Notes & Queries – November 2025

Q: The very first time I ever saw Dr. Ralph Stanley, it was late ‘60s to early ‘70s at a German club in Dover, New Jersey: Germania Park. There is NO info on this in ANY history. I would like to know what the date was if anyone has it. I did talk to Ralph briefly at the show. He was my hero then and now! Our local country radio show, Hometown Frolic (WAAT 970 on the AM dial) with Don “Larkin Barkin,” was off the air in 1960 or so. This was the era when country went to the crap we have today. So, to see Ralph was a miracle for us. Roger Freiday, via email.  A: The January 1972 edition of Bluegrass Unlimited contains an advertisement for a Ralph Stanley show at Germania Park Hall on January 22. The performance was part of a four-day tour through the Northeast, with shows in New Haven, Connecticut (January 20), Liberty, New York (January 21), and New York City (January 23). The group, considered one of Ralph’s best, included Roy Lee Centers on guitar and lead vocals, Cur