DUANE
Duane's take
The marker in Gray County tells it this way, and I'm passin' it along to you. Now, most folks know the name Woody Guthrie, but not everybody knows that the story — the real story, the one that made him — runs right through Pampa, Texas. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, born in 1912, came to Pampa from his native Oklahoma.
He was seventeen years old. A teenager from across the state line, dropped into the Texas Panhandle, and what he found here would shape just about everything that came after. He learned to play the guitar right here in Pampa.
He joined with other musicians and performed for area events. He even briefly attended Pampa High School. And from 1930 until 1935 — five years — he worked as a soda jerk at this very site, home of the former Harris Drug Store.
Picture that. The man who would become one of America's most celebrated folk balladeers, mixing drinks and wiping down a counter right where you're standing. But here's the thing about Woody Guthrie.
He wasn't just passing time. He was spending a great deal of time over at the Pampa city library, reading. Book after book after book.
That library was doing something to him, shaping the poet-lyricist and folk balladeer who would pour himself out during the 1940s and early 1950s in ways that still echo. He left Pampa for California in 1937. Then in 1940 he went to New York City, where he was recognized for his writings and performances.
He died there in 1967. It all started, though, with a guitar, a drug store counter, and a library card in Pampa, Texas.
What the marker says
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. (2002)