Page 69 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2017

Two inmates dig a place to hold the headstone of Richard “Hacksaw” Harney at the
New Hinds County Paupers Cemetery

Salter, and I traveled to the New Hinds County Paupers
Cemetery with the headstone in the trunk of our car, where
we met up with Aaron. Two inmates dug out a small plot of
land to hold the headstone, and we held a short ceremony
attended by local dignitaries and Hacksaw’s daughter and
grandchildren, under the watchful eyes of the county sheriff
and his deputies. Again, it was another humbling and
amazing experience for the KBHP.
Although the headstone project has many fans around
the world donating and helping us with research, there are
only five board members directly involved: Aaron Pritchard;
myself; my wife, Leslie Salter; Dave Wright of Champagne, IL;
and Hank Mowrey of Grand Rapids, MI. We are grateful for
the assistance of many volunteers, especially Matt Lennington
of Sugarland, TX, who helps the KBHP in many ways. I came
into contact with Matt in 2014 while searching for the grave
location of Texas Alexander, and through Matt’s efforts, we
were able to locate and get permission to place a headstone.
The marker was sent to Matt’s home and he personally placed
the headstone at the cemetery. A new volunteer, Keith Peterson
from Americas, GA, has been very instrumental in helping us
with a soon-to-be-announced major accomplishment. To date,
we have purchased 80 headstones and each has its own
unique story.
So, the next time you are listening to the blues, please give
a thought to all the artists who have created the music you
love and help us continue to honor and recognize those blues
greats by making a donation to the Killer Blues Headstone
Project. To see the headstones we have purchased to date,
help us locate the graves we are currently searching for, or
to make a donation, please visit our website: killerblues.net.

Editor’s note: Steve Salter received a Keeping the Blues Alive
award in February 2017 in recognition of his work with the Killer
Blues Headstone Project.

Blues Festival Guide 2017 67