, alternating warbling from natural voice to a falsetto tone and has retained that vocal ability all his life.

L.C. remembers his first job was picking cotton when he was about 6-years old. Then when he got a little older he started chopping and hoeing cotton. His next job was plowing, driving a team of horses pulling a cultivator, etc.  To start the work horses he'd say "git-up" and to stop them he'd say "Whoa". To turn left he'd say "Haw", to turn right he'd say "Gee". When he was a senior in high school, he signed up for diversified occupation, allowing him to go  to school half a day and then  have a job in the afternoon. He graduated from High School there in Cisco.  His first job was as a bookkeeper for Banner Creamery & Ice Company in Cisco, then worked on the ice dock, then made milk and ice deliveries. Then went to work in a steam laundry and later started delivering laundry and dry cleaning, meeting people.

His mother bought him a guitar when he was about eleven years old that came with a 5-minute instruction book. Before long he was playing the guitar chords and accompanying himself singing cowboy songs and learning to pick out the melody to the old song The Wildwood Flower", standard procedure for beginners. Six months later, with his dad playing fiddle and L.C. playing guitar, they started playing country dances, usually in a vacant farm house. They'd take a couple of chairs to sit on, put a barrel in the corner with a kerosene lamp or lantern on it and play for two or three hours for the farmers and their wives who would come from miles around. They would pass the hat and usually make thirty or forty cents apiece - remember, this was back in the 1930's. Before long, L.C. took up the fiddle and got pretty good after

practicing a lot. He kept getting better as time passed by. An old farmer in Cisco, Mr. Walker, taught L.C. the chords on the piano when he was about twelve years old and he learned to play piano lead many years later. After a while, L.C. teamed up with his uncle, Benny Johnson, who was the same age as L.C. and played guitar. With L.C. playing the fiddle and Benny the guitar they first started out playing in the Pentecostal Church and social gatherings. They were crazy about the music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys" and L.C. remembers one time when they were playing a hot-tempo song in church Benny yelled out "A-Ha! San Antone" L.C. was startled! Anyhow, they got by with it. (Note: Many years later, Benny Johnson played piano for Bob Wills and was on most of the Longhorn recordings Bob made, including the songs Sooner or Later, Buffalo Twist, All Night Long, You Can't Break a Heart, and others.)  

 L.C. and Benny struck out hitch-hiking to Lamesa, Texas to try and get a radio show. Benny had been hitch-hiking up and down the highway between Cisco and Brownwood, playing with a group on KBWD radio so he already had a little professional savvy. They didn't land the radio show in Lamesa but went on to Kermit, Texas and got a job playing in a small drive-in restaurant called Sanders Drive-In. L.C. considers that to be his first band, the musicians being L.C. Agnew  on fiddle, Benny Johnson on lead guitar (both L.C. and Benny from Cisco), Cleman Hukel from San Angelo on guitar; Prentiss Mills from Vivian, Louisiana on guitar, Johnny Courtney (brother-in-law), on standup bass. They started playing the clubs around Kermit, including the Winter Garden Club. L.C. says they were around sixteen years old then.

When he and Benny went to Kermit, L.C.’s first job was delivering groceries on a bicycle, and stocking shelves. The next job was one of the best he ever had. He and Benny were in a big rooming house and met some men with Amerada Petroleum out of Tulsa, drilling wells and doing Seismograph work. Their crew would dress up every morning and go to work. They got L.C. and Benny on the payroll so the first day L.C. says he dressed up real sharp and went on the job. It turned out he was on the drilling truck, which was the dirty, wet and muddy part of the job!  He didn't dress up that next day! Before long, they got on the sound truck, which was much more suitable. There were times when they had time to kill waiting on the next process so they'd have a baseball glove and play catch. He says that was a good-paying job back in those days while it lasted, $420 a month plus $5 a day living expenses.

After a while  they went back to Cisco and L.C. continued chasing his dreams around all over the country trying to find the rainbows end, first to San Angelo where he started playing at clubs in that area. Then he went to Tulsa, Oklahoma and played some of the clubs there. When possible, he'd go to Johnnie Lee Wills dances one Saturday night and Leon McAuliffe dances the next. 

A LIAR IN LONGVIEW (AND THE WILD GOOSE CHASE)

While in Tulsa, a guy from Longview, Texas would call L.C. every night at the Club he and a band were playing, saying  that he owned a club in Longview and if they'd come down there he'd pay them room and board and $10 a night apiece, which was fairly good money in those days. So L.C. and four other band members piled into an old car and went down to Longview. It turned out the guy who'd been calling didn't own the club and actually didn't have anything to do with it! But the lady there let them play for the door. L.C. remembers they made about fifty-cents apiece, slept on pallets in the back room. The band broke up in about a week and some of the boys left humming  "Take me back to Tulsa", but L.C. got himself a cotton sack and  while picking cotton, sung Jimmie Davis's song about "home in Louisiana where the old Red River flows", and made enough money for a bus ticket to Lueders, Texas  where he went to work in a stone mill and learned how to be a stone cutter. Some of his duties was running a jack-hammer and he says if you don't think that'll rattle your bones, try it sometime. L.C. says that at the end of the day his hands would be "locked" around the handle and he's almost have to pry them loose. Probably not very good on the hands of a fiddle or piano player; could cause arthritis later in life. But the job itself was a good start because L.C. learned a trade that would assure him of a job as a stone cutter and planer in the years ahead while living in Louisiana. 

L.C. played with a band  at the Contact Bar in San Angelo around 1948 or 1949. The musicians were L.C. Agnew and Sherman Hamlin on fiddles, Lyndon Landers on guitar, Dolly Cunningham on drums and her husband Slick Cunningham on piano. L.C. rates Sherman Hamlin as one of the best fiddlers he's ever known, right up there in Merle David's class. He could imitate every fiddle players style that Bob Wills had on any song, if he played scat on a Joe Holly hot lick, you couldn't tell him from Jody. L.C. saw a letter Bob Wills wrote to Sherman offering him a job but he didn't want to move.

MIGRATION TO  SHREVEPORT

L.C. went to Shreveport and says that's where he really got started playing music professionally. The Louisiana Hayride was going real strong on Radio Station KWKH, and that's how and where many of the country music stars got their start, including Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Red Sovine and Johnny Horton. L.C. started playing with some of the local bands and before long started playing with someof the bigger ones. A lot of his music playing was on weekends.  L.C., along with Zane Beck, toured with Billy Walker.

