Herschel Davis Oral History Interview, May 11, 1979

JL: A lot has been written about the DeMoss family. I'd like to hear from you about the Davis side of the family. What do you remember about your grandparents?

HD: Well, both of mv grandfathers were preachers. My grandfather DeMoss was you might call him a circuit rider all around through the eastern Oregon around the LaGrande country over there; he, you know, went every place. Then my other grandfather on the Davis side owes a Presbyterian minister.

JL: What was Davis' full name?

HD: Charles B. Davis.

JL: Where was he from?

HD: He was from Nebraska.

JL: Was your grandmother Davis also from Nebraska?

HD: Yes. They were from Nebraska. They come out here several years after the DeMosses did, see.

JL: Why did they come out here, do you know?

HD: Oh, I suppose just, you know, like other people. Coming out west, you know. They've [people] always done it and they are still doing it.

JL: You mean to look for better opportunities?

HD: I think so, yes. Yes, that's probably it. My grandfather DeMoss, of course, was a Baptist minister, and I think I said Grandfather Davis was a Presbyterian.

JL: Where did the Davis side of your family go when they moved from Nebraska?

HD: They came here to Eugene. He was a pioneer minister here, of course, back in the eighties, you know, see. There's a church still here that isn't active right now, but he was the minister of the church when it was built. It's now a museum.

JL: What was the name of the church?

HD: Fairmont Presbyterian Church. It's out on Villard Street. It's off of Franklin Boulevard.

JL: What was your grandmother's full name?

HD: (pause) Darn it, that's embarrassing. Oh, shucks. Gee, it's slipped 00:03:00my mind.

JL: You'll think of it later.

HD: Yes, I'm sure I will.

JL: I read in one of the books about the Davis family that P. Waldo Davis, your father, and his sister Aurelia, were really "descendants of the prominent Davis family of the south."

HD: Yes, that's right. Jefferson Davis.

JL: Why were they considered prominent?

HD: Well, prominent because Jefferson Davis was with the Confederacy, you know. He was prominent as far as the south is concerned. That's what they meant by that, I think.

JL: Were parts of the Davis family from further south than Nebraska?

HD: Oh, yes, originally. Oh, yes, yes. But, my father was born in Nebraska, you see.

JL: Do you remember much about your grandparents on the Davis side?

HD: Not my grandfather. But, my grandmother, yes. Oh, yes, I remember her real well, see.

JL: What do you remember about her.

HD: Well, I don't know whether I should tell you this or not. It's kind of funny. But just to give you an idea of the type of person she was. I was going to school. I was a little kid, you know. I was probably about seven or eight years old, you know, see, and I come home from school one day and let out the nicest cuss words, see. (Chuckles) She grabbed me and washed out my mouth with soap and water. I don't know, that did something to me. I've never said a cuss 00:05:00word since then. It just did something. I don't know what. (laughs)

JL: Can I ask your wife if you cus? (Laughter) Your grandmother was very religious?

HD: Oh, yes, but not uptight or anything like that. No, my folks were very, very normal people, see. In fact, they never objected to me playing for dances or anything of the kind, see. After all, money is money.

JL: What kinds of things did you do with your grandmother Davis?

HD: Well, I don't know. Just the normal things, I suppose. Incidentally, I think her name was Elizabeth, yes, in fact, I'm sure it was. Well, I don't know what 00:06:00I did particularly.

JL: What were some of the favorite things that you liked doing with her?

HD: Well, just I remember she was a very good cook. You can tell I've always liked good cooking. (Chuckles)

JL: What year was your father born and what was his full name?

HD: His name was Peter Waldo Davis. He went by the title of P. Waldo.

JL: He didn't like the name Peter?

HD: Well, not really. You'll notice on these here posters [holds up Davis Entertainer posters] he signed it P. Waldo Davis.

JL: And who were his brothers and sisters?

HD: Well, he had one brother and two sisters. His two sisters, of course, Aurelia was one of them, and Ida was the other, and his brother's name was Talmadge. He was the second oldest. Ida was the oldest.

JL: How many of the family were born in Nebraska?

HD: All of them I'd say. I'm pretty sure, yes.

JL: When your grandparents moved to Oregon, all four kids came, too?

HD: Yes.

JL: Did they tell you anything about the trip west?

HD: No, no, not really. Well, they didn't. It wasn't exactly pioneer days when they come out here. You see, the DeMosses come over to DeMoss Springs probably ten or fifteen years, ten years anyhow, before they did. Before they come here, see. Of course, my father he originally went over to Philomath College over here. He went to school there, see, for a while. Then he come here to the University [of Oregon] and finished up. Got his degree here at the University.

JL: Before we get to his University education, did your father tell you anything about his childhood?

HD: No, not too much.

JL: Back in Nebraska or...

HD: Oh, no, they're just preachers kids, you know.

JL: So when he finished high school he went to Philomath College?

HD: Yes.

JL: Do you remember him telling you anything about Philomath College?

HD: Oh, yes, I don't think he was there too long. He probably was there a year or two. No, there's not too much to tell about that.

JL: What did he study?

HD: He studied some music but not a great deal. He was just taking, oh, in those days they called it general courses, you know. I suppose it was Latin, you know, and maybe some kind of math, and just whatever. It wasn't highly specialized like it is now-a-days, you know, see.

JL: Were your grandparents on the Davis's side musically inclined also?

HD: Yes, yes. My grandmother was a pretty good singer. You know, sang in church choirs and all that sort of thing.

JL: Did she play an instrument?

HD: No, I don't think she did.

JL: Did she ever perform outside of the church environment?

HD: I doubt it. I doubt it very much.

JL: I understand that your mother Lizzy DeMoss Davis also taught at Philomath College.

HD: Yes, yes she did. Yes, she was the head of the violin department there. She must have been there for...Well, we'd come to Philomath in 1916, and I guess she 00:11:00taught until about 1921, Five years, I imagine.

JL: How did the Davis and the DeMoss families get together? I know that Minnie had died and so the DeMosses needed more performers.

HD: Well, that's what happened, yes.

JL: How did they meet each other?

HD: Well, let's see. I'm not sure, (pause) Well, I just really can't answer that.

JL: But they knew each other previously?

HD: Oh, they probably did. Probably did at some time or another. Got acquainted some way. I have a feeling that probably the DeMoss Company come through Eugene here. I think that's probably what happened. That's a pretty safe guess. They come through Eugene, played here, you know, see. Of course, my folks were very much interested in music, you see, and maybe come out to the concert and got acquainted with them or something or another but that could possibly be it. That's a pretty safe guess.

JL: I understand that at one time your father was teaching in Woodburn, Oregon.

HD: Could be.

JL: You don't know for sure?

HD: No, I never knew that before.

JL: Was your father employed before he traveled with the DeMosses?

HD: No, he just come out of college, see.

JL: He just graduated from the University of Oregon?

HD: Yes, right.

JL: What did he study at the University?

HD: Well, like I say it was just a just general courses. I really don't know. Of course, in those days, you know, the curriculum wasn't what it is now. It's altogether different, see. Different even when I went to school, see. See, I graduated here, too.

JL: P. Waldo and Aurelia traveled with the DeMosses starting in 1897, and then Lizzy DeMoss and P. Waldo Davis married in 1900?

HD: Yes.

JL: Did they tell you about any of their adventures before you were born?

HD: Not really. I do know this, that they were married back in Kentucky. You've probably have got that on record. You probably know that. No, no, they didn't. It was just that they were traveling with the group, you know, see.

JL: Did they tell you about any experiences while they performed?

HD: No, no, well, I know that my mother told me about how they used to when they would be traveling over here in eastern Oregon and out in Nevada, and out in through that wild country, that a lot of the miners would fire off their guns, you know. That would be their way of applause, you know, see.

