Gene Cox

[Paul Gifford]

Eugene (Gene) A. Cox, 88, died in Arizona last Saturday. From 1967 to 1982 or so he served as president of the Original Dulcimer Players Club. During this period, the club grew from a small, mostly local group of mostly elderly people in mid- and north central Michigan meeting twice a year to a larger group that sponsored an annual festival at Evart drawing several thousand attendees. Gene acted as emcee for the club meetings and at the Evart "Fun Fest" gatherings for those years. He was the public face of the ODPC and got along well with everybody.

He grew up near Manton, Michigan, the son of Ted and Viola Cox. His great-grandfather, Abiram Toms, bought a dulcimer at Grand Rapids at the close of the Civil War, and had it with him when he bought the farm at Manton. He and his son played the fiddle and the dulcimer, and the dulcimer was played by the next generation, Allen Toms, and his sister Viola, who was Gene's mother. When Elgia Hickok was organizing a meeting of dulcimer players in 1963, he stopped at Viola Cox's house and invited her. Gene attended the first meeting. He had played guitar since his high school days, when he listened to the "National Barn Dance" on WLS and formed a group called the Wexford County Rangers to sing songs from WLS and play for square dances.

After the first ODPC meeting, he made a few dulcimers and taught himself to play. He liked nothing more than to get in front of a group and demonstrate playing old-time dance tunes and hymns. At the end of the meeting, during which each player would play about three tunes, a jam session would develop, and Gene would call a set of square dances, usually containing "First Two Ladies Cross Over" and "Grapevine Twist."

He worked for the railroad most of his life, and upon retirement, sold his house in Byron Center, bought a fifth-wheel and traveled around, ending up in Yuma, Arizona, where he spent his time playing with other retirees. He came back to Michigan each summer until it got too difficult to travel.

With his close companion Esther, Gene kept the Original Dulcimer Players Club together during the late '60s and early '70s, when the group was pretty small and could easily have fallen apart. Their diligence and their warm encouragement kept people coming and the club going. Gene had a long and happy life.

He is survived by Esther and two daughters and a son.

[Heidi]

Thank you for the thoughtful post, Paul. I didn't know Gene, but I do love ODPC (Evart) Fun Fest and I'm thankful for Gene's dedication to his club and to the HD community. May his fine contribution to our world live on for many years to come.

[Dan Landrum]

Paul,

Thanks for sharing this. Do you know if any Youtube (or other) video exists of Gene jamming at Evart?

Dan

[cboody]

Gene was indeed a wonderful guy. We met him early on in our Evart experiences and his enthusiasm and positiveness was truly wonderful. Thanks to Paul Gifford for his informative post (I'm still looking for that music from Iowa Paul, I haven't forgotten).

If anyone has video of Gene playing it would be likely it is Paul Goelz. Try contacting him..

Chuck Boody

[Dan Landrum]

Thanks Chuck. I've heard all kinds of good things about Gene, but I appeared too late on the Evart scene to get to meet him. The ODPC Funfest was the first festival I ever attended. I had been playing, for over 15 years and my only regular connection to other players was as a DPN subscriber since 1987. I kept hearing about this great festival in Michigan and finally talked Angie into driving up there with me in 2003, in between tours with the long haired Greek guy.

I'd heard all kinds of stories about Evart - even that I probably wouldn't be allowed to play because I don't represent what some would call a traditional style. Utter nonsense. People are people wherever you go (quoting Dr. Seuss). If you love hammered dulcimers you'll fit right in at Evart.

My favorite Evart memory is walking past the barn where the oldest members gather and jam. The instruments may not be perfectly in tune, but when all these people, with thousands of life experiences pour it all into a common tune, it feels like time stops. This is the sound of a simpler time, friendship, and unbridled joy. People like Gene deserve credit for doing the hard, and sometimes thankless, work that goes into organizing great events like the Funfest.

[cboody]

Amen Dan.

Thanks to you on behalf of those carrying on Gene's work.

Chuck Boody