L.C. and Cotton Quarles were playing at a small club out east of Bossier City called The Bungalow Inn where he met a 15-year old guitar player named Gerald (Tommy) Thomason from Minden, Louisiana. He was one of the hottest guitar players L.C. had met, he could really play western swing. He went on to play for Johnny Horton. (inf. L.C. says Gerald changed his name to Tomlinson when he started with Johnny.) Johnny didn't want to lose him so he wouldn't turn him loose and let him do his thing, he'd limit him to playing on the bass strings in the same manner Johnny Cash did his guitar player.  He made an instrumental album or two with another musician, calling themselves "Tom and Jerry" but L.C. thinks Tommy never did reach his full potential. 

L.C. played with a real good fiddle player named Pete Hardin who with his wife named Peaches had a place called "The House of Blue Lights". Pete played off and on with "Bob & Joe Shelton and the Sunshine Boys"  so one night Joe Shelton came in and sat in with L.C. and the others on the bandstand, playing an old set of drums that were about to fall down. Right in the middle of a song, old Joe hit a hot lick on the old snare drum and it sailed off the bandstand and rolled plumb across the dance floor! L.C. was in his early 20's at the time and it kind of embarrassed him but the old hands laughed it off and didn't let it bother them.  L.C. knew Bob & Joe Shelton but that was the only time he can remember playing with either  one of them, Another time, L.C. was playing at the "Pelican Club" on Barksdale Boulevard in Bossier City and Hank Williams Sr came in. He sat there for a little while and they finally got him up on the band stand where he sang two or three songs with L.C. and the others.  L.C. was sort of proud of that meeting and wished he'd have had his picture made with Hank.

L.C. was free-lancing in Shreveport and played for Merle Kilgore and Wayne P. Walker (a successful songwriter) at their "Corral Club" out on Greenwood Road for two or three months before he moved on. He also played some at The Skyway Club.  L.C. says he enjoyed playing with Red Sovine at school auditoriums and stage-shows. They'd play all over Louisiana and Oklahoma and then drive all night to play Red Sovine's Old Syrup Sopper Show on KWKH Radio. The band leader was Ray Belcher, a bass fiddle player who had played for Jack Anglin (Johnny & Jack & The Tennessee Mountain Boys) and also played the part of a comedian in Red Sovine's band. While the others were up on stage getting the music started, Ray Belcher would walk in the front door off the street  and start a commotion, criticizing the music and so forth. That would last for a few minutes while the audience wondered who he was and what was going on, then they'd realize it was all an act and part of the show. 

In the early 50's while L.C. lived at 1348 Kirby Place in Shreveport, his postman (letter carrier) was none other than Slim Whitman who was on the Louisiana Hayride on saturday nights and who later on gained stardom both in the U.S. and Europe. After Whitman's band broke up, some of the musicians formed another band and played at  the Lake Cliff Club.   L.C. played fiddle and rhythm piano and  learning to play piano lead; Hoot Rains played steel guitar,  Curly Herndon played guitar, and the drummer was  D.J. Fontana  who later became Elvis Presley's first drummer.  D.J.'s folks had a small Italian grocery back then.  L.C. understands that D.J. Fontana is now living in the Nashville area.

L.C.  wants to mention the names of a few other musicians he played with in Shreveport. Sonny Jones,( brother of Billy Jean Jones Eshlimar) Chuck Jones; Johnny Nelson; Al Hobson, Sonny Trammell, Dalton (Cotton) Quarles, Rusty Tubbs, L.C. Bass, Al Hobson and T.J. Seaman.

 A HIGHLIGHT IN L.C.'S  MUSICAL CAREER

While in Shreveport, L.C. played often with Ray Belcher & The Echo Valley Boys who had a radio program.  Former Governor Jimmie Davis  liked their playing and asked them to go on tour with him.  They were thrilled and glad to have the chance to go with Jimmie. They started out by going to Meridian, Mississippi,  for the first annual Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Tribute  that was held in April 1953. (Meridian was Jimmie Rodgers old home town.) Traveling in two cars, Jimmie Davis would stop and visit people along the way, he knew everybody and they knew him. At one point near Ferriday, Louisiana he led them down a primitive road to an old farm house where a couple were sitting on the front porch in rocking chairs. L.C. learned they were Jerry Lee Lewis mother and father, living out there before they moved to town. The troupe arrived in Meridian, got hotel rooms then went to the gigantic jamboree celebration attended by about 30,000 people from every walk of life and from all over the country -  musicians, movie stars, celebrities,  several governors and senators and other politicians. They all came to pay tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, and to see and be seen! It lasted for about three days. Jimmie Davis' band consisted of bassist Ray Belcher, fiddler L.C. Agnew, drummer Woody Keller and laptop-steel guitarist Vic Anders. Their band, along with Hank Snow's band, played a hotel roof garden banquet and were selected to play two songs each that was broadcast nationwide by all major networks. No drums were allowed so the band's drummer, Woody Keller, played a stand-up bass fiddle that Roy Acuff's band had left on the stage and although Woody Keller wasn't a skilled bass player, L.C. helped him fake it and nobody ever knew the difference. (Boys will be Boys!) L.C. got to meet scores of top country musicians, big movie stars, the Governor of Tennessee,  Jimmie Rodgers widow Mrs. Carrie Rodgers;  also the widow of the railroad engineer Casey Jones that Rodgers sang about,  and lots of other folks. 

L.C. tells about the next day after arriving in Meridian, they had rooms up on the fourth or fifth floor of the big hotel where they were staying and Jimme Davis wanted them to practice some so L.C.  asked Woody Keller, their drummer, to bring his fiddle up from the car that was parked down front.  L.C.  had an old fiddle that looked like it came over on Noah's Ark , the old case was wired up, and the tail-piece wired up with baling wire and he had a rope tied around it to keep the lid from falling off. Woody was coming through that fancy terrazo-floor hotel lobby with all the big Nashville stars and people from all over the United States standing around in little groups talking. Woody came sailing through there wagging L.C.'s old fiddle case and the Bow shot out through the end of the thing and sailed clear across the lobby with Woody chasing and retrieving it. He went on up to the room and told L.C. if he wanted his old fiddle the next time he could go get it himself, he never was so embarrased in his life, with all those big stars standing around with their leather cases, zippers and everything. L.C. said he told him "Woody, you're lucky the fiddle didn't fall out!

anecdote: Hank Thompson recorded a song with lyrics the older the violin, the sweeter the music! L.C.'s old fiddle may very well have been in that category!