JL: Your mother would tell you that?

HD: Yes.

JL: Did they ever talk about their coach trip from Nevada to Oregon?

HD: Oh, yes, they talked about that some. You've heard about the time that my mother was shot?

JL: Tell me.

HD: Well, they always had a gun tied on the side of the stagecoach, you know. I imagine it was a matter of self-defense or something or other. Maybe to shoot jackrabbits or goodness knows what see, and they hit a bump. She was sitting up on top, and they hit a bump in the road a chuckhole or something or another. The gun went off and shot her in the leg and shot her in the hand. She carried some 00:16:00of that lead all her life, see. They thought they [the lead] were going to stop her violin playing but it didn't.

JL: It didn't affect her playing at all?

HD: Didn't seem to.

JL: Did it ever cause her pain?

HD: Oh, yes, once-in-awhile. She'd get a little pain there, yes.

JL: Did your parents ever tell you how they happened to get married in Kentucky in 1900?

HD: No. No, nothing was said about that.

JL: I understand that Tallmadge joined the group in about 1904?

HD: That figures, yes.

JL: Why was he asked to join?

HD: Well, he was a flutist. He played a very good flute, see, and they needed an addition. So, that's why he joined. Of course, he was my father's brother and also Aurelia's brother, you see.

JL: Was Ida also musically inclined?

HD: She had nothing to do with the music or anything of the kind. She married a man up here at Cottage Grove, and she spent her whole life up Roaw River there. Up toward Diston, you know, out from Cottage Grove.

JL: She wasn't musically inclined then?

HD: No, not really.

JL: Do you know what your grandparents Davis thought of their children traveling around with a singing group at that time?

HD: Oh, I'm sure they thought that was fine. Yes.

JL: Where had Talmadge been before he joined the DeMosses?

HD: Well, I think he had probably been in school, too. He was here in Eugene, see. But, I don't think that he ever attended the University. I never heard of it if he did. I think he was probably too young, see, and when he got out of high school or whatever, why, that's when he [unintelligible] but he was a very accomplished flute player.

JL: And your mother played the violin?

HD: Yes.

JL: And your father played what instrument?

HD: Piano. That's what he played with them [The DeMoss Family Bards] was the piano, see.

JL: What month and date were you born?

HD: February the 16th, 1901.

JL: What are your very first recollections of being on stage with the DeMosses?

HD: Well, soon, they, of course, started using me. One of these pictures you know, show me sitting on the drum when I was only four or five years old, something like that, so I suppose that would be it probably.

JL: What do you remember about performing?

HD: I was just more or less like a trained seal, you know, see. (Chuckles) I did what I was supposed to do and Uncle George, my uncle, he was very good with kids, see. He could just make them do anything, see, and so he was really the trainer, see?

JL: How would he coerce you into doing things?

HD: Oh, I don't think there was any coercing. I don't think that my nature was probably too ornery, you know. See.

JL: You were cooperative?

HD: Oh, yes, sure.

JL: You were billed as Baby Herschel and The Leader of the Band and Drummer Boy?

HD: Yes. (Laughs) Yes, isn't that something?

JL: What kinds of things did you do to gain those titles?

HD: Well, oh, I beat the drums. I don't [know] whether I kept good time or not. They probably didn't pay any attention to my time, my rhythm, but I remember beating the drums. Yes, I remember that very distinctly. And then, of course, they had what they called the anvil. Well, the anvil, of course goes dum, dum, 00:21:00da, da, da. You've heard it lots of times. Well, they used that and my uncle made an anvil. It's really made out of wood but it had an iron top, see. Elbert and I used to stand there, and he'd be on one side of the anvil, and I'd be on the other and we'd each have a mallet, see, and as the da, da, da, da, dum. We'd just keep time, you know, each taking turns hitting that there anvil, see. It's just a trick, you know, is what it was. People really, really, really, ate it up, you know, see. And then, of course, when my mother dropped out of the group.

JL: Why did your mother drop out of the group?

HD: When I was old enough to go to school that's when she quit.

JL: When was that?

HD: Well, I was probably be about when I was about seven years old something like that, that's when she pulled out because she had an education bug. She thought kids should learn, go to school. Anyhow then when she pulled out why Elbert and Homer then used to do that [anvil routine].

JL: Elbert and Homer were four or five years younger than you?

HD: Yes. Yes.

JL: Can you remember those first few years before even Elbert and Homer came along? Can you describe a typical scene on stage while you were pounding the drum?

HD: I don't know just how I could describe it. Some of those photographs you have could probably tell the story a lot better than I could, you know.

JL: But I'd like to hear your recollections as one of the entertainers on the stage.

HD: Oh, well, (chuckles) I'm sure I felt real good over it, you know, see. Yes, that's kind of a loaded question (laughs).

JL: Do you remember the audience? What was their response?

HD: Oh, I'm sure, well, in fact according to my mother the audience used to just sort of go wild over my antics, you know, see (laughs).

JL: You don't remember their response?

HD: No, I don't except just what I was told. I guess I used to do things that weren't supposed to be done, you know, see; they weren't rehearsed. Nothing off 00:24:00color or anything of the kind but just some of the things that weren't rehearsed, see.

JL: Like what?

HD: Well, ad lib, you know, just I'd do something or another. I'd maybe run off the stage when I wasn't supposed to or come on the stage when I wasn't supposed to or something like that, see.

JL: Who was the leader of the DeMoss family?

HD: George.

JL: What special qualities did he have?

HD: Well, leadership, I'd say, as much as anything else. He was a natural born leader and very aggressive too, you know. Probably threw his weight around, you know, and you couldn't argue with him. (Chuckles) He was pretty much that way.

JL: Did he order the members to do things or how did he interact with the others?

HD: No, no, nothing like that. They were a very agreeable group, you know. There 00:25:00wasn't any of that shouting around or anything of the kind. No, nothing like that.

JL: Before you and your mother split off from the group what kinds of things did you do with your mother?

HD: Well, that's kind of hard to answer because you see like I say, we left the group when I was ready to start school. I was kind of young to have too much recollection about too many things, see.

JL: Were you closer to one parent than the other?

HD: No, I wouldn't say so. No, I often said that if I had an opportunity to 00:26:00pick my parents I'd pick the same ones. I could find no fault with them at all. They were wonderful people.

JL: I read a description of your mother and Minnie. The description was that they had a "prudish attitude". Would you agree with that?

HD: Yes, yes, to a certain extent. I suppose they had to have because in those days a lot of the places where they went and played in the mining camps and places like that, women were scarce, you know. There weren't too many of them around, see, and they had to be on their guard all the time I'm sure. I think that's a good assessment of it right there, yes. As far as that's concerned they were both of them pretty good looking women and you might say they were prudish, yes.

JL: How would you characterize your father, P. Waldo Davis?

HD: Well, he had a tremendous sense of humor and a very even temper and just a all around swell fellow. Yes, like I say, I wouldn't if I had a choice of parents I'd have picked the same ones right down the line, boy, oh, boy (chuckles).

JL: Did he teach you how to play the piano?

HD: Yes, he gave me my first lessons on the piano.

JL: Was he a stern taskmaster about practicing?

HD: No, no, no. Not a bit.

JL: There was no pressure for you to learn how to play an instrument?

HD: No, just suggestion, you know, see. Of course, I took up with it because it was something that I naturally wanted to do, see.

JL: Who would you say that you were closer to in the DeMoss family?

HD: Elbert T.

JL: Why is that?

HD: That's J.R.'s father, you know. Well, I don't know. We just were. I don't know.

JL: He had similar interests to yours, perhaps?

HD: I suppose so, yes.

JL: What about the adults? Did you feel closer to one or more adult members more 00:29:00than others?

HD: No, no, I don't think so. I don't recall that there is any. No, I don't believe so. (pause)

JL: From my reading, Aurelia sounds like she was an affectionate person?

