In 1979, the Hardeman County chapter of the American Cancer Society was looking for a way to reach their fundraising goal, and so was born the “Hardeman County Hee Haw & Howdy Show,” modeled after the popular television variety series, “Hee Haw.”

Don Shackelford, Bertha Vaughan and Bunny Orr combined their efforts as founders of the production that would showcase the musical and comedic talents of hundreds of Hardeman County residents and raise money for cancer research. Don was the show’s first writer and director, serving as such for 10 years prior to retiring in 1990, while Bertha Vaughan stayed on for 18 years as musical director before handing her duties over to Jeff and Kandy Shackelford. Bobby Sain is the current writer and director.

The Hee Haw & Howdy Show, now commonly referred to as “Hee Haw,” has been running for 34 years and continues to be a success, selling out multiple performances. It’s an annual variety show that is full of laughter and country music put on by Hardeman County residents who devote months of preparation and hard work to it. Local talents provide musical entertainment for the audience while characters from the original television series, including Lulu, Stringbean, Junior and Grandpa, make their way onto the stage to deliver jokes.

Until 2006, “Hee Haw” was performed in the Bolivar Central High School auditorium on a weekend in the spring. Now, the show takes place at the Hardeman County Arts Center and runs for an entire week due to ticket demand. In fact, of the more than 1,200 seats available, over 1,000 were sold within the first week of ticket sales. What’s even better is that, thanks to the people of Hardeman County, the Hee Haw & Howdy Show has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society.

Shackelford Funeral Directors is proud to have been a long-time sponsor of this great effort. As mentioned before, Don Shackelford, former manager of the Bolivar location prior to his death in 2000, was writer and director of the show for a period of time and continued to support the show for years after. Jeff Shackelford, present manager and President of Shackelford Funeral Directors of Bolivar, Inc., is the current musical director and plays lead guitar in the Hee Haw band alongside his wife, Kandy, who plays bass guitar and daughter, Jillian Wisely, who sings and plays rhythm guitar in this year’s show. Kandy and Jillian are both employees at Shackelford Funeral Directors in Bolivar.

Tickets, though few, are still available for some of the Hee Haw performances, the first of which is tonight, March 25 ^th , at the Hardeman County Arts Center located at 1580 West Market Street in Bolivar. Other dates include March 26, 28-30 with two performances on Saturday, the 30 ^th . Tickets may be purchased for $10 each at Weems Furniture in Bolivar, 425 Tennessee Street, (731) 658-2081.

Don Shackelford and his granddaughter Jillian (Shackelford) Wisely in 1989.

Jeff Shackelford (center) with Maynard and the cuties as they do a little “Pickin’ and Grinnin’.”

(L-R) Kandy Shackelford, Mike Smalley, and Jeff Shackelford performing as a bluegrass trio.
This post was written by Jillian Wisely of Shackelford Funeral Directors in Bolivar. Jillian is the daughter of Jeff and Kandy Shackelford.

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