(When Bob Wills first played on the radio, he carried his fiddle in a flour sack, According to Al Stricklin, Bob’s piano player of many years.) After leaving Meridian, the Jimmie Davis tour took them to Memphis where they were on programs with such Grand Ole Opry stars as Minnie Pearl and Chet Atkins. L.C. was impressed with Chet Atkins sincerity and dedication to perfection. L.C. and his other band members went around Memphis to see the sights but Chet Atkins stayed and practiced all afternoon on three songs he was scheduled to play that evening. All afternoon on just three songs!  Little wonder he became known as one of the best guitar players in the world. 

Back in Shreveport, L.C. played a regular show with Ray Belcher and  The Echo Valley Boys. They had various guest stars, like the Bailes Brothers, Walter, Homer, Johnnie and Kyle, who sang sentimental songs  (Dust on the Bible) with religious intensity. (Walter and Homer eventually became preachers.) L.C.  didn't work full-time as a musician until several years later while living in Abilene. That story will be coming up later. He worked as a stone-cutter and planer in Louisiana, there was only about three such services available to rough-out the stone for the professional stone-carvers from Italy. While playing in and out of Shreveport, L.C. belonged to the Musicians Union and the head of the Union reached up in the air and gave L.C. the stage name of "Charles Andrews",  which became his psuedo name in that locale, especially when he was playing with Jimmie Davis. It didn't matter much to L.C., the main thing was that he was enjoying playing music and making a little money doing what he liked best. L.C. never played on studio recording sessions around Shreveport except for Shelby Singleton's wife, Margie. He played fiddle on her records but none of them ever made the charts. Shelby Singleton was more or less "famous" in his own right because he was the head of Mercury Records there. (Plantation Records too, at one time.)

For a period of time, L.C. drove a door-to-door milk truck for Foremost Dairies in Shreveport, delivering milk to about 150 houses a day. That job enabled him to meet all different kinds of people with all kinds of personalities from all walks of life. He knew that sooner or later that experience would pay off, and it did, as he learned how to converse on just about every subject imaginable which would prove invaluable to him later on when operating his own business.  At a different time, another of L.C.'s jobs was driving a truck for a furniture store. On every job and in every business he's operated, L.C. has always met the public with a smile, one that is genuine and not faked. His policy has been to treat people the way he wanted to be treated. L.C. has always loved people and has garnered friends by the hundreds throughout his lifetime.

While in Shreveport in the late '50's. L.C. had a brand new Chevrolet pickup and got a job delivering newspapers on a 150-mile (round-trip) country route. He'd load the newspapers up in the seat and roll them as he was going down the road by putting a spool of thread down on the floor between his feet and put a string in his mouth, then he'd reach over in the seat and as he picked up a paper he'd fold it once and when he'd bumped his hands up he'd fold it again, and he got to where he could roll three or four papers a minute. He had around 150 papers to throw on the route, plus dropping off bundles of papers to dealers in towns along the way.  Along with the paper route L.C. had a little small-freight delivery service, sort of like the Greyhound Bus Co. does. He'd go around town and pick up freight all morning until the paper came out, and then he'd head out, going through two or three little small towns, dropping off newspapers in bundles to some of the news dealers there, also delivering auto parts, jugs, pharmaceutical equipment and things like that. He says he had a pretty good thing going there but didn't have a permit to haul the freight articles, didn't think about it at the time until he got a letter telling him he had to get a permit, but he didn't get one right then and went on hauling. He came home one day and couldn't believe his eyes: all of the railroads and the biggest freight companies in the world were suing him, Greyhound and Kansas City-Southern Railroad among them - for "infringing on their business without a permit to operate such a business"!  L.C. says he got himself a permit and got them off his back, but he had a lot of fun with that paper route - he'd load up the Sunday papers to where the back bumper of the pickup would almost be dragging the ground and the headlights pointing up toward the stars. He'd air up the rear tires to about 60-pounds, and by the time he got about 40-miles down the road from Shreveport to Mansfield he'd have unloaded most of his papers so he'd let the air out of the rear tires down to about 35-pounds. L.C. says he had quite a time on that paper route and could tell a lot of stories about it but had better not get into that.

In the South, Nashville was not the only city to foster country/western music.

Dallas supported radio shows like KRLD's "Big D Jamboree" , WRR's "Bill Boyd and the Cowboy Ramblers and WFAA's "Saturday Night Shindig". Less than 200-miles due east of Dallas lay Shreveport which was home to the single most successful radio and stage show, after World War II aside from the Grand Ole Opry. Daily radio broadcasts featured some of the up and coming country music stars. April 3, 1948 marked the premiere of KWKH's "Louisiana Hayride"  at Shreveport's Municipal Auditorium, and for the next ten years or so this Saturday night program hosted an outstanding array of stars. Horace Logan, manager of the show, displayed an unmatched star-building talent, and the list of "Hayride" alumni is impressive - Hank Williams, Slim Whitman, Webb Pierce, Jim Reeves, Floyd Cramer, Faron Young, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, David Houston, and others. L.C.  got to know many of the "stars" that came out of Shreveport, and played with several of them.   Some of them made it big, and some of them didn't. Few of them ever became successful business-men like L.C. Agnew later did.

In 1954, L.C. was playing with Johnny Horton on a regular show in Shreveport.  Johnny got a booking to play for the grand opening of a sewing factory in Stamford, Texas located about forty miles north of Abilene. Johnny Horton was married to Hank Williams former wife, Billie Jean, at the time. L.C. came to Stamford with Johnny, Billie Jean and a couple other musicians.  They called up Benny Johnson from Abilene to help out in the band. Instead of going back to Shreveport, L.C. moved in with his uncle Benny Johnson and stayed in Abilene from 1954 until 1957. In about 1955 L.C. and band played at various clubs including George and Helen Goode's "County Line Bar" that was located between San Angelo and Ballinger. The musicians were L.C. Agnew on fiddle, Kenneth Box on guitar, Milton Jennings on piano, John Duran on drums, Darrell "Red" Maxwell on steel guitar, Gerald Willis on bass and Katie Jean Box on vocals

 L.C. played his first TV show in 1955, TV was new then and Abilene had two live music shows - Slim Willit show on wednesday nights and the Bill Fox show on monday nights called the Fox Four Seven Show with L.C. Agnew, Mel Holt, Curtis Potter, Little DeDon, Gerald Willis, Elbert Sherrod and Dick Irion.

L.C. went back to Shreveport in 1957. But in 1963 he bade Shreveport farewell,  returning to Abilene where this time, he stayed.  He started playing with Curtis Caffey and the Jubilee Boys in 1963 but they disbanded. He played the Cow Palace in Abilene and was sponsored for a while on a TV show by Uncle Ralph's Furniture Store.