HD: Yes, I think she was, yes. Yes.

JL: Do you remember when Joy McDonald married Talmadge?

HD: Well, I don't remember too much about it. Well, I do know when it happened 00:30:00and what the occasion of it. They were traveling up in Washington, you probably know this. Her father I think was a minister of a church at Blain, do you know where that is? Just on the right almost on the Canadian border. I think the company was going through their town. He [Talmadge] was just a young buck, single. They apparently played there at Blain or some church and that's how he met her but I couldn't tell you the date.

JL: Was she also musically inclined?

HD: Oh, yes, I think so. I don't remember what she played but I think she was. 00:31:00She must have had something because they wouldn't have taken her along if she hadn't been able to do something, you know, because they couldn't carry a lot of excess baggage, you know, see. They couldn't do that.

JL: How did they travel when you were younger?

HD: Train, mostly.

JL: How would you contrast Henry and George?

HD: Oh, boy, they're just as different as can be.

JL: How's that?

HD: Henry was very easy going and agreeable in every respect. Couldn't get riled up. George was just the opposite. Just a regular fire-ball, yes.

JL: There was no conflict about who was leader then?

HD: Oh, no, there wasn't any conflict. Oh, goodness sake, no, because George was 00:32:00the leader. There's nobody ever questioned it, you see. But, that's all right. There has to be a leader. They can't all be chiefs. There has got to be a few Indians, you know.

JL: What was Julia like?

HD: Well, her father was a preacher, too. Let's see, where was that at...Of course, Homer could tell you that because she was his

mother. (chuckles) But, I don't know. Her name was Hall. Her father was a preacher but where was it, I can't recall.

JL: Was religion just a Sunday thing or was it an everyday part of the DeMoss group?

HD: Everyday with the group. Yes, they were very, very religious people.

JL: Was P. Waldo also religious?

HD: Yes, he was religious. Very much so but not to the extent of maybe some of the others was.

JL: Who?

HD: You mean in my family? Oh, I don't know. I just don't know. Both of my parents were, they were good Christians you know, see and all of that. I don't know which one. I wouldn't want to judge.

JL: How did they practice their Christianity?

HD: Well, mostly through music. That's the way they express themselves. That would be about the only answer I could give on that, I guess.

JL: Did your father ever discuss religion with you?

HD: No, not really. No, he wasn't any hand to do that.

JL: What kinds of topics did he discuss with you?

HD: Oh, mostly music. We were very much interested in music. Everybody was, see.

JL: Did James DeMoss, your grandfather, still play with the group when you were on the stage?

HD: No, oh, no. He'd been gone for a long time.

JL: Where was he staying during the years that you were performing?

HD: Well, he was up in Sherman County, DeMoss Springs.

JL: Did he have any influence on your life at all?

HD: No. See, he passed away when I was probably about eleven years old. I think he passed away in about 1912, see, and no, I don't remember him. I know he had a long beard and very stern, you know, see. (laughs)

JL: Was James slowing down in the later years of his life?

HD: Yes, yes, he did although he remarried and had two kids. One of them was 00:36:00John DeMoss up there at The Dalles, you know, and then he had a daughter too. I don't know what ever happened to her.

JL: What was he doing at DeMoss Springs?

HD: When they left the Grande Ronde Valley over in LaGrande, when they left there they wanted to come over in this direction. They come through Sherman County and for some reason or another they fell in love with that country up there. I shouldn't downgrade it because I was born there. I certainly wouldn't want to live there.

JL: Why not?

HD: Oh, I don't know. Bleak hills and everything of the kind up there. It's beautiful up there. The Columbia River Gorge is beautiful and all that.

JL: Did all the DeMoss members seem to love that area also?

HD: Well, apparently they did. I'd say they did. Yes.

JL: Did Lizzy and P. Waldo also?

HD: Yes, I guess they did. They were, of course, glad to get down here in the Valley and get away from there, see. They jumped at the opportunity to come down, you know, see. Get away from there.

JL: Did you travel most of the time before you went to school or did you stay in one place?

HD: Oh, yes, they traveled all the time. They traveled just about all the year around. Yes.

JL: So, you were the only child at first?

HD: Yes, yes, I was for a long time. That's right.

JL: And you don't have any brothers or sisters?

HD: I have one sister. That's all.

JL: What's her name?

HD: Her name is Arvilla Blackwell.

JL: When was she born?

HD: She's six years younger than I am. So, she must have been born what about 1906.

JL: Was she also musically inclined?

HD: Oh, yes, she's a violinist. She plays a pretty good violin.

JL: Did she also play with the Davis Entertainers?

HD: The Davis, yes, but not DeMoss.

JL: How did James treat you as the first born grandson? Was there any special treatment?

HD: (Laughs) No, if there had been any treatment I wouldn't probably want to remember it because he was pretty stern, yes.

JL: You were intimidated by him?

HD: Oh, yes, very much so, yes, yes, yes.

JL: What caused you to be intimidated?

HD: Well, I think, as I recall him, it looks like he was always dressed in black and a long beard. I mean way down, you know, well, you've seen some of the pictures there, you know, see. Over there that you have over there, you know. That's the way he looked.

JL: Did he ever smile or tell jokes?

HD: Oh, I imagine so, yes. I'm sure he did. I'm sure he did, yes.

JL: It was said of you entertainers that everyone who came into the clan had to earn his keep.

HD: That's right.

JL: How was this true?

HD: Well, I think it was like I said about the gal [Joy McDonald] that married Talmadge, see. I'm sure she had to do something, you see. I don't remember what she did. Maybe she played piano. She did something that's for sure or maybe she was a reader. I'm not just sure but anyhow she did something. With so many people all together for such a long length of time it seems like there would be a lot of conflicts. There was some, I suppose. Now Aurelia was always very jealous of my mother, see.

JL: Why?

HD: But they never had any conflicts or anything like that but she really was.

JL: Why is that?

HD: Oh, well, I guess it's probably because my mother, of course, was one of the original DeMoss group and Aurelia married into them, see. That could have been. That could have been the reason. I don't know.

JL: Do you think it had anything to do with conflict over the children at all?

HD: No, no, I don't think so. No.

JL: Because I know that Elbert also was a child entertainer, too.

HD: Yes. Of course, Elbert and Homer, they come on and did their [entertaining] after I was out see, mostly. In fact, Homer wasn't even around there when I was 00:42:00active, see, but it was just Elbert, the two of us. Elbert, of course, was just a little bit younger than I was.

JL: Did the group or your parents ever discuss politics?

HD: Well, they were good Republicans. My father was very politically minded. Yes, he was very well read. When he picked up the daily paper he read everything in it. You know what I mean, he wanted to know what was going on.

JL: I'm unclear as to why the three Davis's split off from the DeMosses and Talmadge and Joy also split off.

HD: Well, I don't know.

JL: What were the events that led up to the split?

HD: I don't know. I don't know. I couldn't tell you that because I don't know. I do know, of course, why my folks pulled out because they wanted to put me in school. That was the reason. No friction or anything of the kind. It's just a case of Mother was hung up on education, see, and that's what happened there.

JL: None of the group were having financial problems?

HD: No, no. There was no financial problems. The DeMosses always made good money. It was a very lucrative business.

JL: It wasn't traumatic or unfriendly then when they split?

HD: No. No, no, nothing like that. No, that wasn't why we got out.

JL: Do you remember any of the discussion leading up to the split?

HD: No, there was no discussion about it. When the folks pulled out why then they took on other people, see. Various times they always had to find someone to play the piano and no, there wasn't any big problems.

JL: Do you know why Talmadge and Joy split off, too?

HD: No, I don't have the slightest idea.

JL: Where did they go?

