Fans will remember the Old Time Fiddlers Convention that began in 1924, eventually making rural union Grove and Iredell County internationally famous before becoming a victim of its own success in 1979. Today, only some 2,000 of Iredell County’s 200,000 population live in Union Grove’s 38 square mile fire district. How could Iredell County have possibly handled 200,000 convention visitors in 1979?
Easter weekend in 1970s Union Grove was similar to Easter week 2023 in Miami Beach where six million people live in a metro area with 60,000 motel rooms, two dozen campgrounds, hundreds of restaurants, and infrastructure to handle thousands of others. However during Easter 2023, some 200,000 rebel-rousing college students descended on Miami Beach, resulting in riots, dozens of arrests and curfews — very similar to 1970s Union Grove.
The following is a history of an event that may likely forever be Iredell County’s largest ever tourist attraction.
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In the early 1900s, northwestern Iredell County children were educated through the eighth grade in several one- and two-room ungraded schools in small communities around Union Grove. The Harmony Farm Life School was the closest of the four Iredell County high schools to the Union Grove area.
In 1922, Union Grove school district No. 2 approved a special (15 cents per $100 valuation) school tax for a new consolidated high school building to be located on Union Grove’s 5-acre elementary campus (where the 15-acre campus is today). At a meeting of area school patrons, H.P. VanHoy, teacher/principal at the Union Grove school, was selected to present the township’s high school application to the county school superintendent and board of education. The application was initially denied, but later approved on the condition that local patrons pay for all expenses because the county lacked the funds to support another high school.
Area citizens rallied around the worthy cause. Their children were needed around the farms and parents didn’t want them at boarding schools in other parts of the county. So they sacrificed — cut timber, sawed logs, bought books, some mortgaged properties to donate money, hired teachers and built the building. Union Grove had its high school and all was progressing well. H.P. VanHoy resigned his positions at the school to become county treasurer — and then, North Carolina initiated tougher school accreditation standards.
School patrons busied themselves to upgrade the school to meet the new guidelines. A Statesville Record news article showed “Union Grove High School is progressing nicely … Every possible effort is being made to raise the standard of our school … The building is being enlarged, the library supplied, additional resources ordered. We continue to work on the desired result. The state high school inspector will be at our school this week.”
Miss Celeste Henkel, assistant school superintendent, scheduled Dr. J. Henry Highsmith for the accreditation inspection. A meal was prepared and the hard-working patrons dressed in their Sunday finest for the announcement. After the inspection and meal, Dr. Highsmith announced that the school was deficient in several areas, rejected the application and left for Statesville to catch a train for his return trip to Raleigh. Local patrons were devastated.
Shortly after the inspection, Miss Henkel, Union Grove School Chairman Turner Jennings and Principal C.C. Holmes arrived at VanHoy’s Statesville office with the disappointing news. VanHoy had to work on Saturdays in the county administrative building and had been unable to attend the inspection.
VanHoy became involved against to help assure Union Grove did not lose the high school the community had sacrificed so much to obtain. His written account about the history of the fiddlers convention shows: VanHoy requested Jennings and Holmes to reply “yes” when he asked them for answers and the three went to the hotel to meet with Dr. Highsmith.
VanHoy asked what was the trouble? Dr. Highsmith replied, “Your library is inadequate. I cannot and will not approve it.” When they were told what was needed, VanHoy said, “Order it C.O.D. and we’ll pay for it somehow, won’t we boys?” Jennings and Holmes replied: “Yes, we’ll pay for it.” Dr. Highsmith further stated, “Your science department equipment is inadequate. I cannot and will not approve it.” The group replied, “We’ll pay for it.” Then Highsmith said “I cannot approve your building.”
VanHoy, who recalled that he could not say order a building and have it delivered C.O.D., replied, “Dr. Highsmith, you are a great school man, a man of vision, and so am I. I can see a modern school building with modern equipment, but I’m asking for the very best advice. Would you advise us to use every cent of money we can beg, borrow, steal or get in any possible way to build that school building now, or would you advise us to use the present building until we can increase the size of the district? We are holding special tax elections as fast as we can and carrying almost solidly, and then build this modern building?”