Back in Abilene and living like a "happy-go-lucky" truck driver trying to find his niche in life, L.C. had the good fortune in 1965 to meet and marry Dorothy. He says that someone once asked him what he considered the best thing life had bestowed upon him and without hesitation he said "God gave me Dorothy - she has been my inspiration and I give her most of the credit for the success we've enjoyed in business".  More about Dorothy later.

L.C. and Dorothy worked in several businesses following their marriage. For a brief period  in the 70's they ran a restaurant in Eastland, Texas  owned by her brother, Marvin Lott, called The White Elephant Cafe". Marvin wanted to get out of the business and offered to sell it to L.C. and Dorothy, lock, stock and barrel, for $2500.  L.C. said they couldn't scrape up that much cash right then so Marvin said "well, write me a check, and I'll hold it 'til you get the money", so that's what they did. L.C. wrote him a post-dated check for $2500 and they took over. He says they  worked hard, doing a super business and making  lots of money.  However, they lost about 60% of their business after Interstate 20 bypassed it, so they left there and leased the U-Bar-U Steak House in Baird, Texas for about 5-years.  In the meantime, L.C. had reorganized a band that he called The Dixie Playboys, which had been the name of a band that was founded in 1935 by his Uncles, Macon and Dalton Adams. L.C. got their O.K. to use that name for his own band.

Backing up a little - L.C. remembers that from about 1965 to 1971 he played for the "Sons Of Herman Hall” in Old Glory, Texas for $100 a night but after he and Dorothy got the White Elephant Cafe they moved to Olden, Texas to be closer to work.  You can look Abilene, Olden, Eastland and Old Glory up on a Texas map and see  right quick that L.C. had to drive farther to get to and from Old Glory from Olden than he had from Abilene so he asked “Sons of Herman Hall”  for a raise from $100 to $125 a night. They turned his request for a raise down so L.C. quit playing for them. He said another reason he quit was that by the time he'd get back home from Old Glory he wouldn't get much sleep or rest because he had to go to the cafe early to help prepare a Big Sunday Buffet . So, that was a friendly parting of the ways which you might call  "Faded Love".

One time in the mid-60's George Jones and his band, The Jones Boys, came to Abilene and were playing that night out at the Cow Palace. His fiddle player needed some rosin for his fiddle bow and they called L.C. Agnew at home and asked him if he minded coming out and bringing some rosin. And asked him "why don't you bring your fiddle and set in with us for a song or two?"  Always willing to accommodate people, L.C. went out there, taking the rosin and his fiddle, and he set in with them and after hearing him play a song or two Ol' Possum liked what he heard (probably better than his own fiddler), so he asked L.C.  to play the rest of the whole gig, which L.C. did and it's not clear how much he got paid, if any. He enjoyed playing with Ol' Possum!

Among the stars & future stars he played with over the years,  L.C. remembers playing fiddle with Curtis Caffey & His Jubilee Boys in the parking lot of Merchants Park Shopping Center at 12th and Grape in Abilene backing up Jeannie C. Riley while she was working hard trying to get started,  before she became a famous star. She was born Jeannie Carolyn Stephenson  in Anson, Texas October 19, 1945 and always had a desire to be a famous singer. As a child, she had a bout with rheumatic fever  that kept her bedridden for months. At age 16, she was performing at high school talent shows in and around her hometown. She moved to Nashville in 1966 and found work as a demo singer and a Secretary. During that period,  Shelby Singleton was the head of Plantation Records, heard one of her demos and thought she'd be perfect for a song he had on hold written by  Tom T. Hall. The song  "Harper Valley PTA" was a hit and shot up to Number one on both country and pop charts. With a fine voice Jeannie was on her way, but she never duplicated that hit with any others she recorded. She changed record labels and switched  to gospel material, at least for a while.

L.C. leased a place upstairs at 1074 South 2nd Street in Abilene called "Carpenters Hall" and  started a B.Y.O.B. Club where he and his band played for dances for several years, usually on weekends. That band consisted of L.C. Agnew,  Alvin Coe, Alton Coe, Bill Scott, Jim Sturrock and Benny Johnson,  all fine musicians. Tim Holliday was one of his earliest vocalists.

PONDEROSA BALLROOM - ABILENE (From Hamburgers To Steaks!)

L.C. and a good musician friend, Tommy Dodson, were at the U-BAR-U Steak House drinking coffee and Tommy informed L.C. of a vacant building at 3881 Vine in Abilene and suggested it would be a good place for a club.  L.C. went to look it over and  liked what he saw, a nice building about 100 feet wide and 150 feet long, with a large parking lot. He could see inside the lobby by looking in the window.  Without hesitation,  he took the "For Lease" sign down and hid it behind the building so nobody else would beat him to it. Boys will be boys! The owners were John and Judy Matthews, who were prominent citizens of Abilene. In due course, L.C. leased the building.  L.C.'s many years experience as a musician playing in clubs influenced his choice of a club name: he wanted a western sound that matched with the word "ballroom". Remembering the Cimarron Ballroom where Bob Wills played during his Tulsa heyday, he considered naming it either the Cimarron Ballroom or Sierra Ballroom before settling on "Ponderosa Ballroom". He and Dorothy and all the family went to work. They considered making it a supper club but decided against that because of the hassle involved with serving food.  They cleaned it up, removed some walls and did other remodeling to make more room, moved the furniture there from Carpenters Hall,  installed a bar and a bandstand, and opened for business. Business was very slow at the outset and L.C. says he jokingly told the few customers "y'all better not start anything because we've got you out-numbered tonight!" However, it really helped that their loyal weekend clientele from Carpenters Hall followed them over to their new location.  The Ponderosa started out as a "B.Y.O.B." (bring-your-own-bottle) Club until L.C. and Dorothy obtained a license for a "Private Club" that sold memberships to allow alcohol.  Finally, they obtained a complete liquor license. Business steadily increased  and in time it became the most popular club in all of west Texas.  As the song goes, L.C. and Dorothy were "Sitting on Top of The World" In fact, in 1984 the Ponderosa  was nominated and proclaimed  the overall No. 2 Nightclub in Texas, the "Broken Spoke" in Austin was named No. 1. The story was published in "Texas Monthly" Magazine. Various news people came to the Ponderosa for their stories and video clips, including representatives from the Academy of Country Music, Music City News, Highlights Of  Texas and various independent free-lance authors. {One person reported back to L.C. that she had seen the Ponderosa featured on a Highlight of Texas" film clip while on an airplane going to Hawaii.}  L.C. and Dorothy made all of those people welcome because after all, this was free advertising for the Ponderosa.