HD: Well, they went to Portland and he got into the postal service and all the rest of his life he carried mail there in Portland.

JL: He didn't entertain people with his music anymore?

HD: No, he quit it completely so far as I know.

JL: Tell me how the Davis Entertainers got started in 1910?

HD: Well, when they pulled out to put me in school why naturally they had that [musical] ability, and they had the influence and everything of the kind. These chimes that you see pictures of them. My father were at the Lewis and Clark Fair in Portland. That was 1904 or 1905. Somewheres along in there. There at the fair 00:46:00in Portland he heard about these chimes. Seems like some vaudeville group had broke up and these chimes were stored some place. He heard about them. He went and he looked at them and he thought that might be something or other that, you know, that they could add to the group. So, he bought them. I don't have any idea of what he paid for them. But, he bought them and that's how he happened to pick up those chimes. So when the folks pulled out from the DeMoss group why then he started using those chimes, and he built his program around those chimes. You'll see some of the programs there [programs sitting on the table] and everything of the kind there. He played some pretty good music on those chimes.

JL: Was he thinking that he could make more money by being on his own separate from the DeMosses?

HD: Why, no, I don't think that was it at all. No, I think it's just a case of they just never....Well, he did try, he went back and went on maybe one or two short trips with them. In fact, I did, too. I went along with him and a few short times played the piano for them when I was a, you know, teenager.

JL: So, what did you do as Davis Entertainers when you played in a public place? What was a typical program?

HD: We had the chimes, and we had what they call the Swiss bells that sat on a table. Then we had mandolins and then, of course, the violin and when my sister was with us there was readings.

JL: Readings?

HD: Yes, give readings, you know. You get up and it's elocution, you know, see. That's what it is. Then there's the musical glasses. In fact, these shows pictures of them on some of these posters. My father is standing there playing the musical glasses, see. I think that was just probably it. And then, of course, the piano and but I think that was it.

JL: What kind of readings would your sister read?

HD: Oh, quite often humorous ones. Not entirely but for the most part, I'd say.

JL: So there were only four of you? Did you ever hire other performers?

HD: Well, no, we never hired anyone to go with us. Just the four of us and most 00:50:00of the time just the three of us. My sister she got married pretty young and pulled out, see. She didn't travel very much with us, and so it was just my father and mother and myself. We're the ones that really did the extensive traveling. While I was still going to school he went down to San Francisco to the fair and took his chimes and went down there and played. He went up to the Seattle Fair and played up there all around over the fairgrounds and everything of the kind, so he wasn't he was busy all the time. When I was going to school, why he'd book himself, for instance, into some church. Part of the agreement would be that part of the church organist or someone that they would recommend would play his accompaniment, you see, so he got around with it just fine and 00:51:00dandy that way because, of course, there are lots of piano players. The world's full of them.

JL: You went to school in Eugene?

HD: No, that was over at Philomath then. See, when my mother was teaching violin there I was over there.

JL: In 1909 you left the DeMoss family and you and your mother moved to Philomath?

HD: Well, no, we left the DeMoss family and moved up to Sherman County. That's where I went to grade school up at Sherman County. We didn't leave Sherman County till 1916.

JL: Why did you leave Sherman County?

HD: Because my mother got this position as head of the violin department at Philomath College.

JL: What was she doing at DeMoss Springs while your father traveled?

HD: Oh, just taking care of my sister and myself. We had a store and post office there, too, there at DeMoss Springs.

JL: That your mother ran?

HD: Oh, yes, yes.

JL: Did you live with your grandfather then?

HD: No, my grandfather wasn't alive. Oh, he passed away in 1912. No, we had nothing to do with him. He had a new family and everything of the kind, you know.

JL: Did you spend a lot of time with John?

HD: No, no, no.

JL: What was DeMoss Springs like then?

HD: A very thriving community. I think at one time there, there probably was, oh, I think in and around the country there there must have been at least two hundred people there. It really was a thriving place. Had a post office and a store and everything there. It really was a pretty good sized school, and it was 00:53:00quite a thriving community. Sure isn't now. Boy, oh, boy.

JL: Did your father spend more time on the road or with your family?

HD: No, he was on the road most of the time.

JL: You spent more time with your mother than your father?

HD: Yes, right. Oh, yes, much more time, yes. Yes.

JL: What kind of things did you do in your spare time up at DeMoss Springs?

HD: Well, we had some cows and, of course, I had to take care of the cows. I had to take them down to pasture and go and get them, and I had a horse and I was just a typical country kid.

JL: Did your mother teach music?

HD: Not up there.

JL: Did you play at all?

HD: No, not really. No, she was more or less out. That's one reason why she wanted to come down to Philomath. She wanted to kind of get back in it, see.

JL: I was looking at the photos in the museum of your mother and noticed that your mother played left handed.

HD: She did. Right.

JL: That was unusual?

HD: Yes, very much so. Yes, she was left handed.

JL: Are you also left handed?

HD: No, I'm right handed.

JL: Well, what were the events that lead up to her moving to Philomath then?

HD: Well, what happened, see, my father, like I told you, he went to Philomath College for, oh, he wasn't there too long probably a year or two, and so he had this connection with Philomath College. At that time the president of Philomath College was Epley, see. He was looking for someone to head the violin department 00:55:00there in Philomath College and, I think, he come up to The Dalles. We were fairly close to The Dalles, only about thirty miles from The Dalles, and he got track of the folks I suppose through my father having been an alumnus or having gone to school there. So he made her a proposition there to come down and teach violin, and we just pulled out and come down there.

JL: The three of you did?

HD: No, the four of us. See my sister was, see, I'd be about fifteen then and she would be nine or eight.

JL: What do you remember of Philomath?

HD: Well, of course, I was just from the country, you know, see. A country kid, and boy, a big city is really something. Well, now, believe it or not but at that time Philomath was probably just about as big as Corvallis, and it was really something, (chuckles) At that time, [OSU] it was Oregon Agricultural College. Well, Philomath College, it's much older than OSU. It was going a long time before they started the state school over there. Now they have the school here.

JL: What do you remember about Philomath? Does anything stand out particularly?

HD: Oh, yes, big city, see. Really something (laughs).

JL: How did you move from DeMoss Springs?

HD: By train. Yes, yes, everything was done by train then, you know.

JL: Do you remember the first car that you saw?

HD: Not off hand. I know the first car my father had was in 1920.

JL: Did you feel any different from other kids because you traveled around so much?

HD: No, oh, no, no, not a bit. Not a bit.

JL: Where had you traveled outside the Northwest?

HD: You mean with the chimes? Well, mostly my father made a couple of trips. He went back to Chicago once but for the most part no, our group we stayed right here on the Pacific Coast and all through California.

JL: The Davis Entertainers didn't travel much throughout the states as the DeMoss Bards had done?

HD: No.

JL: Did you have many friends your age since you moved around so much?

HD: Oh, yes, after we settled down but not when you're moving around you don't. You meet people but, you know, you never see them again probably. No, there's nothing no lasting friendships formed, I don't think as a rule.

JL: How were the Davis Entertainers different from the DeMoss Family Bards in the way they performed?

HD: Well, a lot more informal, I'd say. Yes. We were never too much on a pedestal and Uncle George insisted on the group, you know, being...I don't know, hard to explain it but it was different. My folks were very informal. That's the word.

JL: How, for example, did they dress?

HD: Oh, no, we dressed formally. We always wore tuxes. That was the deal 01:00:00then, you know, see.

JL: In what ways was George more formal than your father and mother?

HD: Oh, different people. That's all just different nature.

JL: Did George joke with the audience or was he serious?

HD: More serious I'd say.

JL: There wasn't much humor in his performance?

HD: No, no, no. No, he was very, no, no, he was not that way. My father wasn't above having a joke, you know, see. Very human.

JL: Would people laugh when George played the two coronets?

