by Fred Hudson
Alexandria Virginia – On
Thursday evening January 13th a group of musicians
got together at the Alexandria, Virginia Moose Lodge and staged a three hour
concert to raise money for the horsemen of Classy Lane Farms who had lost their
horses and equipment in the January 4th fire.
Most of the musicians
have no connections to harness racing. One musician stated that he could not
imagine waking up one morning and losing his livelihood over night.
The concert was arranged
and organized by Nancy Lisi with the help of the Estelle Miller and Pat Dowdy
of the Moose Lodge.
Representing the harness
racing community was Freddie Hudson who spoke of how devastating a fire is,
having experienced it when is dad lost 15 horses in a stable fire at Roosevelt
Raceway in 1963.
The concert raised $320.
I should note that the
musicians call themselves the Cat Jammers and they came about that name when
they started doing benefit concerts to raise money to care for and relocate the
abandoned cats of Rosecroft Raceway.
The musicians (Cat
Jammers) that participated are as follows;
King Street Bluegrass:
Arthur Lisi: sound and
flute
Donnie Faulkner: lead
singer guitar
Robert Swain: founding
member singer
Roger Hart: Harmonica
Rob Waller: Banjo
Nancy Lisi: Bass,
organizer
Vernon Santmeyer: Singer
and multiple instruments
Dave Meade: Accordion
Mark Skip Casale: Funky
mandolin
Gary Cole: Bass
Shelley Burns: Fiddle
Katherine Farrar: Banjo
