Centennial of Bill Monroe's birth will offer a big bluegrass bash
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By KEITH LAWRENCE Mclatchy News Service - Published: November 28, 2009
When William Smith Monroe was born on Sept. 13, 1911, few people other than the neighbors of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa Vandiver Monroe knew about it.
After all, the baby, named for two of his uncles, was the eighth child born into the farm family on Ohio County, Ky.'s Jerusalem Ridge.
It was hardly news that Malissa Monroe was having a baby.
But on Sept. 13, 2011, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bill Monroe is expected to make Jerusalem Ridge a tourist mecca.
And bluegrass fans from around the world are expected to flock to "Monroe Country," a 265-mile trail stretching from Nashville where the "father of bluegrass music" found fame on the Grand Ole Opry to Bean Blossom, Ind., where he launched what is now the world's longest-running bluegrass festival 43 years ago.
Rosine, Ky., Monroe's birthplace and burial site, and Owensboro, Ky., home of the International Bluegrass Music Museum, are right in the middle of the trail.
And both are hoping to take advantage of the Monroe Centennial.
The annual Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Music Celebration, held next to Monroe's boyhood home, drew 15,000 fans from 49 states and eight countries this October, organizers say.
Campbell Mercer, executive director of the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Music Foundation, said he expects attendance to continue to grow as the centennial approaches.
But he plans on stressing in advertising for the festival that the event is in a rural setting.
"I think in our TV commercials (we're) going to be more careful to tell people this isn't for the faint of heart," he said. "We have people that come expecting we're going to look like Branson (Mo.), and then they get to the top of Jerusalem Ridge. They don't get it. This is a farm experience."
Karen Miller, executive director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau about 45 minutes north of Rosine, said she's hoping the state of Kentucky will get involved and help make the Monroe centennial a major event.
Planning has been underway for almost a year now, she said.
"This has enormous potential for Kentucky — if we're unified in our approach," said Gabrielle Gray, executive director of the bluegrass museum. "In one short weekend, you could walk the paths Bill Monroe walked as a boy, visit his boyhood home and grave and explore the whole history of bluegrass music at the museum."
September is a major month for bluegrass fans because Monroe died on Sept. 9, 1996 — four days before his 85th birthday.
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