During the same trip in June of 2013 when the Crew and I visited Centralia, PA, we also had occasion to visit Beavertown, PA.
Beavertown was really our main reason for planning the trip to PA in the first place. As I previously mentioned, I am a huge fan of The Monkees. Davy Jones resided in Beavertown, PA for about twenty years or so, right up until he died on February 29, 2012. On June 15, 2013 a memorial was held in his honor and the Crew and I were able to attend!
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Davy Jones
12/30/1945 - 02/29/2012
Beavertown isn't weird or anything, but it is quaint. The people couldn't have been nicer and the view...breathtaking! The memorial event was held in a field behind the fire station and in the distance everywhere you looked there was nothing but mountains covered in trees.
Davy Jones was not only a Monkee, he was also a jockey. And he loved horses. He had several and part of the purpose of the memorial was to raise money to take care of "the herd." Apparently it costs something like $1000 a month just to feed them. Contrary to popular belief, Davy was not a wealthy man and his daughters have set up a fund to support his beloved beasts, the Davy Jones Equine Memorial Fund: http://www.djemf.com/.
There were several musical acts at the event, all doing Davy songs, of course. They had a "bed race" mirroring the scene in the opening credits of The Monkees where Micky, Mike and Peter push Davy down a city street in a bed.
A local artist named Chuck LaMark is working on a statue of Davy, and he unveiled the prototype at the event. I know a lot of fans bashed the statue for not looking enough like Our Mr. Jones, but I think it was pretty awesome (certainly better than anything I would ever be able to create). Plus I've interacted with him a little on Facebook, and Mr. LaMark seems like a very nice guy.
The coolest thing at the event, though, had to be The Monkeemobile! I never thought I would get to see it in person! Our kids, N & C are Monkee fans also and they were thrilled to see it as well (cool side note: my parents took me to see The Monkees in 1986 when I was 12. In November 2012, Mim and I got to take N & C to see The Monkees...I love that I was able to share something with them that my folks shared with me - deja vu all over again). My good friend Patti attended the event also (we actually met through a fanfiction site where I post my Monkees stories) and it was so cool to get a chance to see her. She was excited about the Monkeemobile, too!
There she is, in all her glory...
Lastly, we stopped at Davy's house. It's a really nice home. Right now one of his daughters still owns it and I do hope that they are able to hold onto it. My only regret is that I didn't think to pick up a stone or acorn or something by the house to save, but I did get some good pictures.
At the end of the musical portion of the event, we all did a "sing along" to Daydream Believer. Members of a Monkees fan club called The Purple Flower Gang handed out bubbles for everyone to blow. It was very moving and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
It was a really great experience and if they do make this a yearly event I hope to be able to return at some point. And even if you aren't a Monkees fan, Beavertown, PA, is a beautiful little hamlet and definitely worth checking out.
This one's for you, Davy:
Until Next Time...
Miss Myo
xoxoxoxo
