ARKIE and his JOLLY COWBOYS
Homebase: Shelton, WA / Portland, OR.
Stats: 1940s-50s
Misc Notes: There are no known recordings by this artist.
Byron "Arkie" Benedict ~ Fiddle
Cy Shannon ~ Bass
Possum Shilling ~ Guitar
George Jenkins ~ Guitar
Dick White ~ Fiddle
Ray Montee ~ Steel Guitar
Clayton Watson - Drums
"My Mother and Father built the Division Street Corral and hired Byron Benedict (Arkie) and his band as the first band to play there and as the house band for the first several years. Arkie was the first band to ever play at the Division Street Corral built by Charley and Adoline Ceciliani. Opening night was in December of 1948. Mom and Dad later had to let them go because the times were changing and Rock and Roll was starting to demand they change bands. Mom and Dad liked Arkie very much but it was a business decision they had to make at that time to stay in business."
Joanna Ceciliani, February 2008 correspondence with pnwbands.com website, (courtesy of webmaster Sam Carlson)
__________________________________
Byron Julius Benedict was the son of Corydon Julius Benedict and Cora Lee Braswell, his nickname was "Arkie." Byron grew up in Traskwood, Arkansas and attended school there. He married Lucy Elizabeth Sullivan in Sheridan, Arkansas on December 31, 1929.
He became an outstanding Musician and played at the Chicago Barn Dance and the the Louisiana Hayride in Detroit. Byron, his wife and his brother Donald staged Vaudeville shows all over Arkansas during the depression. In 1937-1938 he had his own radio show, the Sunday Afternoon Social over radio station KUOU, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He and his family moved to Ridgefield, Washington and then to Portland, Oregon where he again organized his own band Arkie and His Jolly Cowboys. At one time he had 14 members in his band - a country-western band (his band members wore black cowboy hats and Arkie wore a white cowboy hat while performing). He played on opening night at the Division Street Corral, in Portland, Oregon, on December of 1948. He also broadcast over Radio station KXL and KOIN in Portland, Oregon. He was very popular and was voted six times as the "Northwest Fiddle Champion."
He gave up his band to semi-retire and bought the Jolly Motel in Albany, Oregon. He eventually sold the motel and bought a ranch in Salem, Oregon.
This information was provided by Byron's brother, Donald G. Benedict.
Source: FindAGrave.com website - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31440907/byron-julius_arkie_-benedict
