Hats off to the old wagonmaster

Art Benvie grew up with Hank Snow in Queens County, and was one of Hank’s original Rainbow Ranch Boys. Art says “many people’s lives were enriched by Hank’s music.�

With the help of his Chuckwagon Gang, Benvie set up a private network of Hank’s loyal gang, friends and fans, whereby they could keep in touch with each other and the activities celebrating country music’s most versatile performer.

If you would like to be connected telephone Art Benvie at 1-902-454-9303 or write to Box 747, Lunenburg, NS, B0J 2C0. Five dollars annually entitles you to their Quarterly Newsletter and Friendship Card. (Make cheques payable to Art Benvie.)

Art Benvie is one of the many pals of Hank Snow, who keep his memory alive. The Hank Snow Museum in Liverpool’s old Railroad Station is a popular place and attracts visitors from far and wide.

Benvie tells this story about Hank: “When I was six-years-old, my half-brother Ted bought me a guitar. Clarence (Hank) Snow was 11 years older than me, but from time to time he would stop by my home on Godfrey road in Brooklyn, Queens County, and show me runs and chords. By the time I was ten, I was pretty good. One day Clarence came to town and had me play with him at the Community Hall. You can imagine how proud I was, and he even paid me. He told me to keep playing and some day we would play together again. He kept his promise. In 1948, he came up my driveway in a black Buick and his wife Min was with him. He told me to pack my things and bring my steel guitar, because we were headed for the States, and away we went, just like that. “I toured with him for three of the most memorable years of my life.�

“Clarence (Hank) always treated me fair and square, and I would do it all again, if I could.�

Faron Young, who did a Hank Snow impersonation had to say this about Hank Snow: “When I first came to Opry, Hank was the first man I toured with. He had always been a great inspiration to up-and-coming artists, and was always willing to give you a few minutes of his time. Needless to say, I learned a lot from Hank.