Calhoun County

Calhoun County came together over 15 years ago when two friends left another band but wanted to continue to play. Rich McConnell and Eldon Pickett had both been playing with the Scrapwood String Band and Cloggers. This was one of the best string bands in the Midwest and the cloggers were good enough to take third place in a national contest at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. After the boys left Scrapwood they decided to form a new band. The original Calhoun County was Eldon Pickett, Jeri Pickett, Joe Pickett, Rich McConnell, Ron Meier and Jason Meier. There has only been one musician change in all this time. A few years ago Jeri got tired of hauling the bass around and putting up with a bunch of knuckleheads. She recruited Dick Durow to play bass and retired to emeritus status. We did add another member recently when Jim Boose was asked to join the band.Karen McConnell and Linda Joler had been dancing with Scrapwood and when that band broke up they were interested in continuing dancing. One thing led to another and pretty soon they were in the band and kicking up a storm. Over the years Calhoun County has played everything from pig roasts to the Kansas State Fair. They like all kinds of music and have added Blues, Texas Swing and real Country tunes to their mix of Bluegrass and Mountain Music. Let's meet the band.

Dick Durow - Plays the bass and sings lead. Dick played with a country band, Montford Lane for several years. After retiring from Goodyear in Topeka he lists himself as the only full time musician in the band. There isn't a garage sale in the country that he can drive by. If you need a music stand just give him a holler.

Rich McConnell - Plays the guitar and mandolin in the band as well as singing lead and harmony. Rich has played on local bands for years including the Poverty Pocket Pickers and Scrapwood. He also plays fiddle, banjo and recently found a resophonic guitar to add to his efforts. He is an avid flat picker and will attend Steve Kauffman's camp for the third time in June, 2000. He is a teacher in Topeka, Ks.

Ron Meier - Plays the guitar and sings lead. Ron is the emcee for the band. They can do a one hour set in 30 minutes when he is not available. He played in rock bands in the 60's but has been an old country and bluegrass fan for years now. You might also see him emceeing local shows and festivals with his good friend, Ben Streeter. Ron is a registered nurse in Topeka, Ks.

Jason Meier - Jason plays the washboard. Jason has been a drummer since age 3. He latched onto the washboard after seeing Washboard Leo at a folk festival. He has played various percussion instruments with the KU marching band and symphonic orchestra. He has been the drum line instructor for the Shawnee Heights High School marching band in Topeka and currently writes music reviews for a local internet magazine, Synapsis.

Eldon Pickett - Eldon plays banjo and sings lead. Eldon started playing banjo after hearing a jam session at Steve Mason's music store in Lawrence, Ks. He bought a banjo and recruited his wife Jeri to play bass and son Joe to play mandolin. After playing in Scrapwood he founded Calhoun County. He is a physical therapist at the Leavenworth VA and an avid horsemen.

Joe Pickett - Joe plays mandolin and fiddle and sings lead and harmony. Joe started playing mandolin so dad would have a playing partner. He played with a kid's group, Liberty, before joining the band. He won the junior division of the mandolin contest at the Kansas State Fiddlers and Pickers and in 1999 he won the state contest as an adult. He entered the mandolin contest for the first time at Winfield in 1999. He didn't place but we expect to see him back there, better than ever. He is a teacher and coach in Eudora, Ks.

Karen McConnell - Karen is one of the cloggers. After playing bass with the Poverty Pocket Pickers Karen started taking clogging lessons. She started dancing with Scrapwood and was with them when they won third place in the national contest at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo. After leaving Scrapwood she recruited Linda and they started dancing with the band. She is a school teacher in Topeka, Ks.

Linda Joler - Linda is one of the cloggers. Linda was interested in learning to clog. Karen loaned her a pair of dance shoes and she has been at it ever since. She was also a member of Scrapwood and teamed up with Karen to perform with Calhoun County. Linda is a school teacher in Lawence, Ks.

Jim Boose - Jim plays guitar and sings lead and harmony. Jim has been a friend of the band for several years. After filling in with the band on several gigs he was asked to join up as a full time member. He has played guitar for several years and must know the words to a 1000 songs. He is a carpenter and works for the University of Kansas.