Somewhere in Bavaria, Germany there are musicians that speak English with a Carolinian mountain drawl, a dialect they picked up from our own Joe Byers when he was guitar pickin' in Germany. Folks who have lived in these North Carolina Appalachian mountains for generations have a deep love of bluegrass music. The lively beat and happy sounds brightened the old days when times were tough, money for entertainment was scarce, and communities came together to celebrate with their own brand of music. Most families made their own entertainment by playing instruments that were readily available: fiddles, banjos, and guitars. Without formal musical training, they strummed on stringed instruments and taught each other how to play. And the beat goes on today, as local musicians provide entertainment for all who wish to hear their happy tunes. They play mostly for the sheer enjoyment of making music, with very little pay for their performances. Joe Byers, of Lake Toxaway, is a well-known talented guitar picker with a great singing voice and is one of these local musicians. He was born in 1937 during the Great Depression which hit all of the United States very hard, especially the folks who lived in this area. Local folks who lived through those rough times will tell you about hard work and scratching out a living. But they will also tell you that they had plenty to eat from the food they grew for themselves and they led happy lives. They made their own fun with dancing, singing, and foot-stomping to good old mountain music. Byers claims eight generations of his family in these parts. His great grandparents lived around East Fork in crude log cabins, going back to the 1800's. "They lived about like the Indians used to do, in log cabins with dirt floors that had holes in the middle of the floors for cooking. They built log cabin schools and ground their meal at grist mills. Early settlers names that I can remember in the E. Fork area were: Hubbard, Bagwell, Galloway, along with the Byers," according to Joe Byers. When Joe was five years old he started picking the banjo, with his mother teaching him. It was a family affair with aunts, and all, involved. Joe had two brothers, Roy and Orville, who are both deceased. Joe's father had come from South Carolina to work at the Silversteen Tannery. Joe was born and raised in Rosman and graduated from Rosman High School. His wife, of over fifty years, Mary Lou, grew up in Gloucester, which is between Lake Toxaway and Balsam Grove. Byers is a talented musician, singer and songwriter. He has played with the P.C.'s Blue Grass Band, the Lamplighters, The Country Men, The Blue Ridge Band, The Pine Valley Boys, the True Blue Grass with Roy Chapman, and the Pioneers. He became a pro in 1964 and played with the Stanley Brothers with such stars as Bill Monroe, and traveled most of the Southeast: Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina. He even appeared on a TV show in Portsmouth, Virginia. He has been part of several recordings and two albums, which enjoyed some success. He also has been a prolific songwriter. Byers married Mary Lou in 1956, over 50 years ago. They have three children: Gregory, Rosetta and Marina. His son, Greg, has one daughter and four grandchildren. Daughter Rosetta has three children and his youngest daughter, Marina has two children. She and her husband were both air traffic controllers in the air force in Iraq for 12 months. Byers says he is grateful she is home. Byers went to work for Bendix at the Tracking Station near US-215. The station was part of the U.S. Department of Defense where they tracked space ships and the weather. It was in a rather secret location for quite some time. The location was good, as there was no static and very few airplanes going by. It was later taken over by Raytheon, and is being used for research and studying stars at present by a different owner. Byers spent 30 years with the station as a Facilities Engineer until his retirement. One of the great adventures of his life came when Bendix sent him to Bad Appling, Germany. All in all, he spent over seven years in Germany and loved it. While there, he formed a small country band with his wife, Mary Lou, and son Gregory. His son played bass and managed the business. Members of a local Bavarian Folk Band had a tuba and bass and asked him to join them and play the acoustic guitar. So, Joe thought: Sure, why not? "I found that the people around there were mostly farmers and very friendly to me. We played every Tuesday night and after listening to them for a short while, I was able to play along with them. I never could read music, but I was able to join them with no trouble. "We wore Lederhosen and Bavarian outfits. One time, they asked me to come along for a concert in Munich. When we got there, I found that we would be playing in a big concert hall where the Munich Symphony Orchestra played. Our group was playing songs from World War II and well-known music like 'The Beer