Posted by June Schwartz on June 06, 101 at 18:59:48:
To Whom It May Concern:
My first encounter with John Hartford came when I watched the PBS series about the music along the Mississippi River. John's segment was insightful, interesting and educational. The first time I met John in person, was in October of 1999 when he and the Good Old Boys played at Olde Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. John had a really bad cold that night and I knew he wasn't feeling well with all the treatments he going through. I worked for Rounder Records then and brought some product to the show. I didn't expect much, I must say, given the knowledge that John wasn't feeling well, but I've never seen a better performance than I did that night. John was offered a stool to sit on on-stage and opted to occasionally lean against it, but he never did sit on it. During the intermission, John sat in the drafty lobby of the building the show was taking place in, signing autographs and being extremely gracious. I waited until everyone had been taken care of and then I introduced myself. John looked really tired and weak, but he shook my hand. He told me that he would have given me a hug, but he had a really bad cold and didn't want to pass it along to me. He went back in for the second set and it was even better than the first set.
John is up in Heaven performing for God and the angels now, I have no doubt. I'm glad his suffering is over but he will be missed.
God Bless you, John Hartford. You're a great man!