The February 17, 1927 edition of the Greenville Sun newspaper carried the story of a fiddling contest that attracted more than 600 people to the Wayne County, Missouri community more than 200 people were turned away , failing to gain admission to the event.
According to the paper over 20 contestants entered the event, though a few failed to appear for various reasons. A couple of contestants competed with very old fiddles, one of which was found by the contestant’s father on a riderless horse during the Civil War.
Tunes that were played included “Little Brown Jug”, “Drunken Hiccoughs” and “Buffalo Girl”
After the ballots were counted Earnest Woods was declared the winner, Brian Bell was awarded second place and Abner Barrow third. Prizes for first , second and third place were $10, $5 and $2.50 respectively and paid in gold.
The Sun reported that the winner of this contest was supposed to compete in a larger event encompassing the Southeast Missouri area. I am posting the full article below
Greenville Missouri Fiddler’s Contest Thu, Feb 17, 1927 – 1 · Greenville Sun (Greenville, Missouri) · SHSMO Digital Newspaper Project
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