08/08/2024
From this date 127 years ago
August 7, 1897:
Charley “Banjo Dick” Williams
This ad ran for Banjo Dick’s minstrel show in Tucson…2 days after the performance was held. They ran this ad for several days even though the performance had already taken place. No idea why.
Banjo Dick was born into Kentucky slavery in 1849. He joined up with the Union and fought as early as 13 years old and his body bore the scars he’d received in battle for the rest of his life.
He arrived in Tucson in 1872 when there were less than 50 black residents.
He arrived from California with the L.A. Smith family for whom he was working as a “handyman” (i.e. paid servant), and quickly became known around town for his musical ability with several instruments but most frequently with the banjo.
Banjo Dick became a fixture at Tucson’s Levin’s Park, playing his music regularly. He would also play at local social events as well as greet new arrivals off the train with welcome music. In the evenings he would frequently sing and perform in front of his house on Convent Street, attracting groups of children and adults. He was so well loved that he even held paid performances at Reid’s Opera House (later the Park View Hotel) after he left Tucson.
In 1892, Banjo Dick moved to Nogales and enjoyed the same local affection that he’d had in Tucson, perhaps even more so.
There, he opened a bootblack business (shoeshine stand) and worked for years as a city park attendant. He even ran for Sheriff of Santa Cruz County in 1906!
He also traveled frequently to Mexico where he was asked to be the padrino in an Hermosillo couple’s wedding.
The Nogales newspaper would sometimes ask for his opinion on political matters and once he even punched a man who was exposing himself to a woman on East Street in Nogales.
He never stopped performing and writing songs and was beloved by the children and adults of Nogales and Tucson.
Charley “Banjo Dick” Williams passed on May 20, 1920.