After business got good, the band played 5 to 7-nights a week so there was a shift in musicians, those who had played at Carpenters Hall had daytime jobs and couldn't hold up to that.  L.C. made sure he had the best musicians in the business which helped make it a favorite place to go for people from all over the country. The place would seat from 650 to 800 people, and had as many as four bars going on busy nights, such as New Years Eve.

One New Years Eve at a time before arthritis got hold of him, L.C. was roller-skating among the dancers, just sort of showing off and having fun, laughing and cutting up. They always decorated the Ponderosa for New Years Eve and always had a capacity crowd. At closing time a man asked L.C. if he could bring his roller skates in for demonstration and L.C. told him yes, go ahead. The guy turned out to be a super-professional skater! The customers had left  when the guy put on a fantastic show on his roller skates- one part being when he dropped a handkerchief on the floor, came by with one leg out and the other one down and picked up the handkerchief with his mouth! Very impressive.

L.C.'s picture and the Ponderosa Ballroom were featured on huge billboard signs on the highways leading into Abilene. L.C. advertised the Ponderosa in the newspaper, on the radio and sponsored two or three televised programs that originated there. The band members were among about 25 employees.  To afford them a little relief from all the nitty-gritty details, L.C. and Dorothy appointed a club manager, a young man named Tony Pritchard, followed at a much later date by Dorothy's daughter, Judy Hollowell,  who also was the Ponderosa's bookkeeper.  

L.C. and Dorothy owned and operated the Ponderosa for about 18-years, from 1975 until 1993 when they sold it. During that time period, L.C. booked in some of the biggest names and well known  performers in the music business, stars and future stars, and here are some of their names:

  Tommy Allsup; Asleep at the Wheel; Bailee and the Boys; Moe Bandy; Larry Boone; Boxcar Willie; Clyde Brewer & his River Road Boys; Frenchie Burke; Bob Burks; Johnny Bush; David Alan Coe; Alvin Crowe; Rodney Crowell; Johnny Dee and the Rocket 88's; Joe Diffee; Rob Dixon; Dave Dudley; Johnny Duncan; Radney Foster; Johnny Gimble; Vern Gosden; Clinton Gregory; Rebecca Holden; Con Hunley; Toby Keith; Tagg Lambert; Little Joe Y La Familia; Bill Mack; Charlie McClain; Mel McDaniel; Ronnie McDowell; Maines Brothers; Jody Miller; Hoyle Nix, Jodie Nix; Tommy Overstreet; Perfect Stranger; Curtis Potter; Ray Price; Leon Rausch; Eddie Raven; Jerry Reed; Johnny Rodriguez; Billy Joe Royal; Dan Seals; Ricky Van Shelton; Joe Stampley; Red Steagall; Gary Stewart; Shoji Tabuchi; Texas Playboys; Billy Thompson; Randy Travis; Ernest Tubb; B.A. Waltrips Big Band; B.B. Watson; Gene Watson; Sammy Wells; Shelly West; Keith Whitley; Chubby Wise, and  others.   

Some musician stars would come alone without a band of their own and get L.C. Agnew and his Dixie Playboys to back them up. Many of them with their own band would call L.C. up to sing and play with them. He always played twin-fiddles with Johnny Gimble, Chubby Wise, Dale Potter, Johnny Bush and Frenchie Burke.  L.C. and Dorothy extended special hospitality to some of the stars he booked in who would stay with L.C. and Dorothy in their home, Chubby Wise and wife Rossi did that. Chubby wasn't comfortable in a bed so Rossi would sleep in their spare bedroom and Chubby would sleep in L.C.'s big easy chair. Tagg Lambert stayed with them and would leave early, they'd hear him start his V.W. about 5 a.m. and head back to New Mexico.  Moe Bandy stayed with them some. L.C. and Dorothy have always been perfect hosts.

 L.C. and Dorothy went to work one night and saw Mel Tillis's bus parked there at the Ponderosa. It turned out that Mel's band was on their way to Dallas from out west and heard that Merle David was playing for L.C. there so they wanted to stop and play with him. (Mel Tillis had flown back instead of riding his bus.) Anyhow, L.C. says there was some great music made that night as Mel Tillis had some great fiddle players in his band. (Put them up with Merle David and L.C. Agnew and there's bound to have been!) When it was over, they left for Dallas and two or three of L.C.'s band members got on the bus and went with them, to party or whatever, and returned the next day.

Merle David was born and raised near Clarendon, Texas. Both his father and mother played the fiddle and other musical instruments around the house. Merle started playing the fiddle when he was 5-years old. By the time he was sixteen, he was playing with local bands and started climbing the success ladder. Roger Miller used to hitch-hike down to Clarendon from Erick, Oklahoma  to get pointers on playing the fiddle and Merle would kid Roger  about his two-toned black and white shoes. At last report, Merle's brother Ray who plays fiddle was still living in Clarendon, Texas and his brother Eldon who plays fiddle, guitar and bass was living in Oklahoma City. Merle’s former wife, Betty, along with their son Billy and daughter Cindy were living in Odessa, Texas at last report.   Merle played with some of the biggest and best bands in the country, including L.C. Agnew and The Dixie Playboys, Bob Wills, Ray Price, Billy Thompson, Mel Tillis, Hank Thompson, Leon McAuliffe, Tommy Duncan, Tommy Alsup, Leon Rausch, Randy Corner, Asleep at The Wheel, Billy Walker, Willie Nelson and others. He played with the Odessa-Midland Symphony Orchestra at Odessa and Andrews, Texas. He made a European tour with Leon McAuliffe in 1959 and another European tour with Hank Thompson in 1970. He also toured Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks) with Hank. Merle played fiddle, steel guitar, lead guitar, mandolin, drums and bass. He was one of the best "trick-fiddlers" in the country and demonstrated his proficiency by performing that act on the national television program called "Hee-Haw". Merle and L.C. Agnew were very close friends and they played fantastic twin fiddles together.  L.C. lost a dear friend and the world lost one of it's best fiddle players when Merle  passed away on March 11, 2002.  Rest in peace.

Roger Miller's  brother-in-law (Jim Pate) was a furniture salesman and came through Abilene several times a year and always came to the Ponderosa. He was there one night and told L.C. "Let's go call ol' Roger". So he got on the phone and called Roger Miller at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico and got him out of bed. After talking a while he told Roger to hold on, he wanted to let him talk to a friend, and put L.C. on the phone. L.C. says he really didn't know what to say but he went ahead and told Roger he enjoyed talking to him, and tried to make the best out of the situation. The only comfort L.C. got was that New Mexico was on mountain time, an hour behind Abilene, so maybe Roger didn't lose too much sleep after all. Roger Miller, born January 2, 1936, was one of the country's great singer-songwriters. He wrote the score for the Broadway Musical Big River that won him Broadway's highest honor, the Tony Award. Roger died of throat cancer October 25, 1992.