VanHoy’s writing continued: Dr. Highsmith, who was sitting in a swivel chair, turned his back, stared at the ceiling and kept scratching a bald spot on his head, ‘til I thought he would never answer. Finally, he turned around facing us and said, “Mr. VanHoy, I will not only accredit your school, but I will give you $500 to help you run the school.”
There is where the Old Time Fiddler’s Convention enters the picture.
Union Grove patrons had paid for all high school expenses including classrooms, the gymnasium, library, science equipment, teachers’ salaries, etc. Another meeting was held to determine how to raise the additional money needed to keep the high school.
VanHoy, a fiddler who loved old-time music and had played in fiddlers conventions throughout the state, suggested a fiddlers convention fundraiser. The group liked his suggestion and put VanHoy in charge. They also suggested an Easter Saturday night event.
It was the beginning of spring, folks had been cooped up all winter and would get out for some good fellowship and music and be in the mood to donate money to further support its worthy cause.
That’s how the first Union Grove fiddlers convention was held at the school on Easter Saturday night April 19, 1924. The Dowell family band was among the six bands that performed before some 200 spectators who donated around $200 for the school. The community rallied around the annual Easter week event that raised $85,000 for the school over 46 consecutive conventions on the campus from 1924 through 1969.
The Union Grove Fiddlers Convention rapidly grew and became the oldest annual convention (also known as the World Championship). Because the number of spectators rapidly grew, musicians soon had to perform multiple times in the auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria and agriculture building. Older conventions that had begun before Union Grove’s ceased holding annual events during the Great Depression and World War years, but H.P. VanHoy continued annually, believing the convention provided some happiness for local folks during those difficult times. As a result, Union Grove became the oldest continuous annual convention. It was three years older than the Grand Ole Opry.
After World War II, VanHoy involved his oldest son, Pierce and middle son, Harper, in convention management. The elder VanHoy was the general manager; Pierce, the promoter; and Harper, secretary/treasurer. All three emceed at various venues. Pierce frequently traveled to sister conventions to recruit the best musicians who brought more spectators who wanted to witness the best performers.
Due to Pierce’s promotional efforts, attendance outdistanced the numbers at big city conventions and Union Grove became known as the biggest and best of all fiddlers conventions. Pierce proclaimed Union Grove to be the “World Championship,” which attracted even more spectators to witness the best musicians compete for the World Champion trophies that were presented to event winners.
Bill Monroe’s bluegrass, the Kingston Trio’s Tom Dula song and rockabilly music further increased 1950s attendance.
In the early years, most convention spectators were older adults and their small children. In the 1950s, Bill Monroe’s bluegrass, Kingston Trio folk music and Elvis Presley’s rockabilly style attracted the interest of younger adults. A 1957 Greensboro Record article reported: “Rock ‘N Roll has invaded the hallowed sanctums at the 33rd annual Union Grove Fiddlers Convention. H.P. VanHoy, pictured with fiddle, has endorsed modern competition divisions to increase gate receipts for the convention, a charitable event for the local high school.”
In the 1960s, New York bands and music critics, major magazines and television created national interest that led to explosive attendance.
New York musician, author and folklorist Mike Seeger attended the 1962 convention and record “Folkways Album #FA 2434.” New York Times music critic Robert Shelton also attended and wrote articles in New York publications that attracted the attention of northeastern U.S. college students at the beginning of the “Folk Revival.” College students who couldn’t make it to the southeastern U.S. beach destinations for their long Easter breaks began showing up at Union Grove which some publications called “The Poor Man’s Fort Lauderdale.” Seeking a party, droves of long-haired college students and hippies descended on Union Grove during a “counterculture” era that involved Vietnam War peace protests, marijuana and other drug use and other behaviors that were foreign to Iredell County.