HD: Well, they enjoyed it. I don't know whether they laughed or not but it certainly was a quite a trick I'm telling you. That really was something how he could do it. Some people can't even play one coronet.

JL: Did your father play a lot of religious and patriotic music like the DeMosses did?

HD: Well, if you'd look at the programs over there [on the coffee table] eventually, why, you'll see that he used hymns. Well, the DeMosses they used a lot of classical music, you know. Oh, no, they weren't straight-laced. Oh, no, none of them were as far as that's concerned. They wouldn't use any music that wasn't good music.

JL: Would you consider your Davis Entertainer Trio popular with the public?

HD: Very much so. Very much so. Yes, yes.

JL: More popular than say the DeMoss Bards?

HD: We went over just as good. We went over just as good. There's a little difference, you know, see different instrumentation and everything of that kind.

JL: Did the Davis Entertainers dress the stage with banners and bunting as the DeMoss Bards did in the early years? I've seen pictures where the DeMoss family draped flags and bunting.

HD: No, no, not nothing like that. Nothing like that.

JL: What kind of places did you play in?

HD: Mostly schools and churches.

JL: Never in any dance halls?

HD: No, oh, no, no.

JL: Your father and mother disapproved of that then?

HD: Yeah, they disapproved of it although when I started playing for dances they 01:03:00were all for it.

JL: When did you start playing for dances?

HD: Oh, I don't know. Well, I know I was playing on the campus here [U of O] all the time I was going to school. I know that. But, no, they thought it was all right. After all, like I say, money is money.

JL: Going back to Philomath days, did you go to high school in Philomath?

HD: No, well, I went to the equivalent of high school. There at Philomath they had what they called the academy and then the college, see, and they were all grouped together. Some of them were in the academy which I suppose would be from the eighth grade up and then the high school. Then the so called college group, see.

JL: And you went to the academy?

HD: Well, yes, that's right.

JL: Do any teachers stand out in your mind while you were at the academy?

HD: Well, of course, the president of the school, Epley, and then there was Lester N. Bennett. He was the math instructor. Then there was W. W. Wright, he taught the bookkeeping and some other things.

JL: This was in the academy?

HD: Well, yes, that was in the Philomath College. They were the same teachers. 01:05:00They went ahead and taught in the college group, too, see what I mean? They didn't have a separate group of teachers. And, of course, the music department there. That's what my specialty was was for the music and the teacher of that her name was Fisher. I took music there in Philomath for, I think, four years, and that's about all they could do for me. When I learned all the piano that they could teach me there then I went over to your school [OAC]. Drove over there every week for a lesson, see, and I took from the head of the piano department there at O.A.C. You'll pardon me calling it O.A.C.? (laughs)

JL: When did you do this?

HD: Well, let's see that would be about 1920, 1921, somewhere along in there.

JL: You went to the Philomath College and Academy and took as much music as you could, and then you drove to Corvallis for lessons at O.A.C.?

HD: Yes, yes.

JL: What are your recollections of the music department at O.A.C.?

HD: Well, I've often got a kick out of driving by the building where I used to go up and take my lessons, you know, see. It's one of those old buildings. One of the oldest buildings up there, you know, see. I couldn't tell you the name of it but I sure could take you there. Boy, I've always enjoyed driving by there. Yes, but he was very good. His name was Dungleburger. He was chairman of the 01:07:00department there, see.

JL: He felt he was much better than the teacher at Philomath?

HD: Well, yes, sure he was. Sure, yes, they evidently learned all they could teach me over there [at Philomath College] see. Had to go someplace else and my mother was still teaching there in the college at Philomath, see, and I was all through there.

JL: And your father was traveling around? Did he provide the income for your family?

HD: That's right. Yes. That's what he was doing.

JL: Did you have much contact with the DeMoss Bards while living in Philomath?

HD: No, just occasionally. Well, of course, we usually would go up to Sherman County in the summer time. We'd leave Philomath; we didn't stay at Philomath much in the summer time. We just lock up the house and go up to Sherman County 01:08:00and spend the summer up there, and they'd be coming in off of some of their trips, wherever they'd been all winter. See, they didn't play much in the summer time. It was always in the winter time.

JL: Why is that?

HD: Well, people are busy in summer time, you know, and winter time is

a better time for any kind of concerts, you know. So, they'd always hole in in the summer time, and we'd head up there too. We'd all be together up there and we'd really have a lot of fun.

JL: Did you go with your father during the summer and entertain?

HD: No, no. No, no. No, I didn't do much with him when I was going to school. He was out on his own.

JL: What kinds of activities did you and the DeMosses do at DeMoss Springs during the summer?

HD: Oh, we just, I don't know. When I got old enough I worked in the harvest 01:09:00field every summer up there. I had to get money to go to school in the winter, see. That was the only way to get it.

JL: Did you and the DeMosses continue playing instruments together during the summer?

HD: Oh, yes, yes, yes. Just about every evening.

JL: They didn't get tired of playing?

HD: Oh, no, no, no, no. About every evening we'd get together and really have fun, you know, see.

JL: DeMoss Springs had big Fourth of July celebrations I understand. I've seen pictures of the celebrations.

HD: Yes.

JL: Was there any attempt by the Davis family to travel around with the DeMoss Family Bards again?

HD: No.

JL: There was no desire on the part of Lizzy or P. Waldo...

HD: No, oh, no, not a bit. None. No, they didn't want to get out and run 01:10:00around like that.

JL: I imagine it would take a lot of energy to continue keeping up one's enthusiasm to perform?

HD: Yes, yes. I think you're right.

JL: Where do you think George wanted to lead the Bards in the future?

HD: Well, you see my Uncle Henry DeMoss was the booking agency. He'd

go out and book all the engagements for the DeMoss people, see. He never traveled with them. He was the composer of "Sweet Oregon", you know, but he never traveled with them. He'd go out and they'd book out, they'd line up and they'd say, "Well, now, this year let's go, for instance, to the Midwest." 01:11:00"Okay." Then he'd take off and he would go and book there, maybe, oh, several months ahead of time see, and then they'd follow up and give the entertainment, see. You keep ahead of them all the time booking engagements, see.

JL: Who did that for the Davis Entertainers?

HD: Well, my father had a booking agent, and then he did quite a bit of it himself. I know one summer when we lived here in Eugene this was back in the, oh, must have been in the late twenties, early thirties why I went out and booked a bunch of engagements myself. I went all through eastern Oregon and over 01:12:00into Idaho and all around there just by myself, see, booking engagements.

JL: This is after the Davis Entertainers disbanded?

HD: Oh, yes, long after.

JL: Tell me some of the highlights while the Davis Trio played together. It wasn't really a trio, it was four of you?

HD: Not really, not really. The four of us wasn't together very much. Like I say, my sister pulled out, see.

JL: How old was she when she got married?

HD: Oh, about 18.

JL: She wasn't that interested in playing with the family?

HD: No, no, she wasn't.

JL: Did your mother want her to play?

HD: Oh, yes, it wasn't the folks idea that she pulled out.

JL: I asked previously what were some of the highlights for the group?

HD: The highlights? Well, what do you mean?

JL: For example, I understand the Davis Entertainers performed at The Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco?

HD: Yes, yes, in 1915. Yes. Well, that was my father that went down there.

JL: Oh, just your father?

HD: Oh, yes, I was still in school.

JL: So, really you didn't play that much with your father?

HD: Not until I got out of school.

JL: And that was in the twenties?

HD: Yes, right.

JL: And your mother didn't travel with...

HD: No, she didn't travel with him at all then.

JL: Pretty much your mother raised your sister and you?

HD: Yes, right. Yes, that's right.

Mrs. Davis: You started taking piano lessons when you were seven.

JL: What activities were you involved with outside of music?

