If it was springtime it must be time for a visit to Tweetsie Railroad, the theme park in the North Carolina mountains, to produce a special Arthur Smith Show, a commercial, or a Fred Kirby segment. And, while they were at it, the production team might then move all the equipment over to Hugh Morton's nearby Grandfather Mountain and capture the stunning scenery.

The man at the extreme left of the photo is likely Clyde McLean, who was the announcer and spokesman on most of Arthur's shows. On the camera nearest the engine, the operator looks to be Ken Furr, with Virgil Torrence as stage manager standing beside him. The middle camera is "locked off" on a shot, and it's operator, Doug McDaniel, is standing by for further instructions. That appears to be Reggie Dunlap running the nearest camera. The man on the right is unidentified, perhaps he's an employee of the park. As the train's last car passes, Tommy Faile or Wayne Haas might be revealed standing on the other side of the track, guitar in hand, ready to perform. Virgil would cue him and he'd break into song.

Fred was a regular performer at Tweetsie on weekends. He would ride around on the docile Calico, have his picture taken by hundreds of his little fans, and "shoot" a few redskins and train robbers. On his TV shows he would always tout his upcoming appearances at the park. Tweetsie's management was always extremely cooperative, the TV exposure was good for business.

When all the fun was over, the equipment would be carefully packed up for the 90-mile trip back to Charlotte. And just before the next Spring rolled around, excuses would be made for another excursion to Tweetsie Railroad. Nice work if you can get it.

Photo courtesy Jim Scancarelli

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