The Elementary School Years in Bath, New York
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When Duane Eddy was age 5 , his family moved 20 minutes west of Corning to Bath, New York in the summer of 1943.
When Duane Eddy was age 5 , his family moved 20 minutes west of Corning to Bath, New York in the summer of 1943.
They lived on Maine Street, in the center of town, within walking distance of his school, church and stores.
The Eddy home in Bath, New York as it looks today. 20 Maine Street, off Haverling St. (The house number was changed to 25 later.) The Eddys lived here from Summer of 1943- December of 1949, for 6 years, when Duane was in elementary school. (photo BHB 2024)
Dr. John Wahlig remembers playing with Duane. They were born the same year. John in March and Duane in April. John says that they would play in the fields across the street and there weren't any house there back then, just tall grasses.
It's in this house, in the cellar, that Duane discovered his father's guitar, and asked "what is that"?
In Duane's words: (from the Frank Acomb interviews)
Duane says, "Just as we moved to Bath, when we moved up there, we were down in the cellar, my dad was checking out the heater.
08:05
In those days they had a chute.
08:07
The coal truck would come up and fill up the bin with coal and then he'd shovel it into the furnace and that was our heat for the house.
08:17
And so he was down there checking out and I was with him and I looked over, leaned against the wall, hadn't been put away, was a guitar.
08:27
And I said, What is that?
08:29
He said, It's a guitar.
08:31
And I said, How does it work?
08:34
And so he showed me a couple three chords and he says, I used it to court your mother.
08:40
And so I learned a few chords.
08:44
Then I went to the theater there and saw Gene Autry and Roy Rogers movies.
08:50
And I loved the music in them.
08:51
And so I just do my best, level best, to learn more chords.
08:59
Didn't know you could play up the neck till I was about nine.
09:03
That was a big revelation.
09:05
And I just used to sing Happy Birthday to my friends and everything and sing Hank Williams songs.
09:13
I just grew up with it in my hands, more or less."
He was a cowboy at heart. Influenced by Gene Autry and others.
Duane Eddy as a child in Bath, New York.
Gene Autry was one of his favorites.
In Bath, the movie theater was call the Babcock.
He attended Haverling School (a K-12 school at the time) from kindergarten through first half of 6th grade.
Haverling School, Bath, New York, located in the center of town. (need a better photo!)
He performed at a school assembly
Sue Benedict remembers:
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