HD: Oh, I don't know. You mean athletics and that sort of thing? Oh, I don't 01:14:00know. Most of my activity has been in music I'll admit it. But, oh, I played basketball and a lot of tennis. The folks would never let me play football because they didn't want me to bang up my hands, which makes sense, and break your arm or neck or something, see.

JL: Were most of your friends in Philomath musically inclined also?

HD: Not really. No, no, they weren't.

JL: What did you do for entertainment in Philomath?

HD: (Chuckles) Not too much. There wasn't any radio or T.V. or anything then, you know, see. They had what they call Literary Society and that would 01:15:00meet once or twice a week.

JL: What society were you in?

HD: (Chuckles) Well, it's hard to explain it. They'd get up and give readings, you know, see, and they'd sort of like a toastmaster's club type of thing, you know, see. That's what it amounted to. It was just an activity. That's all it was.

JL: What kind of music did Waldo and Lizzy play between 1910 and 1920?

HD: What kind of music? Well, of course, they liked classics and a lot of church music.

JL: None of the new jazz?

HD: Ah, no, well, my father he was pretty broad minded. If any tune come along that he liked, well, he'd play it on the chimes. Yes, he would, see. Now, the DeMosses wouldn't. Uncle George, his standards were very high, you know, see. (chuckles) Funny thing happened up there in Sherman County. I don't know whether 01:17:00I should tell the tape this or not but, I guess, all right. Up there in Sherman County us kids....you probably heard the old tune "Five Foot Two," and "If You Knew Susie," and "Four Leaf Clover," and a bunch of those tunes. Okay, us kids got a hold of some records of those tunes, see.

JL: You mean Elbert, Homer and you?

HD: Yes, yes. I was up in my teens, and they were just a little bit younger. Anyhow we got a hold of some of those records and we were playing them. We had our old phonograph there, and we were playing them and really listening to the beautiful music and really living it up, and he [George] come in there and he grabbed those records and he broke them. (Laughs) You know, wicked music, see, what I mean. (Laughs)

JL: He got angry.

HD: OH, YES! Yes. Yes. (Laughter) That's really something isn't it.

JL: I wonder why he thought they were wicked?

HD: I don't know. I don't know. Just wicked, you know. Boy, oh, boy, that stuff. I suppose about the same way I feel about some of this here stuff now-a-days (chuckles) that they play. The amplified, you know, everybody playing as loud as they can.

JL: What kind of music as a teenager did you enjoy playing?

HD: Well, of course, when I was studying music I played a lot of classical music. Oh boy, I liked all the popular tunes that was popular at that time. I played them all. I liked them and the folks thought it was a good deal.

JL: They didn't mind that you played tunes other than classical or religious?

HD: Oh, not a bit! Not a bit.

JL: The DeMoss Family Bards took a tremendous amount of photographs and studiously kept diaries and journals. Did the Davis family keep their mementos, also?

HD: Not too much. No, no. I'm sure they didn't.

JL: Chautauqua's were very popular at about that time. Did that have any effect on the DeMoss Family Bards or the Davis Entertainers?

HD: Oh, I think so. Yes, I believe it did. Along about the same idea [as the 01:19:00DeMoss performances]. Chautauqua's go out to book, you know, from one place or another. A group would play at some particular Chautauqua, and then they'd go on to another town where there was another Chautauqua, you know. That was the same thing.

JL: What effect did Chautauqua's have on audiences who might also watch the DeMoss Bards and your father's performances?

HD: Oh, I think it was probably a good thing because people get used to going out. You see, all music in those days had to be performed. Now, you can turn on a record or television or whatever and get it that way. This way the group had to be right there in the room, see. That's the only way you can get any music. Yes, I think Chautauqua is a good thing.

JL: Chautauqua's didn't draw audiences away from the DeMoss Bards' performances?

HD: I know they had a they had a Chautauqua come through there Sherman County one time. Come there to the park every summer. We had a Chautauqua circuit. And I know Billy Sunday come there once and talked, you know, see.

JL: What did George think of Chautauqua?

HD: Oh, he booked it in there! Oh, he, yes.

JL: He didn't see it as competition?

HD: No, no, no, I'm sure he didn't. No.

JL: I read your father and mother did not want to play in places where liquor was served?

HD: No, they never would. They didn't drink, see, and in fact none of the 01:21:00DeMosses ever drank. They are teetotaler right down the line.

JL: How did World War I affect the entertainment field?

HD: Well, actually everything, you know, folded up during World War I.

I think that my father, I don't know whether he even went out much during then. He didn't get very far away that's for sure, see.

JL: What did he do?

HD: Well, he probably just set there and cooled his heels there in Philomath because I was going to school then. We'd only been there in Philomath two years and World War I come along, oh, less than that. Yes, less than that.

JL: Did your family ever consider going overseas and playing for the troops?

HD: Well, it wasn't done in those days. There was no U.S.O. or anything like that.

JL: How did it affect the DeMoss Bards? Did they stop playing during the war years?

HD: I don't think so. No, I think they I think they kept on playing. They traveled every year, you know. That was part of the tradition. Even if they'd only go out for a few weeks. They had to go out every year so they wouldn't break the chain, you know, see. I remember once they got me to go. I laid out of school for awhile and didn't go to school for awhile that fall, and we went up into eastern Washington, up to Spokane, and Lewiston, Idaho and all those towns 01:23:00up there. We were only gone about five or six weeks, see. That's all, but it didn't break it [the annual tours]. That was a yearly, every year they went out. That had to be, and I went along with them and played the piano that time, see.

JL: Did the DeMoss Bards seem to have fun on stage?

HD: Oh, yes. Yes, it was a fun thing.

JL: Did each one of you, P. Waldo, Lizzy, and you have equal say in decisions about what you...

HD: No, no, there wasn't anything like that. No. My father was the he was the leader. It didn't make any difference to me. I wasn't no one to throw my weight around, you know, or anything of the kind. No, no, he was the leader but we worked together. There was no friction.

JL: Do you think the automobile helped or hindered DeMoss and Davis entertaining?

HD: Well, there is a pro and con there. It probably helped. I know it certainly did in our case. We were able to get around a lot better and the DeMosses they did a large percentage of their traveling they did by car, you know. They wore 01:25:00out a lot of cars, you know. They always had to have big cars because they carried so much stuff, and they went strong for Cadillac's, you see. I think at one time they had a big Chandler but they were strong for Cadillac's. They had quite a few Cadillac's. Of course, they were driving so much they'd wear them out, and then they'd have to get another one.

JL: Did they make enough money in their concerts to support themselves the whole year?

HD: Oh, yes. Oh, yes, no question about it.

JL: Did the invention of the radio have any effect on the Davis and DeMoss families?

HD: Oh, yes, that ruined it. That's really what did it.

JL: Why?

HD: Of course, then television, that put the clinch on completely. You can't 01:26:00even get people out to a lodge meeting much anymore. They stay home and watch television, see.

JL: Why did George continue with the DeMoss Family Bards if his popularity was declining with the invention of the radio?

HD: Well, stubbornness, I guess. Insisted on keeping right on going, you know, see.

JL: How about the movies? What effect did that have?

HD: That would be bad. That would probably be worse than the radio to tell the truth about it.

JL: Why is that?

HD: Radio you'll just turn on the radio, but the movie you'll go there and go to the movie and instead of going to a concert, see. I think the movie that was a contributing factor, too.

JL: I haven't seen any mention of the Davis Entertainers past about 1920. Did your father stop playing under that name after that time?

HD: Oh, goodness, no. No, no, you'll see in some of these posters here [on the table]. In fact, he played up until, oh, until he passed away in 1949. I think 01:27:00he quit playing his chimes about, I'd say, about 1948. Something like that. Oh, no, he didn't fold up.

JL: He still had a following after the twenties, thirties?

