This story begins outside Nashville, where country music legend Jimmy Fortune plays and records. Recently the Nelson County native got a call from a fan who wanted to commission a bronze statue in his honor. Woody Greenberg, with the Nelson County historical society, picks up the tale.
“Jimmy said he would allow a statue of him if he did one of Earl Hamner as well, because Jimmy considers Earl his inspiration for the story-telling that he does in his music," he explains.
Earl Hamner is the area’s best known playwright – renowned for his story of a big farm family living in the Blue Ridge Mountains during the Depression and the Second World War. The Waltons would air on American television for nine seasons, winning an Emmy, a Peabody award and a suggestion from President George H.W. Bush that Americans should be more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons. Each episode began with some lines read by Hamner himself.
“There is something within us that tells us all we will ever know about ourselves. There is a destiny that tells us where we will be born, where we will live and where we will die. My people were drawn to mountains. They came when the country was young, and they settled in the upland country of Virginia.”
But it was likely the ending that Americans find memorable, as each member of the family wished the rest a good night, and the lights in their home blinked off.
The Waltons aired on CBS and was sold to Canadian television and the BBC. It was set in a fictitious community based on Schuyler in Nelson County where Hamner grew up and where Jimmy Fortune started his musical career. Again, local historian Woody Greenberg.
“Jimmy was playing up at Wintergreen, and Lou Dewitt from the Statler Brothers happened to be there, and he heard Jimmy sing. He was about to have surgery, so he recommended Jimmy to the Statlers, and they figured okay, when Lou Dewitt is out, Jimmy can take his place.”
After his surgery, Dewitt decided he would retire. Jimmy Fortune stayed with the Statlers for 21 years, enjoying his own moment of fame and following the fortunes of Earl Hamner.
“Jimmy considered Earl a kind of an idol, because he had made it so big," Greenberg recalls. "He said when he was touring with the Statlers he would always try to find a Waltons TV show when he was in the hotel room. Jimmy comes from a big family. I think he was number 7 of 9 children, so I think he kind of related to the Waltons.”
This summer, the historical society had planned an exhibit on the musical heritage of Nelson County when Greenberg got a call from the man who commissioned those bronze statues of Fortune and Hamner. Would the organization like to have them? You bet! They’ll unveil the larger-than-life sculptures this Saturday.
“Jimmy’s not a tall person, but this statue looks like he’s about six and a half feet tall!" Greenberg says. "Earl was six feet tall, and Earl is sitting on a bench. Jimmy is standing across from him with his guitar, and it appears that Jimmy is singing to Earl.”
Before Hamner’s death, Fortune did play for the playwright, and he’ll do so again at the historical society on 29 South and at the high school Saturday night where he’ll be joined on stage by many of the musicians he knows from the neighborhood. That show is sold out, but the public is welcome to attend the unveiling of the statues at 11 a.m. and to tour exhibits on Hamner, Fortune and on other musicians of Nelson County. Organizers say Kami Cotler, who played Elizabeth Walton, will be on hand along with six other cast members on Zoom.
