Woody Guthrie Music Center - Old Harris Drugs - Pampa, TX
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 35° 31.997 W 100° 57.593
14S E 322314 N 3933951
A museum dedicated to all things Woody Guthrie. He once worked as a soda jerk in this drug store. No fee, they ask for donations.
Waymark Code: WMTT2G
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/05/2017
Views: 0
County of museum: Gray County
Location of museum: 320 S. Cuyler St., Pampa
"In 1929, eighteen-year-old aspiring singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie arrived in Pampa, Texas, from Oklahoma at the behest of his father, an Oklahoma businessman down on his luck and working in Pampa to pay off debts. Guthrie, already a determined musician and an accomplished harmonica player with little interest in the conventions of rural Panhandle life, spent more time busking on Pampa streets and reading in the local library than attending school, dropping out of Pampa High before completing his final year. In Pampa, Guthrie quickly acquired an amazing skill wit the guitar and fiddle. At nineteen, he married and worked at jobs in Pampa while continuing to hone his musical skills.
"In 1937, Guthrie left Pampa (and his family) behind, joining the throngs of Midwesterners driven from farmlands across America by the advent of the Dust Bowl and working their way west to California in the hopes of a better life.
"Guthrie, considered an icon of American folk music, authored the nation’s folk anthem “This Land is Your Land,” among other distinctly American classics. Guthrie may have left Pampa, but Pampa never quite left Guthrie. Pampa locals Thelma Bray and Glenna Lea Miller established the Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center in 1991. Housed in Pampa’s historic Harris Drug Store, one-time Guthrie employer, the Center serves as musical venue for live events throughout the year and a museum of relics that chronicle Woody's life and music.
"The Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center strives to keep Woody’s words and music alive and to provide a place for the public to visit a little part of Woody’s world. Anyone may come to learn about, talk about, sing about, and add to Guthrie's legacy. The Center has a variety of books, recordings, drawings, and pictures from Woody’s life. For those who might desire to play and sing, the Center is open on Friday nights for jams, stories, and fellowship. These evenings are open to the public, and visitors are welcome to pull up a chair to listen and learn." ~ Texas Plains Trail
Historic marker at museum:
"American folk musician Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (1912-1967) moved to Pampa from his native Oklahoma at age 17. Here he learned to play the guitar and joined with other musicians to perform for area events. Guthrie briefly attended Pampa High School and, from 1930 until 1935, worked as a soda jerk at this site, home of the former Harris Drug Store. He also spent much time reading books in the Pampa city library, preparing him for his most productive years as a poet-lyricist and folk balladeer during the 1940s and early 1950s. He left Pampa for California in 1937 and in 1940 went to New York City, where he was recognized for his writings and performances. He died there in 1967. ~ Texas Historical Commission, 2002