Memories abound.....Charlotte Henderson displays just a fraction of the
memorabilia that her husband Rod, collected from the stars who appeared
at previous music shows. They include signed pictures, and a special black
hat that belonged to Clint Black, that she displays with Rod's boots!
40th Anniversary of Fall Festival
Brings Back Memories of Great Entertainers
For Star-Night
by: Bobby McDonald
When one looks back through the many catalogues of previous Fall Festivals and peruses the historical files, one name kept surfacing....Rod Henderson, when you began to look at the Star-Night Entertainers, that always made for a great finale of the annual autumn event. "I can remember some of those wonderful nights in the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center, as I grew up and listened to George Strait, Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, and all of the named stars, in my hometown," shared a thread of conversation, this week on Facebook. "We had almost everyone that was anyone at the Fall Festival Star-Nights!"
A visit with Charlotte Henderson, this week, revealed memorabilia from almost all of the stars. Among her special treasures is Clint Black's hat. "Clint would throw his hat out into the audience during his show and at his Civic Center Show, it happened to catch on the lighting, and didn't fall to the audience," remembered Charlotte. "Well, when the show was over, I told Rod and Black's manager, that I wanted the hat. They graciously retrieved it for me and it was added to the collection!"
Fall Festival Board members, left to right, Denise Lumley, Donna Poteet,
Mickie Powers, Kim Weaver Page, and Charlotte Henderson, surround
Star Tracey Lawrence, when he appeared at Star Night.
"I guess of all the performers that came to the Hopkins County Civic Center and that Rod help promote, his favorite one was Tanya Tucker," revealed Charlotte. "He always talked about how much fun she was and what a pleasure she was to work with, as she made her appearance in Sulphur Springs. And, he also was very, very proud of his ability to get George Strait to the Hopkins County Civic Center for two different performances. That was his ability to find someone that was 'up and coming' and then treating them so well that they wanted to come back!"
Records reflect that Rod Henderson moved back to Hopkins County sometime in the mid-1970's and went to work for Radio Station KSST. And, it was in 1977, that the Sulphur Springs Young Farmers decided to do a promotional show for a fundraiser. They brought Ernest Tubb to town and asked Rod to promote the affair. Well, "the rest is history!"
The Hopkins County Regional Civic Center was built and Rod produced his first show in 1978, when Don Williams come to town for two shows, in connection with the Hopkins County Fall Festival. A complete listing of the stars and the years that the were here, are as follows:
1978 - Don Williams
1979 - Johnny Duncan & Janie Frickie
1980 - Jacky Ward
1981 - Ronnie Millsap & Memphis, later - Mel Tillis
1982 - Tom T. Hall & Dave & Sugar
1983 - The Bellamy Brothers & Gail Davies
1984 - David Frizzel & Shelly West
1984 & 1988 - George Strait
1985 - Tanya Tucker
1985 - Reba McIntire
1986 - Sawyer Brown
1986 - Eddie Rabbitt
1986 - Merle Haggard
1987 - Dan Seals & Charlie McClain
1988 - T.G. Sheppard & Helen Cornelius
1988 - Exile
1988 - Mason Dixon
1988 - Lee Greenwood
1989 - Steve Wariner
1989 - Willie Nelson
1989 - Clint Black & Earl Thomas Conley
1989 - Garth Brooks
1989 - Boxcar Willie
1989 - Ricky Van Shelton
1989 - Gary Morris
1990 - Alan Jackson
1992 - Tracy Lawrence
1996 - Neal McCoy
1997 - George Jones & Johnny Rodriguez
1998 - David Kersh
2000 - The Statler Brothers
2000 - Brad Paisley
2000 - Michael Martin Murphy
2001 - Asleep At the Wheel
Other performers that it wasn't detailed as to what year they appeared included: Mark Chesnutt, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brenda Lee, The Forester Sisters, and Dwight Yokum.
It was quite a distinguished list for appearances in Sulphur Springs. Rod Henderson passed away on October 24, 2001, after a four month battle with cancer.
"Rod had a special knack for getting stars, who were up and coming and possibly on their way between other shows, to 'drop by' the Hopkins County Civic Center for a show in Sulphur Springs," related one of the former Fall Festival Board Presidents, this week. "He gauged the 'pulse' of the young crowd in Hopkins County and kept track with what was happening in the music industry, so that he could bring talent here, that everyone liked!"
Rod Henderson is shown here with Brad Paisley,
as he booked him for the 2000 Show in the Civic Center,
knowing that Paisley was a "rising star!"
"Through his associations, that he developed over a number of years, he was able to know the managers and the crews of those involved in the industry, and he could book stars that possibly no one else could even manage," continued the former President. "Then, when one of the entertainers arrived in Hopkins County, he made certain the hospitality was extended to not only the star, but his staff and road crew, making the trip to Hopkins County a memorable experience!"
Rod Hendeson began serving on the Hopkins County Fall Festival Board in 1974, served as president of the board for 4 different years, and remained on the board, until his death in 2001.
"There is a world of memories involved in Star-Night at the Hopkins County Fall Festival!" concluded Charlotte Henderson. "Like the time that we took Eddie Rabbit back to the airport and he gave us all his encore performance before we loaded-up to leave! And, so, so many more!"
This year's Saturday night performance for the Fall Fall Festival will feature "God, Country, Rock 'n Roll," with the show to begin in the Civic Center Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $21.00 each and can be purchased from several non-profit organizations in town, as well as at the show. Mark your calendars and make plans to attend this year's finale to Fall Festival.
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