HD: Oh, yes, he played a long time, yes. Goodness, yes.

JL: What happened after 1920 when you finished college?

HD: Yes, then my mother, well, we could have stayed there, but my mother got the position of head of the violin department of Linfield College, see. We thought we'd go down there and try it out. Of course, I went to Linfield then for one year, see.

JL: When was this?

HD: Well, that would be about 1923, I guess. Or 1922 or 1923.

JL: You were still living with your mother then?

HD: Yes, yes, right.

JL: And your sister was, too?

HD: Yes, she was home. She was in high school then, see.

JL: Were you very close to your sister?

HD: There was quite a big difference in our age. Well, she pulled out, you know, see. Like I say, she got married when she was eighteen so naturally we didn't have much to do. We were there at McMinnville a year, and then I don't know what happened. I think it [Lizzy DeMoss Davis' job] was an interim thing is what it was. I think there was somebody else going to come in and take it over, and they 01:29:00only needed her [his mother] there for a year or two, you see. I think that's what it was and then from there we moved to Portland. Of course, we played all over Portland, everywhere all around Portland.

JL: Who is we?

HD: Father, mother and myself.

JL: Under the name of the Davis Entertainers?

HD: Right, right. In most of the churches in Portland or a good percentage of them, and a lot of the schools, and then all around

the town all around everywhere. My father was busy and we went over into Washington and up into, oh, goodness knows where we went, see. Everywhere, you know, see.

JL: What size were your audiences?

HD: Actually, I think television was what messed it up about as much as anything else, because along in then we had good crowds always had big crowds.

JL: I know that the DeMosses established residency in New York in 1924. Did you go back there, also?

HD: Never did, no. No.

JL: Was Lizzy still close to the DeMoss side of the family after she married?

HD: Oh, yes.

JL: Would you call it a close knit family?

HD: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Oh, goodness sakes. Yes, sure.

JL: How did audiences differ toward the DeMoss and Davis entertainers in 1910 and before, to the years in the twenties?

HD: I think that people got more appreciative later on, actually. I think that 01:31:00those chimes, no fooling, those chimes [that P. Waldo Davis played] were something that just intrigued people. They fascinated them. It's really hard to explain, see, and, of course, the program as you'll see when you look at some of those programs there the program was a type of program that most anybody in the audience there would be a number that someone would like. Might not like them all but you could please everybody one way or another, see.

JL: How long would the programs last?

HD: Not too long. My father was a stickler for [time]. Maybe a little over an hour.

JL: Did your mother get tired of entertaining after so many years?

HD: No, no, no, she had a very good stage presence and very gracious.

JL: Did you date girls during the twenties?

HD: No, oh, no, never had time for it when we were traveling. We moved from one town to the other, you know, see. No, no.

JL: It must have been a very hard life?

HD: Oh, yes, but it was all right. It was okay.

JL: Where did you stay when you traveled?

HD: Well, quite often my father would in his contract [write that] they would 01:33:00furnish our lodging. In other words, they would they would put us up, maybe either in a hotel or at some private home. If we were playing in a church quite often one of the church members would take us. Or they'd split us up. My father and mother might go to somebody's house, and I'd go to someone's house by myself, and that was part of the agreement, see.

JL: Was your father ever employed at anything other than playing music?

HD: No, no. Oh, he taught school. He taught school before he got in [to performing publicly], I didn't mention that, but after he got out of the university, he taught school for several years.

JL: Where did he teach school?

HD: Well, he taught down at Woodburn, I think, and he taught up in eastern Oregon. I don't know where all he taught.

JL: Did George really collapse on stage while playing the two coronets?

HD: Well, he certainly did on the stage. I guess he was playing the two coronets. I guess so.

JL: I read that Elbert DeMoss said after his father's death that he'll "now succeed his father and will carry on maintaining the family tradition and continue the concert tours." Why didn't he continue the tours?

HD: Well, I don't know. I guess I do to a certain....The Depression was....this was about 1933. You couldn't get anybody. Nobody had any money. You might as well discontinue, see. That was a very good reason right there. No, he didn't follow through with it. That's true.

JL: Do you think the family could have continued touring if there had been no Depression?

HD: Yes, he probably would have. He probably could have although he was having some family troubles about that time, too, you know, see. J.R.'s [Elbert's son] mother, was causing problems, you know, see.

JL: Did Elbert have the stamina and qualities of leadership that his father had?

HD: I think probably he would have had. He had a different disposition entirely. 01:36:00Elbert wasn't like his father; he was more like his mother, see. He had a better disposition, not stern. He was very agreeable and he and I were just about like brothers, you know. We were just that close, you know, see.

JL: You never considered playing with the DeMoss Family Bards during the twenties?

HD: No, no, no, no. Never did. Well, we just got completely away from it.

JL: What were your plans for the future when you were studying music? Did you have a goal in mind?

HD: Well, yes, when I come here to the university, my major was public school music, see.

JL: Oh, you wanted to teach?

HD: Yes, I wanted to teach, you see, and when I got out of school the Depression had hit so I couldn't get a job. You see at that time they weren't hiring any 01:37:00music supervisors in the schools. They were hiring, just for example, math teachers and science teachers that could teach music, you see. But, they weren't hiring any music supervisors as such, so I couldn't get a job, so I went into private teaching and that's what I've done all my life, and I've done real well at it.

JL: Have you always taught the piano?

HD: Yes.

JL: Where were you when the stock market crashed in 1929?

HD: Here in Eugene. Yes, I was on the campus, then.

JL: How did the Depression affect your life?

HD: Well, (chuckle) we just didn't have a job, that's all, see. So, we just had 01:38:00to settle down. I wasn't married then. I was single, thank goodness. No, I think people are just as happy then as they are now, probably more so. We didn't have any money but we didn't

have any gas shortage either.

JL: How did the Depression affect music in America?

HD: Well, I don't know. I don't know. I'm sure people just didn't have the money to go to concerts or go places like that. I'm sure of that.

JL: What did the DeMoss musicians do during the Depression?

HD: Well, they just didn't do anything. They tried to go out and play. Well, 01:39:00they did some playing. I know they played in a lot of the schools and they got to playing in the schools. Why, we'd charge ten cents admission for the kids. Most parents could dig up a dime for their kid to go for the afternoon; it would be in the afternoon. I think they kept on going but they weren't doing anything. It really was something then during the Depression.

JL: Were they employed in other occupations?

HD: No, no, that's all they did. Well, Elbert and Homer they went out and got jobs, you know, working various places. I know Homer worked down here at the cannery, and that sort of thing. The music business was absolutely out during the Depression and, of course, Uncle George passed away in 1933 I guess it was, and so that ended that anyhow, see.

JL: What happened to the ranch at DeMoss Springs?

HD: It's still there. (chuckle) Everything up there now is owned by a cousin of mine who is John's oldest boy.

JL: How did he acquire it?

HD: Well, during the Depression, you know, the state was foreclosing for taxes 01:41:00every place, you know, taking everything for taxes, so this property up there that the DeMosses had in Sherman County was taken by the state for taxes. Of course, they [the DeMosses] weren't around there then. I guess they were down here in the [Willamette] Valley here or some place, and so we heard about it. We were living here in Eugene, and we heard about the state going to foreclose that [land].

JL: Who is we?

HD: The folks and I. My father, mother and I, so I got in the car and John he was my half uncle they were living up toward Mount Hood up there. Just 01:42:00subsisting up there, and I went down to see him and I told him about this property. So he went down to Salem and he made arrangements to take it over. Of course, the state was glad to have anybody take anything over on any kind of a deal just to get it off their backs, see. So, he took over the ranch up there and everything of the kind and that's how he got it. Then he run it for years, and then he retired, and now his son is doing it, see. That's how he happened to have it.

JL: None of the other DeMosses wanted it?

