By Mary Owen
Since his arrival a decade ago, Ken Cartwright has learned the importance of living in the Stayton community – even more so since his recent illness.
In early May, Cartwright came down with a bad cold that sent him to the emergency room. Tests showed that he had pneumonia and his gall bladder had exploded, affecting his pancreas. Following surgery to remove his gall bladder, he got a staph infection requiring a high dose of antibiotics. The popular Stayton businessman and musician is recovering slowly, and, with no medical insurance, now faces a slew of medical bills.
“The level of friendship I’ve developed over the years goes far beyond what I thought it was,” Cartwright said, humbled by all the attention and support. “Lots of friends came out of the woodwork willing to help me, and I’m eternally grateful.”
On June 23 a benefit concert featuring Old Circle and Joe Stoddard was held at the Star to help with the medical bills and an auction and wine tasting is planned Aug. 21 at the Stayton Community Center
“I’ve done things all my life for other people, but never in my wildest dreams would I consider they’d do this for me!” Cartwright said.
His musical journey began as a young child, singing with his two sisters as his mother, Dorothy (Cartwright) Holly, played piano. At 7, he began taking accordion lessons.
“And I never forgave my mother for that,” he said teasingly. “In those days, it was anything but a friend – bigger and heavier than I was.”
A year later, he compromised by picking up the clarinet, an instrument he played all through high school. He also hung out at his grandfather Azel Holly’s fiddle shop.
“My grandfather and his cronies needed a bass player for their group to play at the shop on weekends, so he strung a cello for me to play bass,” Cartwright said.
At 10, he started learning guitar, which gave him, he said, his own “identity.”
“I’ve been playing ever since,” he added.
After a stint in the U.S. Navy, Cartwright traveled for three years as a private contractor for the government, but he admitted, “I politically couldn’t keep my mouth shut, and I wanted to do what I wanted to do.”
What he wanted to do was get back to his musical roots. So he apprenticed at a music store in Los Angeles. “I was an indentured servant,” he said, his humor showing. “No pay, but lots and lots of learning.”
Two years later, he began building and repairing stringed instruments, a career that took him from to Grants Pass in 1973. He moved to Coos Bay two years later and opened his own shop. “The economy fell apart in ’79, so I moved the business to Salem above the Court Street Dairy,” Cartwright said. “In 1989, I moved back to Pennsylvania to take care of my sister, then returned to Salem and reopened the shop in the Reed Opera House until ’99 when I moved to Stayton.”
Cartwright Music has moved along Third Avenue from Ida Street to the building he now owns just south of Marion Street. “I think of myself as a one-man downtown remodeling committee,” he joked. “Every time I go into a building, I remodel it!”
During his tenure, he introduced many professional performers to Stayton concertgoers with the idea they would not only get excited and interested in seeing quality performers, but might just take up an instrument themselves. “And just maybe they’d visit my shop,” he said.
Two years ago, Cartwright began to fill Stayton’s radio airwaves with community news and events. “We needed real news in a timely manner,” he said of KENC Community Radio on AM 1620. “I felt a small radio station would allow me to help be a witness for the community.”
Cartwright’s future plans include licensing the small station to increase wattage. He has also worked on a cable access system, and hopes to have a studio and training facility for community members to use by next year.
On July 28 Cartwright plans to bring David Grier, a world-renowned guitar player, and Mike Compton,a Soggy Bottom Boy in the movie, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” to his new Music and Events Center.
A series of free summer concerts at Pioneer Park will kick off with the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association on Aug. 4. Bring a lawn chair and eats or enjoy the Moose Club’s burgers and dogs, Cartwright advises.
Jam sessions at the shop will resume on the last Saturday of September,. “We host a slow jam the first hour for those who are new to bluegrass,” followed by two hours of “pure bluegrass up to speed,” Cartwright said. “Anyone can come and listen,” he added. “We encourage that.”
For information, call Cartwright’s Music and Event Center at 503-769-2778, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].
<div class=”call-out-box”><strong>Performances</strong>
• Tuesday, July 28: David Grier and Mike Compton, hot guitar and mandolin. 7 p.m. at Cartwright’s, 429 N. Third Ave. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 at the door.
• Tuesday, Aug. 4: The Oregon Old Time Fiddle Association with Dale Emery. 6-8 p.m. at Pioneer Park. Free. Sponsored by KENC, Stayton Parks and Recreation, and the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association.
• Tuesday, Aug. 11: Joe Stoddard and JR & the Farm. 6-8 p.m. at Pioneer Park. Free. Sponsored by KENC, Stayton Parks and Recreation and Monte’s Coins and More.
• Tuesday, Aug. 18: Tracy Reynolds in concert. 6-8 p.m. at Pioneer Park. Sponsored by KENC, Stayton Parks and Recreation and Monte’s Coins and More.
• Saturday, Sept. 26: Bluegrass jam session. 5-8 p.m. at Cartwright’s. Refreshments available. Free; donations accepted to offset costs.
• Saturday, March 20: Sonny Hammond Memorial Gospel Show, a benefit concert for the Oregon Bluegrass Association. Bands to be announced. 7 p.m. at Cartwright’s. Refreshments available. Suggested donation of $12 per person, seating limited to 100.</div>
