Pickin’ Shed in Laurel Hill ready to celebrate its 22nd year

LAUREL HILL — Danny Pate is excited to announce the Pickin’ Shed will be open once again this April.

“We have been here for 22 years this month,” said Pate. “We moved this shed from the Gibson Farm about three miles from here. It was a group effort as we took it apart, moved it piece by piece and once we had them all, we put it back together.”

Pate purchased the original shed which was originally built in 1950 for $200 from John Gibson.

“I asked what he was going to do with it and asked if I could buy it from him,” said Pate. “He looked at me at first and said what in the world are you going to do with that thing. Then he said, I tell you what, you give me $200, take it down and move it yourself and then clean up behind yourselves, I’ll send you $100 of the money back.”

From there, the Pickin’ Shed was born. As Pate continued to tell his story on the creation of the shed, he pointed up at the rafters.

“You see those numbers,” Pate asked. “We had the good sense and idea to number the rafters so we could put the shed back together, but when we got back, we got excited and got in a hurry, so the numbers ended up completely out of order.”

Pate said the project was a complete community effort and he cannot take all the credit for the shed’s success.

“My friends and community have really been the basis for our success over the years,” said Pate. “I had a friend who had an extra power box which allowed us to have power here, Billy Ray Beamon and Tom Cobler built our dance floor and Fred Fox gave us a sound system several years ago until we started using the ones I had for our band.”

As he continued, Pate said there has been a lot of fun had under the shed over the years.

“We are excited for our first night back, which is April 15,” said Pate. “Our band, which is made up of myself, Danny Morton, Larry Bowers and Tommy Sessoms, will be performing.

“Our band is named the Red Bluff Ramblers,” continued Pate. “My grandparents lived in the Red Bluff area in Clio. I used to spend time there and so we honor them with the name.”

The band usually shows up a little earlier than everyone else to warm up and take a break before the show begins.

“We also have an open mic. Anyone who wants to get up and play is welcome. We usually stick to bluegrass, gospel and some county music.”

Pate said he and his fellow bandmates are ramblers for sure.

“We used to go to festivals and jam with people over time they have found out where we are and traveled out to join us,” said Pate. “We’ve met and brought in people from as close as Rockingham as well as all the way from the coast.

“I’d also like to thank Bo Frizzell for the work he has done which includes building our stage and, just the other day, the back wall behind the stage,” continued Pate. “There are just so many people who deserve mentioning and I could keep going but honestly there too many to be able to list them all. But, to those people, you know who you are, I say thank you so much for keeping this dream alive and thank you for those who continue to come out each year.”

In 22 years of operating, according to Pate, there have not been any problems.

“We’ve only had one incident over the years, and it was many many years ago,” said Pate. “Two women decided they wanted to fight. They were kicked out and told to never come back. Other than that, the crowd is just good country people looking for a good time and good music.“

The reasoning behind sharing that particular, according to Pate, is to tell anyone and everyone they are invited to come out and experience the Pickin’ Shed.

“As long as they behave and don’t cause any trouble, they are welcome,” said Pate.

JJ Melton can be reached at [email protected]. To support the Laurinburg Exchange, subscribe here: https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/subscribe.