Gallupville Welcomes Back Wally Jones

GALLUPVILLE — Gallupville’s native son, Wally Jones, returned for an annual organ concert on Friday, June 12. The Gallupville Methodist Church, in conjunction with The Gallupville House Association (GHA), welcomed roughly sixty guests to enjoy an evening of music and strawberry shortcake. In recent years, the Methodist Church’s Strawberry Festival has merged with Wally Jones’ concert. This year, Jones was joined by violinist and violist Michelle Cenci. Before the duo took the stage, opening act The Gallupville 60’s Kids regaled the audience with throwback tunes, kicking it off with their rendition of the John Denver classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The group consisted of local musicians, Chris Claus, Dick Sherman, Gloria Albright, Tom Slater, and Tom White, all of whom grew up in 1960s Gallupville, making the evening’s performances a showcase for the musical talent that has emerged from the little hamlet in Wright. 

The by-donation strawberry shortcakes served in the eating area in the rear of the church, as always, were a hearty serving of strawberries over a biscuit, covered in either vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or, for the insatiably sweet-toothed, both. While no one seems to know exactly how long the Strawberry Fest has existed, it has gone through several iterations. For years, Factory Street would be shut down, turning the Strawberry Fest into a block party with a brass band playing on the lawn at the former parsonage across from the church. Those days, at least for now, are in the past, and the merging of the GHA Wally Jones concert with the Methodist Church’s Strawberry Fest is the latest incarnation of the community event.

Photos by Heidi Florussen