Pam Simmons Setser, Jean Simmons, and Tommy Simmons longtime performers at the Ozark Folk Center.
This Ozark Folk Center 50th Anniversary Legacy Photo is in honor of our father and grandfather, Tommy Simmons, whose legacy continues to live on through the Ozark Folk Center.
With love, his family.
In 1962, Tommy Simmons moved with his wife Jean and kids Danny, Virginia, Renee, and Pam to Mountain View from nearby Van Buren County. He quickly became involved in the community, was elected mayor, and served in that role from 1966 to 1970.
When the Ozark Folk Center was under construction, Tommy was hired as Project Manager with Advanced Projects Corp., and then in 1972, was hired as the first General Manager of the Folk Center for Arkansas State Parks. He was General Manager until 1975 when he left to become a Regional Supervisor with the Arkansas Parks Department. He stayed with State Parks as a regional supervisor until his retirement. Tommy has always had a heart for service, and cherished his time with the Arkansas State Parks.
Tommy has also always had a love for music, and Ozark folk music in particular. Tommy, Jean, and Pam began performing as the Simmons Family when Pam was five years old. Tommy played guitar while Jean played autoharp, and they all three provided the vocals. They played at the courthouse hootenannies until they moved to the Ozark Folk Center Stage when it opened in 1973. During the summer of 1970, the family traveled to Washington D. C. to represent Arkansas at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival. As a young girl, it was the first of many trips Pam was able to make with her music.
The Simmons Family’s first recording was a part of the National Geographic project in 1972. (https://www.discogs.com/release/2754062-Various-Music-Of-The-Ozarks ) The recording was done in the Methodist Church in Mountain View. Their first album as the Simmons Family was recorded in Memphis at the University.
Pam recounted her experience at that first “real” recording session:
I remember the engineer’s name was Rodney Peppenhorst. We recorded all day long. When Rodney began playing back the recording, there was a blank spot in my song, “East Virginia”. I began to cry. Everything had to be reset and recorded again and I sang it the second time in tears.
The Simmons Family Band traveled extensively throughout the state, and were regular performers at the Ozark Folk Center. One of the interesting places they were invited to play was the annual Coon Supper at Gillette, Arkansas (If you don’t know about it, google it). Pam was 12 years old and was entirely ‘turned off’ at the thought of eating raccoon, until she tasted it—and loved it! So they sent her home with a bucket of coon!
Tommy continued playing music, and supporting the Ozark Folk Center, through his many years of living in Mountain View. Tommy is one of the last true great Ozarkian storytellers, and frequently enraptures his grandchildren and great-grandchildren with stories of the old days. Tommy’s legacy continues through his family and the Ozark Folk Center.
Entry by Alison Lee and Pam Simmons Setser.
The Committee of One Hundred Tribute Wall recognizes contributions to the preservation of Ozark folk culture.
If you would like to help preserve the folk culture of the Ozarks, consider a
The Committee is made up entirely of volunteers so, except for transaction fees, all of your donation funds music, craft, or the herb gardens and, as a 501c3 entity
your donation is tax deductible!
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