Barrel Polka' and 'Over the Waves', so I was able to join right in. I remember walking across the stage behind the curtain; but there was a little gap in the curtain and the audience could see me. They recognized me from my red guitar and started hollering: 'Guitar Joe. Guitar Joe.' "The local people were very friendly and accepted us right away. They wanted to learn English, so they talked to me a lot. I couldn't teach them the King's English, but they learned my southern dialect and were happy with that!" Joe related in his soft southern accent. His company, Bendix, felt it was showing good relations with Germany and often let him get off work to mingle with the Germans. "I had a good thing going there. It was great for me, as I had a chance to go on with my music," said Byers. Bendix sold the tracking station to another company and Byers came back to Rosman; but he 1-upped, signing with Lochheed-Martin to go back to Germany. He wanted to return to Germany because it was a good job and he had many German friends. He and Mary Lou also traveled to different places. A History teacher took him to visit Munich and also took him to the place where Hitler signed the papers to organize the Third Reich. Byers and his wife did a lot of traveling by tour bus to places like Czechoslovakia and Poland. Byers talked about an old 90-year-old gray-haired German who was very friendly and grateful to the Americans. He had owned a big guest house which Hitler took over and made the old man work hard for nearby farmers. When the Americans came they gave him back his place. Since then, he has felt that the Americans could do no wrong. Byers played the guitar at his guest house for dinners, weddings and fests; and the place was packed every Friday. All of Byers' children are musical. He told of having a trailer near his N.C. home which they used for practice. Their piano player with the band had quit and he badly needed another one. Suddenly, he heard piano music coming from the trailer. It was his twelve year old daughter, Marina, playing by ear and doing a good job of it. That was on a Tuesday and he told her to keep on practicing because she should get ready, since she was going to be playing with the band on Saturday. Byers now plays at The Toxaway Community Center on Fridays, Cathey's Creek on Saturdays, and at the gazebo in Brevard for the Tuesday night street dances. His friends are lavish in their praise for Joe Byers. Jean McCall Hooper, who used to sing with his group, says the he is a self-made musician and a terrific songwriter. In fact, Hooper has some sheet music of a song that he has written: "Home, Where We'll Never Say Goodbye." Joe Byers is a man of integrity who has devoted his life to music and has helped so many young people get into the business," said Jean Hooper. Hooper's grandmother had a log cabin, in the same Gloucester community as Mary Lou Byers, which dates back to 1870 and it is still there. Another one of Joe's many friends is Randall Waldrop. Waldrop was most sincere in his praise for Byers. "Joe is a very giving person who has always contributed his time to helping others. He is one person I really admire. "Joe's wife had an Aneurism and has been seriously ill for four years. Byers has been most dedicated to her, taking daily care of her at home. There have been many expenses and there will be a lot more as the doctors will be pursuing some advanced tests on her at Chapel Hill". said Waldrop. It had long been accepted that Mary Lou had Alzheimer's. However, Joe took her to Greenville recently to have a team of doctors examine her. "Lately, I got some good news from the Greenville doctors who thoroughly examined Mary Lou. They said she does not have Alzheimer's, but is suffering the effects of the Aneurism she had four years ago. For the first time, it gave me some hope," Byers said. They are going to take Mary Lou to Chapel Hill, N.C. for more advanced medical studies. This will all be very expensive, but Byers is determined to do all he can for his beloved wife of over fifty years. So, there will be a benefit for Joe and Mary Byers on September 6th, 2008 at the Toxaway Community Center from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. A hot dog luncheon will be available at 11:00 a.m. and music will be provided by Devon McCall until 6:30. p,m. There will also be cake auctions and other baked goods for sale. Bingo will be played in the evening, offering prizes donated by friends and local merchants. Call Ann Webb at 966-4427 for further information, or if you wish to contribute or donate prizes for the bingo. Byers has played at benefits for others for many years and his many friends will be there to show their appreciation for Joe and Mary at the benefit they will be holding for them. By the way, if you should happen to travel in Bavaria and Germans speak to you in English with an Appalachian mountain accent, you will know that "Guitar Joe" was there ahead of you. Lorraine Miller