In 1985, or thereabouts, L.C. entered into certain financial business dealings with a group of people who at that time were reputed to be pillars of the Abilene community. Acting in good faith, L.C.  joined with them in a joint venture that turned out to be a disaster and resulted in their responsibility for a debt of substantial amount. L.C. Agnew is honest and honorable in principle and although he was technically not responsible for the amount of debt in question, he went ahead and paid it off. He had placed his trust in the wrong people. However, that misadventure didn't squelch L.C.'s faith in humanity and he has continued his policy and practice of trusting his fellow-man until they prove unworthy.  Down through the years L.C. Agnew's  word has been his bond, and that attribute is still  prevalent today.  

Anson, Texas is a small town of some 3,000 friendly people located about 25-miles north of Abilene. For many years, the annual "Cowboys Christmas Ball" has been held there and has gained nationwide recognition on the TV networks news. The dances are held three or four nights in a row just before Christmas, and people of all ages (men, women and children) come from all over the country. No alcohol is allowed.

Gentlemen are encouraged to wear western clothes and Ladies long evening-type dresses, and  following what they call "The Grand March (where couples form circles and parade around the auditorium)  prizes are awarded for the best looking "cowgirl" and the best looking "cowboy".  Ol' Santa Clause comes and hands out goodies to the kids.

 L.C. Agnew and The Dixie Playboys played for the Cowboys Christmas ball for many years and received national TV coverage by famed newsman, Sam Donaldson! Various musicians would attend the dances. At one such dance, young Ricky Skaggs attended and joined in singing a few songs. Ricky's future father-in-law, Buck White, sat in for Bennie Johnson for a few songs, playing the piano.  Hostess Juanita Beasley and others would always insist that L.C. play his (and their) favorite waltz - the beautiful song  La Golondrina"!.  Before L.C. and his Dixie Playboys started playing that Dance Archie Jefferies and his Blue Flame Boys played it for many years.  Bob Burks and his West Texas Wranglers played it some, Leon Rausch and The Texas Panthers a time or two. So did Terry Snead, with some of L.C.'s former band members.

The little town of Turkey, Texas lays claim as Bob Wills old hometown where he lived when he was growing up and was a barber there for a while, playing the fiddle on the side. The people of Turkey have established a "Bob Wills Museum" with some of Will's artifacts and memorabilia encased and on display, also a Bob Wills memorial monument on the west end of Main Street at the entrance to the city park.  The last Saturday in April of each year is proclaimed ""Bob Wills Day" and hundreds of people (including scores of musicians) from all over the country, gather there for two or three days of celebration. Among the musicians are former members of Bob Wills "The Texas Playboys", and other famous country-western bands. L.C. has often attended that ceremony and sometimes sat in and played fiddle with the musicians, but that was before his arthritis took over and stopped his fiddle playing. A few years ago Bob Will's daughter, Rosetta Wills, authored a book about the life and times of her father. It covers many interesting stories that aren't found in any other source, and became a best seller. Rosetta had been married and divorced but in 2002 she married again and is said to have established a residence in Turkey, Texas..

As mentioned earlier, L.C. was featured on seveeral TV programs that were televised in Abilene, including one that was in the Westgate Shopping Mall and some that were taped live at the Ponderosa, then televised. His sister Martha Sue and daughters would come from Midland and sing beautiful harmony on the program's sacred songs.  L.C.  says he still has the programs he made out back then showing who sang and who played lead and all. There was one he'll always remember but didn't think anything about it at the time. An ol' boy came down from Snyder, Texas and sang a couple of country songs on the program. His name is Brad Maule, and L.C. learned later that he was, one of the biggest soap-opera stars on T.V. Along with numerous other nationally known stars and individuals, Brad has also entertained several times at the West Texas Rehab Center's telethon held in Abilene each year.

It would be difficult to list all of the musicians that L.C. Agnew has played with, or who have played for him in his band. However, here's a list of many of them.  Mitchell Agnew; Tommy Allsup; Vic Anders; Bailes Brothers; Zane Beck; Billy Beddingfield; Ray Belcher; Barbara Bauccum; Roger "Pappy" Blythe; Bobby Boatright; Tim Bosley; Lennie Bowman; Kenneth Box; Clyde Brewer; J.W. Brewer; Bruce Brooks; Gary Byrd; Dennis Byram; Curtis Caffey; Larry Carpenter; Alton Coe; Alvin Coe; Bill Coe; Johnny Courtney, Dolly Cunningham; Slick Cunningham; Merle David; Jimmie Davis; Earl "Popcorn" Deathridge; Little DeDon; Tommy Dodds;  John Duran; Keith  Duryea; Jimmy Eakins; Hop Elam; Randy Finley; Adam Flores; D.J. Fontana; Mike Gilbert; Johnny Gimble; Ben Greathouse; Blackie Guidry; Sherman Hamlin; Pete Hardin; Curly Herndon; Jim Heidenheimer; Jerry Hewitt; Al Hobson; John Hogan; Tim Holliday; Mel Holt; Johnny Horton; Cleman Hukel; Dick Irion; Archie Jefferies; Milton Jennings; Benny Johnson; Buddy Johnson; Lane Johnson; Mike Johnson; O.B. Johnson; Pat Johnson; Floyd Jonas; Bill Jones; Chuck Jones; George "Possum" Jones; Sonny Jones; Woody Keller; Merle Kilgore; Ronnie Kimmerling;  Wes King; Buddy and Johnny Lackey; Tagg Lambert;  Lyndon Landers; Ronnie Lofton; Randy Lovell; Bill Madre; Bill Martin; Pepper Martin; Rick Martin; Larry and Terry Mashburn; Darrell "Red" Maxwell; Randy Maynard; Brad Maule; Phillip Mendez; Prentiss Mills; Joe Mitchell; Dale Morris; David Nelson; Johnny Nelson; Billy Newman; Gene Nivens; Hoyle Nix; Jody Nix; Danny Ortiz; Raymond Pack; Ricky Pack; "Pee-Wee" Pack; Pat Patrick; Curtis Potter; Richard (Dick) Proctor; Cotton Quarles;  Barbara Rains; Bobby Rains; Hoot Rains;  Larry Rains; Warren Ramsey; Jerry Randle; Jeannie C. Riley; Dickie Rosser; Pat and George Sadler; Jerry Saunders; Bill Scott; Ronnie Scott; T.J. Seaman; Joe Shelton; Elbert Sherrod; Ansel Shupe; Ricky Skaggs;  Roland Smith; Stan Smith; Jack Smithson; Red Sovine; Pat & George Stadler; Cindy Seaman-Stephens; Gene Stephens;  Boyd Stuckey; Jim Sturrock; Carl Summers; Shoji Tabuchi; Mike Tarpley; Roy Thackerson the fingerless fiddler; Gerald Thomason a/k/a Tommy Tomlinson; Billy Thompson; Katie Jean (Box) Thompson; Ricky Thompson; Terry Thompson; Tommy Thompson; Larry Toliver; Jim Turkett; Billy Walker; Wayne P. Walker; Becky Weeks; Brandy Weeks; R.D. Weeks; Robert Weeks; Bob White; Buck White; Glendell Williams; Hank Williams, Sr.; Paschal Williams; Ron Williams; Vernon Willingham;  Gerald Willis; Rip Willis; James Wood; John Woodle.

