A Santa Fe SOS Christmas

During my years in Sing-Out, there always seemed to be some kind of conference being held or planned, either on a state, regional or national basis.

And Sing-Out South was always well represented.

That includes the Jones sisters (Debbie, Candy and Pam) seen above with Bill Cates. It was late December, 1966, and according to the NASHVILLE BANNER, they were among 85 delegates from Nashville who attended a year-end Sing-Out conference held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. More than 1,500 Sing-Out cast members and others from all over the nation and the world attended, including all three traveling national Sing-Out casts.

Being in the southwestern United States, you might think Santa Fe would be a warm weather destination such as what you see in the photo above. But the city is nestled 7,000 feet high in the Sangre de Christos mountains. The weather the week of the conference back in December, 1966 was reportedly snowy and quite cold (with near- zero temperatures at times).

You can almost see how frigid it was by looking at the folks in the photo below which appears to have been taken outside a Holiday Inn in Sante Fe. The photo features the entire Jones family, along with Bill Cates, and the reigning musical superstars of the Sing-Out movement at that time, the Colwell Brothers (and a few other folks I can't identify)

But while the weather was very cold, the fervor of those attending the conference from Sing-Out South was heating up according to an article by Peter Pence in THE NASHVILLE BANNER.

Speaking to the entire conference on New Year's Eve 1966, Marlene Echols of Sing-Out South said: "We're going to take a new spirit back to Nashville. Sing-Out South has been kind of dragging and we couldn't figure out why. But we found out at this conference what it was---we had lost some of the spirit of Moral Re-Armament. We're going back with a new spirit to sing out in 1967."

Added Mike Glasgow of SOS: "This is the year we hope to find 50,000 young people who are committed to taking the spirit of Moral Re-Armament to every corner of the world. We want people who will set a pattern in everything they do, in every way they live their lives, by living for God."

Another SOS member, Ollie Jones put it this way: "MRA gives me a purpose to serve. I live for other people in order to help them. By helping them, I help myself. I CARE for people now and it is not a selfish care. I hope Sing-Out can bring about a unity of the races. That's the thing about Sing-Out. It includes everyone. If it excluded anyone, it wouldn't work."

Finally, SOS member Bobby Johnston (seen in the photo below)added these comments: "It's a real challenge to live these (MRA)standards (absolute honesty, purity, unselfishness and love). It's not easy. It doesn't mean you don't fall. But when you fall, you can stand up again, and you've got friends to help you and stand with you, and you are a better person than when you started."

Bobby apparently had lots of friends in Sante Fe, as the photo above shows him opening presents (with help from Jeff Jones) during what appears to be a birthday party held for him.

Thanks for all these wonderful photos to the Jones family (especially Pam who provided them to me). I will indentify those I recognize in each photograph, but I urge all of you who were there, or anyone else, to help me by posting your IDs of folks I don't recognize or mis-identify.

Cabot Wade and Ollie Jones are in the foreground with Bill Cates, Judy Engels and Mrs. Engels in the background. I can't identify the other lady.

Jim Troutner, Ollie Jones and Pam Jones Hazelwood are in this photo. I can't ID the guy in the back of the photo in front of the door.

That's Mike Glasgow to the far left of the photo along with Debbie Jones and Alfred Saffell (in the foreground). I believe Candy Jones Wirt is the person obscured in the photograph. I can't identify the others.

Former SOS Cast Director Dan Skuce talks with Mrs. Jones, while Mrs. Engels is also in the photo.

Buster Barry is in the center of this photo to the right of the Christmas tree with Cabot Wade and Ollie Jones in the foreground. Mrs. Engel I think is also in this photo, but I can't identify the other young guy in the shot.

If any of you in these photos, or anyone who attended the Sante Fe conference, have stories and memories to share please do so below or send them to me (pat.nolan@dvl.com)and I will post them here for everyone to share.

I make a particular plea to my old buddy Steve Hinton, who I recall had a rather harrowing plane ride on the way back to Nashville.

While we enjoy these photos from a simpler time and place some 44 years ago, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year in 2010 to all!