FRANKLIN LIVING—Gene Welch Sr. first opened the Mountain Valley Hee Haw in 1983. Thirty-five years later, it’s still going strong in its original location on Highway 79 in the Dime Community.

Tucked away into rural East Franklin, the Hee Haw might be overlooked by people who don’t already know it’s there – but for faithful attendees, it’s the place to be on a Saturday night. When Welch Sr. passed away of a heart attack 19 years ago, his son, William Gene Welch Jr., decided to carry the torch and keep the family-friendly live music venue in operation.

“He liked music, and he didn’t want to go anywhere where there was drinking and stuff like that. If you have drinking, you’re going to have fights,” Welch said. All of their family is musical; Welch himself used to play lead guitar. With no ready-made spot for some down-home country concerts, Welch’s father just decided to open his own venue – or to be more specific, his own four walls, with no roof or floor to speak of. “We had all coal heaters in here.”

Welch said the new venue was well-received by the community right away, with bluegrass fans pouring in for their weekly dose of toe-tapping, twangy banjo music. It has been improved since then – with, among other changes, the addition of a floor and a roof – but it’s still the same cherished place to go “out on the town.” The House Band plays almost every Saturday night, but the venue has also played host to guest groups like Hank Snow’s band, Elvis impersonators, Travis Wammack and the Snakeman Band and more.

Turnout to Hee Haw on a Saturday can range from 40-100 or even more, Welch said. Attendees have been as young as 6 months to older than 100, with folks coming from across Franklin County and beyond. Welch said four or five new people wander in most Saturdays, but much of the audience is repeat guests, coming week after week for live music and dancing.

“A lot of the older folks who come out here, this is the only place they go. Most of the time they stay at home,” Welch said. “There’s a lot of them who come out here who have nowhere to go.”

Admission is free, and Welch keeps the venue running with donations, raffles and from his own pocket, from his full-time roofing and construction business.

House band members are Hudon Franklin, Phil Campbell, lead guitar and lead vocals; George Strawbridge, Red Bay, lead guitar; Jimmy Sneed, lead guitar, Russellville; Ray Crawley, bass, Phil Campbell; Anthony Greene, drums, Phil Campbell; David Britnell, rhythm guitar, Muscle Shoals; and Anthony Gardener, banjo and fiddle, Russellville.

Visitors to the Mountain Valley Hee Haw can choose a chair from among the rows facing the stage or pull up a seat at one of the table fillings the large music hall – but many of them choose to find their way to the dance floor in front of the stage. Whether the country music songs call for a two-step or a slow dance, nearly every tune brings someone to their feet.

Colored strobe lights enhance the festive atmosphere, and when the last note from the House Band fades away, about 10 p.m., the Hee Haw stage opens up for karaoke singers.

The newest attraction, just outside the Mountain Valley Hee Haw, is the Town of Hee Haw, a Western-themed collection of cabins that, when they are all completed in a couple of years, will be available to rent. Welch said he expects the one-bedroom cabins to attract fishermen and hunters, as well as others.

“I build houses for a living, and that’s just leftover materials,” Welch said. Each cabin is designed to look like a building in an old Western town – the steepled church, the saloon, the town hall and the barbershop, for a start.

Story by ALISON JAMES

Photos by APRIL WARHURST