No doubt here are many others whose names belong on this list.

L.C. names a few of those musicians according to the instruments they played:

DRUMS: Mitchell Agnew, Barbara Bauccum, Larry Carpenter, Jimmy Eakins; Ronnie Kimmerling, Randy Lovell, Randy Maynard, Rabbit Pack, Bill Scott, Mike Tarpley, Jim Turkett, Rip Willis.

GUITAR:  Alvin Coe, Adam Flores, Bill Jones, Wes King, Bill Martin, David Nelson, Raymond Pack, Ricky Pack, Larry Rains, Jerry Randle, Billy Thompson,

BASS: Tim Bosley, Dennis Byram, Bill Coe, Mike Gilbert, Curtis Potter, Barbara Rains, Jim Sturrock

PIANO: Jimmy Eakins, Benny Johnson, Cindy Seaman-Stephens, Ron Williams, John Woodle

FIDDLE: Merle David, Earl "Popcorn Deathridge", Keith Duryea, Sherman Hamlin, Pete Hardin, Joe Mitchell, Dale Morris, Gene Stephens, Jim Sturrock, Robert Weeks, Glendell Williams

STEEL GUITAR:  Zane Beck, Roger "Pappy" Blythe, Bruce Brooks, Buddy Johnson, Gene Nivens, Bobby Rains, Ansel Shupe, Stan Smith, T.J. Seaman, Carl Summers, Larry Toliver, James Wood

FRONT VOCAL: Tim Bosley, Tim Holliday, Curtis Potter, Ronnie Scott, Billy Thompson

Some of the musicians who played for L.C. went on to work for some of the top stars. Wayne Newton hired James Wood on steel guitar to play in Las Vegas, James later went with Red Steagall. Wayne also hired L.C.'s top vocalist, Ronnie Scott. Guitarist Bill Martin is now working for Charlie Pride in Branson, MO, and formerly worked for Little Jimmy Dickens. Dale Morris and Pappy Blythe both worked for Ray Price at times. Curtis Potter and Billy Thompson played and fronted for Hank Thompson for many years. (Curtis is one of the best vocalists there is and went on to get his own record label). Billy and Katie Thompson had their own band and played all over the country. Ronnie Milsap had an opening for a steel guitar player and Bruce Brooks wanted to apply for the job. Out of his own pocket,  L.C. Agnew bought Bruce a new steel guitar,  amp and a plane ticket to Nashville for the interview. Bruce landed the job and played for Ronnie Milsap for the next eleven years!  Merle David  played for some of the biggest and best bands on the country, such as  Hank Thompson, Leon McAulife, Ray Price, Bob Wills, Randy Corner, the Odessa-Midland Symphony Orchestra, and performed his trick-fiddling act on the TV show "Hee-Haw". Tim Bosley, a good vocalist, front man and bass player, now has his own band in Abilene. A number of fine musicians made Abilene, Texas their home and you could put a first-class band together real quick back then with the likes of L.C. Agnew, Curtis Potter, Billy Thompson,  Tim Bosley, Jim Sturrock, Glendell Williams, Ron Williams, Bobby Rains, Larry Rains, Roland Smith, Randy Maynard, Bill Scott, Katie Jean Thompson, and umpteen others.

Over the years,  L.C. Agnew has been engaged in various money-making ventures, that were in addition to the Ponderosa Ballroom. Included in those were: A Liquor Store with going-out-for-business sales; A Bar-B-Q Place eating establishment;  A Drive-In Theater Lot  that he made into a flea-market of sorts;  A Commercial Building on East Highway 80 that he leased out for an antique store;  A Pallet Business - buying, building and selling wooden shipping pallets;  A 40-Acre Tract Of Land  located inside the city limits of Abilene; A Truck-Washing Terminal; A Race Track in San Angelo; The Stagecoach Inn at Stamford, Texas and  others.

INFORMATION ABOUT DOROTHY

This story wouldn't be complete without listing  such information as the writer has available about L.C. Agnew's lovely wife, Dorothy, who was born in Anson, Texas, the daughter of John and Mattie Lott. Her folks came from the Paris area of east Texas. Her paternal grandparents were George and Nancy Lott and her maternal grandparents were James and Martha Smart. Her paternal grandfather came from Ireland. Her grandmother on her mothers side was a full-blood Cherokee Indian.  Dorothy's father was a railroad man. Dorothy went to school in Duncanvile, Texas. Dorothy and family were living in Cement City (near Dallas) during the outlaw spree of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. She and her family went to Clyde Barrows funeral when she was about 5-years old. From a previous marriage, Dorothy has two daughters, Dolores and Judy, and two sons, Larry (now deceased) and Bill Carpenter. She and L.C. have a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Dorothy was working as a waitress at the Grape Inn Cafe in Abilene at the time she met L.C. Agnew. She says he came in wearing an old floppy hat and sat down in a booth. She set his coffee down and he asked her if she was married and she told him "no, I'm not". He said "well, will you marry me?"  And she said "I don't even know you!" L.C. then said "if  you did, you wouldn't marry me!".

