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Vernon Clatterbuck
Male 1919 - Yes, date unknown

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  • Birth  28 Sep 1919  , Callaway, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender  Male 
    Died  Yes, date unknown 
    Person ID  I7801  Herring Family of Callaway County, Missouri
    Last Modified  23 Dec 2009 
     
    Father  Herbert Clatterbuck,   b. 21 Apr 1885, , Callaway, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Jun 1950, Guthrie Township, , Callaway, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother  Lula Lawson,   b. Abt 1885, , , Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Jan 1965 
    Married  14 Oct 1906  , Callaway, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID  F14346973  Group Sheet
     
    Family  Jewell Fern Sparks,   b. 20 Apr 1916, Dixie, Callaway, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 12 May 1970, Fulton, Callaway, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married  11 Jan 1941  Fulton, Callaway, Missouri, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Living
    Last Modified  03 Jun 2009 
    Family ID  F14346974  Group Sheet
     
  • Notes 
    • Thursday, Mar 05, 2009
      Local seniors brighten days of nursing home residents
      By DON NORFLEET
      The Fulton Sun

      Vernon Clatterbuck of Fulton enjoys toe-tapping music as a way bring joy to the lives of people around him.

      For the last 18 years, Clatterbuck has been playing in country bands performing at mid-Missouri nursing homes.

      Although he's much older than many of the people confined to nursing homes, Clatterbuck still performs on a regular basis.

      At age 89, he heads the Callaway Combo, a gospel and country music group. He's been playing with the same group, which has had various names, during the last 18 years.

      "I enjoy entertaining, no doubt about it. But the main reason," he says, "is the response we get while playing in nursing homes. I get a lot of satisfaction in seeing the reaction of people as we make their day a little brighter. I'll never forget the day I had to take my mother to a nursing home. It was the worst day of my life. I just feel better helping to make people there happier."

      Sharon Dickson, who works for Callaway County Special Services, is the band's program director and keeps records for the group. She enjoys singing gospel songs with the group.

      She says the band specializes in gospel and country music made popular in the 1940s and 1950s.

      "We are a Christian group. There is a prayer before every performance," Dickson says.

      The group ends every performance with the Pledge of Allegiance, "God Bless America," and "I'll Fly Away."

      The band has scaled back its schedule. At one time the group traveled more than 12,000 miles a year and volunteered 2,000 hours a year.

      Its regular schedule now, Dickson says, is the first Monday of the month, practice; the first Friday, perform at Heisinger Bluffs in Jefferson City; second Monday, Fulton Manor Care Center, Fulton; third Monday, Fulton Nursing and Rehab; and the third Friday, Presbyterian Manor in Fulton.

      Dickson says some of the popular songs are "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," "When You're Smiling," "This Land Is Your Land," "Deep in the Heart of Texas," "Old Rugged Cross," "Standing on the Promises," and "Amazing Grace."

      "It's the people who you perform for in nursing homes that motivate you. Very often they will tell you how much they enjoyed the performance and want to know when you are coming back," Dickson says.

      The original four members of the band were Clatterbuck on electric bass; Roy Carrington, rhythm guitar; Jon O'Neal, keyboard and piano; and Pete Hopkins, violin.

      Later Frank Schroeder, lead guitar and singer, and Glenn Dickson, saxophone, were added to the band.

      Current members of the band are Vernon Clatterbuck leader and electric bass; Emily Clatterbuck, vocals; Sharon Dickson, vocals; Frank Schroeder, lead and rhythm guitar and vocals; Mary Mosley, who joined the Combo in January of 2007, violin; Ruthie Lindemann of Reform, the emcee and song leader; Betty Salmons of Fulton, vocals, who joined the group in 2003; Nellie Turner of Fulton, has been a singer and emcee for the group for many years; Bill and Brenda Wormsley of Holts Summit, who both are employed by the state, joined the Combo in January of 2008; and Iona Beck of Frankenstein, who plays piano with the group when it performs in Jefferson City and Brenda Wormsley, who plays piano when the Combo performs in Fulton.

      Clatterbuck is the bandleader and his wife Emily sings with the group. He was one of the original musicians to start the group in 1990, which originally was called the Serve Band when SERVE and the Callaway Senior Center were linked. After they were split apart, the band's name was changed to the New Serve Band. At the suggestion of the late Glenn Dickson, the name of the band later was changed to the Callaway Combo.

      Clatterbuck's wife joined the group when she retired from Central Bank in 1996.

      A native of Callaway County and a veteran of World War II, Clatterbuck is retired from the Missouri Highway Department.

      Between the two of them, they have three daughters and one son. They also have seven grandchildren, all of whom are married. They also have 18 great grandchildren and 14 great-great grandchildren.

      They are members of the Dry Fork Baptist Church in Guthrie.

      Clatterbuck is the last surviving member of the original Callaway Combo.

      Many people have performed with the groups through the years. Some have moved on to other groups but age and health issues have taken the biggest toll.

      Clatterbuck, who will be 90 in September, is not only the leader of the band but also is in his 27th year as a volunteer. He began as a volunteer for homebound meals. He delivered a rural route in Holts Summit that required him to drive 40 miles each week. "I took meals to homebound people for 12 years, starting in 1982," he said.

      He recalls one occasion when he delivered a meal to a home and a cat was always resting in the window. But one time there was no cat in the window. So he entered the home and he heard a woman calling for help in the bedroom. She had fallen. Clatterbuck helped her up and got medical assistance for her.

      "That's just one of many ways we helped people," Clatterbuck says, "It was a rewarding experience."
     
  • Event Map
    Event
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 28 Sep 1919 - , Callaway, Missouri, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 11 Jan 1941 - Fulton, Callaway, Missouri, USA Link to Google Earth
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