Sword and Stone Coffeehouse

Sword and Stone coffeehouse (ancient history)?

"Neal" n3al.ok@gmail.com n3al_1

Mon Feb 12, 2007

There was a little coffeehouse on N. Harvey in OKC in the 1960's and early 70's, called the Sword and Stone. I remember seeing Mance Lipscomb play there a couple of times, and there were lots of locals and people who traveled on the folk "circuit" that played there.

A friend of mine who also went there, and has been out of Oklahoma for many years, is wondering if there are people around who might have played there, or been there, and maybe have a memory to share about the place.

If so, please reply at:

n3al.ok@gmail.com

Thanks. I appreciate anything you might be able to share.

Neal Jones
Tecumseh, OK

Re: Sword and Stone coffeehouse (ancient history)?

"Agnew Theodore" Theodore.Agnew@HCAHealthcare.com

Mon Feb 12, 2007

I moved to OKC in October of 1972, and the Sword and Stone was one of the first places I looked up. I didn't have a car, so I'd walk there from my apartment just north of the Medical Center.

I remember seeing an early version of the Falderal String Band with Rodger Harris and Butch Ritter. Steve Gavula and Tom Loftis were also two of my favorites. I remember a 10-year-old girl singing "Quit Kicking My Dog Around" accompanied by her mother playing mouth bow. I could barely play, but I remember sitting in on the occasional jam, and I eventually became competent enough to be booked as a "featured performer," just before the place closed for good.

I remember Ed and Johnie ("J'ai B"), the proprietors, as a couple of really sweet folks, receptive to my youthful enthusiasm and tolerant of my wrong notes and missed chords. I still hear from Johnie from time to time (I've forwarded this email to her last known address), and I think Ed is still in town; working with stained glass last I heard. They certainly deserve recognition for the role they and their establishment played in Oklahoma City's folk music history.

Lee Agnew