West Virginian Clark Kessenger, Union Grove’s 1966 champion fiddler, proudly showed his World Champion trophy to TV host Hugh Downs and millions of NBC viewers on the “Today Show.” The convention was reported in Time and Newsweek magazines. Union Grove and its fiddlers convention were on the national radar.
Attendance had grown to 14,000 at the 1968 convention — 5,000 spectators in the auditorium, gym and a large circus tent, were well-behaved but the ones who couldn’t get in for performances traipsed on and around the 15-acre campus, recklessly trashing school and nearby properties. The adjacent Methodist church canceled Easter Sunday services because hippies were camping and partying in the area of the services.
The VanHoys’ church pastor became spokesman for concerned local citizens who asked the county school board to control spectator behavior. After several meetings, school board and convention officials mutually agreed the event had outgrown the camps and 1969 would be the last year the school board would host the nonprofit event. The VanHoys had a year to relocate from the camps which was, by far, the best local site. The convention began at the school because of the need for a consolidated high school; it would end soon after the Union Grove High School was consolidated into North Iredell High School.
At the 1969 convention, emcees announced the 1970 event would be at a farm 300 yards east of the school camps. The event attracted 20,000 spectators and was a huge success; although outside influencers continued to cause problems. Hells Angels and Outlaws motorcycle gangs arrived, knowing the high number of college kids and hippies would be markets for their primary sources of income — drugs, alcohol, prostitution and weapons. Law enforcement escorted Angels motorcycles to a roped off area on the athletic field. The Iredell County Sheriff’s Department established an on-campus command post that included a magistrate’s office. Law violators were arrested, tried and convicted on-site. As buses were filled, guilty parties were transported to the county jail in Statesville.
Controversy surfaced over the relocation.
Three weeks after the 1969 convention, Harper VanHoy recorded the purchase of a 44-acre farm east of the school campus which he named Fiddlers Grove. He envisioned owning a music park that would host the convention. The three VanHoys, who always held planning meetings, met more frequently to figure out how to modify existing farm buildings in time for a large March 1970 Easter week event, arrange for seating/shelter, parking, phones and utilities, food and sanitation, etc. A September 1969 press briefing revealed plans for the music park and a book about the convention’s first 50 years which was to be finished by the 50th anniversary in 1974.
Pierce VanHoy, now the general manager, had also explored moving the convention to the Winston-Salem Coliseum, but all three VanHoys wanted it to remain in Union Grove, where it began. Plans appeared to progress smoothly until late October, when Pierce and Harper had different opinions over convention management. Eighty-two-year-old H.P. VanHoy left the details to his two sons and stayed out of the initial negotiations.
A news article reported the Winston-Salem Coliseum would host the convention for less cost than Harper proposed for his farm. Pierce offered his 70-acre farm which was 2 1/2 miles further east, and near what would soon between Exit 65 at Interstate 77 and NC 901. Time was running short — a decision had to be made. The elder VanHoy, the convention’s founder, announced the 1970 convention was moving to Pierce’s Jericho Road farm.
Harper then announced the 1970 convention would be at his farm, prompting his father to clarify any confusion with another press statement, “the Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers Convention H.P. VanHoy had founded and managed since 1924 was moving to Pierce’s farm.” Hyped-up newspaper articles then began reporting a Hatfield/McCoy type feud over Union Grove’s now famous convention that brought more curiosity seekers to the area.
Harper then announced he was leaving the Old Time Fiddlers Convention to start a new event at Fiddlers Grove, “The Ole Time Fiddlers and Bluegrass Festival.” For years, Harper emphasized in the press that he did not want himself or his event associated in any way with the Old Time Fiddlers Convention. His father and Pierce continued the original event at Pierce’s farm. At both places in 1970 and 1971, performances were scheduled at the same time on the same Easter week dates.
The North Carolina Legislature enacts a mass gathering law to control convention crowds.