That started the friendship followed by the romance and three months later they were married. Dorothy proclaims that she shares the feelings of love and happiness of their marriage the same as L.C.  They shared the responsibility of the businesses they've managed.  At the Ponderosa Ballroom L.C. took care of the lease and upkeep of the building, handled all the bookings and public relations, played music and served as bandleader, danced with the customers, table-hopped, roller-skated, laughed and joked and extended greetings to everybody, and things along those lines. Dorothy was all business - she saw that the house rules were followed and that the employees performed their jobs right. The two most important rules were: RULE 1. DOROTHY IS THE BOSS AND  THE BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT.  RULE 2. IF DOROTHY IS WRONG, SEE RULE 1. (The Writer is just kidding, being facetious. There was no such rule.) But seriously, some of the rules were: - no hats allowed on the dance floor while dancing;  no loud or unruly disorderly conduct; and people were not allowed to say the word  "bulls--t" when the band played The Cotton-Eyed Joe". She'd warn them that if they said that "bad" word, she'd stop the band playing. And she did, a time or two! (Had they thought about it they might have hollered "Bovine Feces!"  instead of "Bullsh--t" and gotten by with it. Make a note of that.) Anyhow, Dorothy wanted to protect the Ponderosa's good name and reputation with the public, as a  place you could patronize that was proper and decent.  Dorothy was well respected and had a way about her  that all she had to do was ask the customer in her nice polite way  and that would take care of any  problem. The club didn't need a "bouncer" per se, if she saw something brewing that might lead to trouble she'd head it off and settle it down before it got started. Dorothy is a wonderful cook, and loves to do so.  In the past, a large number of  people (friends and relatives) have always gathered at the Agnew's home on Sundays, Holidays and other occasions and Dorothy would  cook for the whole bunch, always preparing a feast. Hopefully, they appreciated it and helped wash dishes and clean up the kitchen? (Don't bet on it.)  Yes - it's self evident that L.C. and Dorothy have complemented each other in their marriage and their working partnership in life. We can only wish them the best of everything for the future.

The Ponderosa was outfitted with modern appurtenances, systems and equipment.  A ticket booth was located at the front entrance and Dorothy's sister Clara Baccus and/or long-time employee Ruby Nesmith were on the door and collected the admission fees (when they were applicable), as the customers entered.  Clara and Ruby were both definite assets  to the Ponderosa. They knew all the regular customers, if not by name at least by sight, and they always greeted them with a smile. They knew which ones L.C. waived admission fees for, a few close friends as well as a variety of musicians that used the Ponderosa as their favorite hangout when not working. They still paid for their own drinks even if they got in free. Although smoking was allowed, the building was equipped with air cleaners, commonly called "smoke-eaters", which did a good job in clearing the smoke. For the first four years L.C. operated the Ponderosa with a concrete dance floor. Then he installed a parquet hardwood floor over the concrete and applied a special wax, making it one of the best dance floors in the country. 

Four pool tables and other legitimate games were located in a large game-room. It was frequented by both men and women.

L.C. installed a central sound-system that was operated and controlled from an elevated control booth, off-limits except to authorized personnel. Dorothy's son, Bill Carpenter, was the main sound technician in charge of the system. All musicians had to channel their amps and instruments into the central system, Musicians are a curious lot and like to fool around with the sound system, if allowed to. One of them may want more monitor, another more reverb, and so on. The central system took care of all that and did away with their tinkering.

L.C. had a special drink-dispensing system installed behind the bars. It dispensed the exact same amount of the liquor selected, each and every time.

Each customer received the exact same amount of alcohol (whatever the choice) as all the others. Aside from that, the system kept a metered record of each drink that was dispensed, and a paper tape was printed out at the close of each nights business, enabling the management to control the liquor inventory, and prohibit the bartenders from pouring too much or too less liquor, or giving away free drinks or mistakenly getting the club's money mixed up with their own. All of this aptly illustrates the Agnews club-management skills.

The Ponderosa was the envy of most other Abilene Club operators!

GOOD-BYE "PONDEROSA"

After operating it for over eighteen years, L.C. and Dorothy sold the Ponderosa in 1994 and retired. Even so, they still manage to stay busy. Stay tuned. 

HELLO "DANCELAND"

In late 2001 or early 2002, L.C. Agnew obtained a large building in Abilene that at one time was the home of "Crystal Palace", a dance hall in years gone by. He named it "DANCELAND". The Abilene Newspaper gave him a nice write-up. Danceland would be the only night club in Abilene with a smoke and alcohol free environment. L.C. knew it would be a "hard-sell" to the public and he was hoping to get a liquor license, but first he had to obtain a zoning change, which he applied for.

The night before his "Grand Opening", thieves broke into the building and stole musician instruments, microphones and other sound equipment.  (Welcome back to the real world!)

But L.C. wasn't deterred and he and Dorothy went ahead and held a few dances at Danceland with rules of "no-smoking" and "no-alcohol". Attendance was poor. He was unable to obtain a zoning change to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages and from years of experience he doubted that the club could ever show a profit without being able to sell beer and liquor.

They turned the club over to Dorothy's daughter, Judy Hollowell, who was a competent business woman and who at one time in the past had been their manager of the Ponderosa. Judy changed the rules and allowed smoking and B.Y.O.B. at Danceland, but despite her best efforts a satisfactory profit was still not realized so they closed the facility and disposed of it. But, don't be surprised if L.C. and Dorothy Agnew open up another club at another location one of these days. 

NOT OVER 'TIL THE FAT LADY SINGS

After reading this bio, you can tell that L.C. Agnew has had a life filled with all kinds of experiences. The road has been a little bumpy at times, especially in the early days. But all in all, he's had a good life and the important thing to remember is "it ain't over yet!

 Over the years, L.C. learned to play a number of  musical instruments. The fiddle was his main one for a long time. Other instruments included steel guitar, lead and rhythm guitar, 4-string banjo, keyboard, accordion, piano and trumpet. Arthritis in his hands has caused him to give up playing all string musicical instruments but he still plays piano and similar keyboard instruments, and the trumpet. His voice is as strong as ever.

 He knows, plays and sings a multitude of songs that includes not only western-swing but popular songs of all kinds, such as those that were hits in the days of the big bands.  L.C. is computer literate and collects many songs off the internet.  L.C. still plays for special bookings, including  dances and concerts at different places, usually accompanied by his good friend Phillip Mendez.  L.C. and Dorothy make their home at 1742 Edgemont Drive, Abilene, Texas, 79602. They wish their friends to know the welcome mat is always out.

                                                EPILOGUE

 L.C. Agnew’s footprints will forever be embedded in the sands of time of the music world and he certainly has earned a place in it’s history. He has done much to keep western swing music alive. He doesn’t toot his own horn, letting others take the spotlight instead. He’s the genuine article but unpretentious to a fault. His guiding principle is “what you see is what you get”. I consider it a privilege to have written this epitome.

                                      Lane Johnson,

                                   Lake Eufaula, OK