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Portraits from the road
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Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
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Name: Roddy Moore, 62, Ferrum
Occupation: Director of the Blue Ridge Institute at Ferrum College
Bio: Moore was born in Roanoke and spent most of his youth in Welch, W.Va. Family in Botetourt and Bland counties still claim him. He received a history degree from Virginia Tech and founded Mountain Empire Community College's Home Craft Days Festival in Big Stone Gap. He came to the Blue Ridge Institute in 1973 and founded the Ferrum Folklife Festival, held the fourth Saturday every October.
Favorite artists: Caruso, Stanley Brothers, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Wanda Jackson
Quote: "Things are going on here that people can't find anywhere else. There's something here for people who aren't all that interested in paying a lot of money to be entertained at Dollywood."
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Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
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Name: Jimmy Boyd, 58, Ferrum
Occupation: Body worker
Bio: Boyd's uncles all played old-time music, including Uncle Charlie Boyd, who was buried with his fiddle. Jimmy Boyd didn't pick up the banjo until he was 30. He and his brother, Billy, formed the Dry Hill Draggers in 1981. The group has persevered even as some members have died.
Favorite artists: Country Gentlemen, the Stanley Brothers, Orchard Grass Band, New River Ramblers, Meadow Creek Express
Quote: "The old-time music drew me in to play it. Music like that is in your genes. You are what your genes are."
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