HD: Well, (laughter) I don't know. I don't want [to discuss this topic]. Yes, I guess they didn't. Well, I'm worried about that tape recorder, see. (laughter) 01:43:00Yes, there was problems.

JL: How long did you continue playing with your parents then?

HD: Well, up until the time that my father passed away.

JL: You played with him until 1948?

HD: Oh, yes! We even played all around here. We'd go out around near Eugene and everything of the kind, and sing. We wouldn't get too far away.

JL: And your mother also played then?

HD: Oh, yes. (pause) Oh, no, no, no, no, she didn't. She passed away in 1941. But my father and I, we went out and did quite a bit of playing. No, we kept right on. We moved down here to Eugene. We'd go out on weekends, you know, every once in awhile during the week. On weeknights, you know, and play someplace or other.

JL: Why did you come to Eugene?

HD: Because my father had gone to school here.

JL: And the Davis side of the family was still here?

HD: Yes, he had gone to school here, and he'd always wanted me to go to the University. And so that's how we happened to come here. Well, we had property here, anyhow. We had a house here so it was a case of just moving into it. In the meantime we made some trips to California. We spent the winter of, I think according to one of those posters there the winter of 1923 and 1924 in California and we played all through there.

JL: Did you have any participation in the World Wars?

HD: No, no, I was just barely too young to get into World War I, and I was just a little bit too old to get into World War II. Of course, if either one of them had kept on going, and hadn't have stopped when they did, I'd have gotten into either one or both of them, see, but I missed them.

JL: When did you get married?

HD: Well, I got married, the first time, in 1938.

JL: Who did you marry?

HD: A gal by the name of Florene Wilson, and then the second time my present wife, Celia, we've been married eleven years.

JL: Was Florene Wilson musically inclined?

HD: No, not really.

JL: Did you travel overseas at all during World War II then?

HD: No. No.

JL: Have you played continuously since childhood to the present?

HD: Yes, I started taking lessons when I was seven years old.

JL: What happened after your father passed away?

HD: Well, I was teaching music privately at that time. I just kept right on. There was no problem.

JL: Did you belong to any other musical groups?

HD: No. No, oh, no. I never did any traveling on my own. Never did.

Mrs. Davis: You had your own band.

JL: Did you have your own band?

HD: Well, orchestra, yes.

JL: How would you characterize musical entertainment today?

HD: Well, they are all right. I think they are probably okay.

JL: You seem like a very easygoing person.

HD: Oh, yes, what the heck. I don't want to get a heart attack. (Laughter)

JL: Is music still the most important interest in your life?

HD: Yes. Yes, I think it probably is. Right now I'm the organist for the for 01:48:00the Elks here in Eugene and I'm the organist for the Scottish Rite here in Eugene; and for two Masonic Lodges. I play the piano for the Lions Club here in Eugene and, you know, I keep busy but it's in music mostly.

JL: In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently if you'd have had a chance?

HD: No, no, oh, I always wanted to work the railroad company. It might be fun to be an engineer with the railroad company, you know, see. (laughter) I never got around to doing that.

JL: What did you like about the railroad?

HD: I don't know. I used to go down to the depot and watch the trains come in. I got a kick out of that. I enjoyed that, you see. That's when they had the steam engines. I wouldn't go down and watch them now because it's just 01:49:00like watching a diesel truck go by, you know, see.

JL: Did you have any say in the choice of your occupation?

HD: I don't know. I never thought of it that way. No, I was always satisfied with music.

JL: You were never rebellious when you were younger like many kids are these days?

HD: No, no, no, no, I wasn't.

JL: What are your goals for the future?

HD: Well, I don't know. I'm like I say, I'm involved in music pretty heavy. Probably keep it that way.

JL: What direction do you think music is going?

HD: (Chuckle) That's hard to say. It's getting louder all the time. I know 01:50:00that, but (laughter) I don't know. That's a good question. Of course, I don't amplify anything, so I don't I don't know. Are you a disco type of person? (laughter)

JL: Do you still play tunes from the early days when the DeMoss Family Bards were together?

HD: No, I don't think so.

JL: Did your father write any of his own music?

HD: No, no, he never wrote music.

JL: Your mother did?

HD: Yes, she did, but that was sort of a tradition. She was supposed to, see. See all of the DeMosses were supposed to write music, you see, or at least thought they were supposed to. I guess they wanted to. I don't know.

JL: It seems like a very strict existence that the DeMosses had with James and then George?

HD: I think so, I think so. Yes. You see, when they were traveling in the early days there was no entertainment of any kind. People were starved for entertainment, and the only way they could get entertainment was for somebody to come and play in person, see. Now, you can get it on television; you can get it lots of different ways, you know, see. You can get your entertainment.

JL: Do you think that the DeMoss Family Bards would have kept going for as long as they did if George hadn't been a member?

HD: I don't think so. I think they'd have gave up a long time before. Yes, I'm sure they would have.

JL: When do you think they would have given up?

HD: Well, I think the kids would like to have gone out on their own. In fact, I'm sure they would have.

JL: Elbert and Homer were held back by George?

HD: Yes. Definitely.

JL: Was Henry motivated to continue touring as the DeMoss Entertainers after George died?

HD: No, no, I don't think so. He was, he was very, well, you know, you've met Homer, you know, see. Very easy going, and his father was the same way.

JL: Why do you think George was so strict with himself and others?

HD: (Chuckles) I don't know. Well, I guess, like you said my grandfather was 01:53:00that way. You know.

JL: Why didn't John participate in the group?

HD: Well, he didn't have the talent. Well, he, of course, was second family, you know, see. He come on after no, there wasn't any place for him there. He couldn't he can't hardly carry a tune, matter of fact.

JL: What are some of your favorite memories while performing with the Bards?

HD: Well, I don't know. I don't know. I know it was an enjoyable time. I do know that. I don't, I have no regrets.

JL: How many children do you have?

HD: I have two girls. My oldest girl's name is Wally Masterson. Walden is her 01:54:00full name. My youngest daughter's name is Sandra Ashland.

JL: Have you told your daughters about your experiences with the DeMoss Family Bards?

HD: Not too much. Not too much. Quite a bit, but not too much.

JL: Did you teach them an appreciation for music?

HD: Oh, yes. Yes, they appreciate music. My youngest daughter has the chimes now. She lives up near Spokane. She also has those bells that you've seen a picture of on the poster, see.

JL: The Swiss Bells?

HD: Yes, she has the chimes and the bells, and she has already learned to play 01:55:00the bells. In fact, she plays them around there quite a bit around there for a gathering of any kind. People just go wild over them, she says.

JL: She's musically inclined?

HD: Very much so, and she is learning to play the chimes. She just picked them up about a couple of months ago when they were down here and picked them up and took them up there. She's learning to play them. Now, my older daughter she's musical, but she never did anything with it. I tried to give her violin lessons and it didn't take.

JL: Do you think that if the DeMoss Family Bards had played contemporary music for their times they would have continued to be popular?

HD: It's possible because there are people that, yes, I think, it's possible that they would have. I would say so because there are traveling groups now, you know. You get them over there at Corvallis. They come in there at the college, see, different groups of artists and everything of the kind. They come in, they do get around but things are still changed quite a bit.

JL: The program that the Bards presented didn't vary much from say 1900 to 1933?

HD: Yes, I think you're right. I don't think they lost their popularity. I don't think they did. I think everything that that part of it was okay because they use quite a bit of classical music with it, and classical music will always be 01:57:00here, you know, see. Do you want to say anything that I haven't covered about that period of time when you played with your father and the DeMoss Family Bards? No, I can't think of anything off hand.

[Interview concludes with Herschel Davis playing a song on his piano called 01:59:0001:58:00"Sweet Oregon," written by Henry DeMoss in 1882.]