Ninety-two bands performed in a large circus tent at Pierce’s farm on Easter Saturday night 1970 before a crowd estimated at 25,000 at the 47th Old Time Fiddlers Convention. The next year. Misbehaviors of some of the 50,0000 to 75,000 spectators promoted the N.C. Legislature to pass a law to protect the public’s safety. The “Mass Gatherings Act” began regulating multi-day outdoor events that involved more than 5,000 persons. Promoters had to post a $5,000 bond for the first 10,000 expected to attend and $1,000 for each additional $5,000, forfeiture and non-compliance; obtain permits that approved adequate medical, sanitary, parking, private security and provide an on-site office where regulators could monitor events. The Union Grove convention, the reason for the new law, was the first event monitored by it.
Harper, whose crowds were about 10 percent of the big event, avoided the expensive provisions of the new law by switching to a Memorial Day private party where only invited bands and guests could perform and attend. The Mass Gatherings Act never applied to the smaller Fiddlers Grove events which were more family oriented.
Attendance at Pierce’s farm convention couldn’t be determined by gate receipts. At the 1972 event, more of the estimated 60,000-100,000 came over, under and around the gates and fences than paid to get in. The North Carolina Highway Patrol based attendance estimates on the number of cars but nobody ever really knew how many attended — too many cars and people to count.
The 1970s crowds resembled the one-time 1969 Woodstock music fest at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre farm in New York. Promoters fenced the farm and pre-sold 100,000 tickets, but some 500,000 others crashed the fences and severely damaged the property. Traffic was snarled for miles in all directions; musicians had to be helicoptered in; Yasgur’s clean-up costs exceeded his rental income. The promoters lost money but had the foresight to film the event. It took 10 years of film royalties for them to profit from the 1969 event.
Pierce rented adjoining property for the convention, but 500 acres couldn’t handle those on the grounds and others who rambled on and around nearby properties. N.C. Attorney General Rufus Edmisten, a frequent convention performer, opened the 1977 convention by dedicating the H.P. VanHoy Memorial Coliseum, a 10,000 seat covered arena built to honor the convention’s founder who passed away in July 1976. News articles showed attendance estimates of 90,000 in 1974; 100,000+ in 1975; 125,000 in 1976; and 200,000 in 1977 and 1979.
The Union Grove Fiddlers Convention was now famous all over the United States and Canada.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce brought six foreign journalists and helicopters brought television crews to the convention which was shown on ABC, CBS and NBC nightly news. A two-minute NBC segment can still be found on the internet. It films Pierce, bands and masses of spectators and convention activities, and begins with “For two weeks each year, this is the third largest city in North Carolina,” and ends with “This is Jackson Bain, reporting from the Old Time Fiddlers Convention in Union Grove, North Carolina.”
Interstate 77 had opened, making it easier for travelers to get to Pierce’s farm. Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions on I-77 at Exit 65. Cars were lined on both sides of NC 901 from near US 21 in Harmony to NC 115 in northwest Iredell. Grocery stores and nearby gasoline supplies were exhausted. Law enforcement once confiscated a Hells Angels’ truckload of untaxed whiskey as it neared the convention site and eventually destroyed the whiskey and the driver’s German luger pistol. Wilson Security positioned Hells Angels at the stage to help assure band safety. A wire fence was installed around the stage to protect the performers from bottles and firecrackers that were tossed by college kids and hippies. The Angels had methods that stopped most behaviors.
The fiddlers convention became a victim of its own popularity.
Gates had to be closed on mid-day Saturday because the property couldn’t handle any more people. Local residents, who usually came only to the Saturday night finals, weren’t able to enter the grounds. The mass of people created safety concerns for state and county officials. The Mass Gatherings Act permits had not effectively controlled the crowds. Undercover agents were known to be monitoring conventions since the late 1960s, but it wasn’t known they were building evidence with intent to shut down the convention.
In late 1979 an investigation surfaced when an agent submitted a 140-page report to District Attorney H.W. (Butch) Zimmerman. The report became the proof the solicitor needed to bring charges against the convention for violating the North Carolina public nuisance law. Zimmerman convened a grand jury, requested an investigation (that had already occurred) and filed a lawsuit against the convention.
