Many people have asked what I did before writing Patton's Troubleshooters.  Years ago, I set out to be a photographer.  I was self-taught, and began photography as a hobby.  Photojournalism really appealed to me, as did photographing nature and pretty girls.  However, making a living shooting photos is far different than hobby photography.

 

I started Photographique as my photography company and began my quest to make money with my camera.  It just so happened that around this same time, my younger brother was launching a company called Jessie Janes Productions.  He raised funds for charities that did not have the resources to do so themselves.  These fund-raisers most often took the form of a Country Music show to benefit the charity.  My brother needed someone to do the publicity work for these events.  Since I was anxious to make a name for myself, my brother was able to con me into working for nothing, or nearly nothing.

 

So, I began promoting events through media outlets such as newspapers, radio and television stations.  Part of my job duties was to act as the production company's official photographer.  The show photos would get distributed to media outlets for publicity.  There was one little newspaper in Independence, Missouri that could not spare a staff member to write photo captions.  They told me that if I wanted text with my photos, I had to write it myself.  I started out with small captions for the photos, and the captions grew and grew into stories.  Eventually, my stories were accepted in another newspaper, and two or three went "Front Page"!  It was this meager newspaper experience that made me cocky enough to take on the job of researching and writing Patton's Troubleshooters later on.

 

In the course of running Photographique, I got to photograph and make friends with some pretty great people.  Despite whatever you may have heard about how phony show-business people are, Country Music people tend to be very down to earth and just regular folks.  In the years that I ran Photographique, there was only one celebrity that I didn't like, but I won't name names.  The rest were great people backstage, as well as on stage.  Some were a real blast to hang out with!  In these pages, I will share some of my selected photos from my photography and newspaper days!  I only wish that I could share some of the great music I was privileged to listen to back then.  All involved charitable events, so I guess that prepared me for really devoting myself to my biggest charitable cause; namely, the history project!  It also convinced me that I could write, if I applied myself.  I had lots of fun back then, even if I didn't make a dime.

 

Hager Twins and Don Darnell & West Texas

 

The Thrasher Brothers and The Down Yonder Band

 

Hank Williams Original Drifting Cowboys Band and The Down Yonder Band

 

The Gairrett Brothers Band

 

Vern Gosdin and The Down Yonder Band

 

George Jones and The Down Yonder Band

 

Judy Rodman

 

Jessie Janes Productions

 

Duran Duran

 

Independence Firefighters Help A Terminally Ill Boy

 

Kansas City, Missouri Zoo Benefit

 

Independence Firefighters & Whizzo

 

 

 

 

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