Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Wayfarers

  • wcu_picturing-2914.jp2
  • This 1967 photograph taken by photographer Juanita Wilson shows the Wayfarers from Cranberry High School performing in the Mountain Youth Jamboree. Members include Kermit Harpold (banjo), Dave Tate (washtub bass), Jimmy Shoemaker (Jew’s harp), Steve Renegar (guitar), and Maggie Verner (mandolin). Founder and director of the Mountain Youth Jamboree, Hubert H. Hayes (1901-1964) auditioned and directed youth to perform in folk dance, music, and folk and ballad singing. The jamboree was held in the Asheville City Auditorium (now known as Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) from 1948 to 1973, and Hayes’ wife, Leona Trantham Hayes (1913-1989) continued to direct the program after his death in 1964. Hubert Hayes was an author, playwright, and alumni of Duke University.