Judge Julius Rousseau issued a restraining order that prevented organizers from obtaining permits until the lawsuit was settled. Originally scheduled for November 1979, the trial was delayed until March — too late to obtain permits to hold a traditional Easter week event in 1980. Forty-five years of consecutive Union Grove conventions ended and the Galax, Virginia fiddlers convention assumed the position of being the nation’s oldest and continues to hold that distinction.
The 1980 trial ruling.
In January 2022, with the persistent assistance of the Iredell County Clerk of Courts staff, a copy of the trial judgment was finally obtained from the Raleigh Archives. Several terms of Judge Rousseau’s trial rulings were similar to terms in the Mass Gatherings law. The judge’s ruling, which showed the Union Grove Fiddlers Convention could be discontinued for only one year, and included the following terms:
1. The convention couldn’t be held anywhere else and could not be held on Easter weekend;
2. Law enforcement must be allowed on convention property with full powers of arrest;
3. Organizers must post a $10,000 bond to secure payment of future costs incurred to abate nuisances;
4. Signs must be posted that bar drugs, alcohol and firearms at the convention site;
5. Adequate security patrols for the entire run of the convention.
For the first time law enforcement would be responsible for arrests. Sheriff’s department personnel had been doing their part — now they might get some help from other agencies. It would be difficult to assure the prevention of other terms — use, possession or sale of controlled substances and non-tax paid alcohol; firearms possession and discharge; and display of illicit sexual conduct and nudity. If a violation of those terms was reported anywhere around the convention’s 500 acres of farm and rental property, Pierce could be held personally responsible, and his property could be seized. Pierce, realizing he couldn’t possibly control the behavior of some 200,000 people, reluctantly made a decision to end the convention.
The convention promoter switches to other successful ventures.
After the fiddlers convention ended, Pierce converted his farm into a successful RV and camping facility. VanHoy Farms Family Campground began hosting gospel and religious events, scouting jamborees, rodeos, athletic events and music performances, and once had an Atlantic Coast Conference all-star basketball game in the coliseum. In the 1990s, the campground hosted the WFMX Country Homecoming that featured famous artists including Charlie Daniels, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Money, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Ricky Scaggs, Marty Stewart, Pam Tillis, Tanya Tucker and Lee Ann Womack. Today, some of the 20,000 homecoming spectators, who weren’t around these parts in the 1970s, think they were in huge convention crowds.
But the fiddlers convention crowds were 10 times larger.
Visit Union Grove
When you’re in the vicinity of I-77’s Exit 65, visit around the Union Grove area. The original high school building that was built with 1920s fiddlers convention donations is now home to Union Grove General Store. It was moved to its present location across NC 901 from the elementary school.
VanHoy Farms Family Campground, the convention site from 1970-79, is located a few hundred yards southeast of Exit 65 on Jericho Road. Old timer tourists passing through on I-77 stop on occasion to reminisce and show their families were they camped during the 1970s convention. You’ll find pictures of the famous homecoming musicians in the office, swimmers at the pool, pickleball games, others grilling out and telling stories, local musicians jamming, picking and grinning; lots of RVs and frequent music, religious activities, rodeos and other events in and around the covered arena. Pierce’s son, Casey and J.P. and some local musician friends are in the process of converting Pierce’s home into a music studio and museum.
When Pierce VanHoy passed away in 1997, Statesville Record and Landmark’s long-time editor, Jerry Josey, was quoted as saying, “Pierce probably brought more people to Iredell County than any other person. Via the Newspapers.com website, you can find out why Josey’s statement is true.
More than 1,500 digitized news articles about the Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers Convention can be found in newspapers in all of the United States and most Canadian provinces. There’s not telling how many other non digitized newspapers had articles about the event that made Union Grove famous.
During a convention opening speech in the 1970s, H.P. VanHoy said, “Union Grove is the Hub of the universe.” The Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers Convention will very likely forever be the event that brought he most people to Iredell County and Union Grove is still a happening place.