Dear Sun Spots: Could you please tell me where I could purchase 50-pound bags of nut coal around the Rumford area?

Answer: Sun Spots has not been able to locate anyone in your area, and perhaps other readers may be able to assist you here. In the mean time, try contacting Down East Building Supply, 18 Spring St., Brunswick, (207) 729-9921, which carries 40 pound bags of this at $7.16 a bag. It is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dear Sun Spots: Does anyone in Wilton or Farmington area have a January and February Reminisce magazine I could borrow to obtain a copy of an article in it. Please call me at (207) 645-3609. – Wilmont Weeks, Wilton.

Dear Sun Spots: I am wondering if you would be able to provide an address where I could write to former First Lady Barbara Bush and First Lady Laura Bush? Thank you for your help. – No Name, No Town.

Answer: You might want to try contacting both through the following addresses: 1000 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77024; 9 West Oak Drive, Houston, TX 77056; P.O. Box 79798, Houston, TX 77279-9798 and P.O. Box 12404, Austin, TX 78711.

Dear Sun Spots: A man bought a canopy at my garage sale on Rejane Avenue Friday or Saturday, April 16 or 17. He did not get all of the parts. I have them for him. If anyone knows who it was, please have him call me at (207) 784-0016. – Gerry Belanger, Lewiston.

Dear Sun Spots: Do you know anything about what happened to the Statler Brothers? We haven’t seen or heard from them in ages. They were such good musicians. I have some of their tapes and they are so precious I guard them as I am sure I couldn’t find others. – Herbert Kittredge, Hanover.

Answer: The Statler Brothers originated from Staunton, a town on the edge of Shenandoah Valley, Va., USA. In 1955 Harold W. Reid (born Aug. 21, 1939, Augusta County, Virginia, bass), Philip E. Balsley (born Aug. 8, 1939, Augusta County, Virginia, baritone), Lew C. DeWitt (born March 8, 1938, Roanoke County, Virginia, died Aug. 15, 1990; tenor) and Joe McDorman formed a gospel quartet. Although McDorman never became a Statler, he has worked with them occasionally. In 1960 he was replaced by Harold’s brother, Donald S. Reid (born June 5, 1945, Staunton, Virginia), who became the group’s lead singer. Originally the quartet was called the Kingsmen, but they changed it to avoid confusion with a U.S. pop group.

The Statler Brothers was chosen from the manufacturer’s name on a box of tissues, and members of the group point out that they might have been the Kleenex Brothers. They recorded Lew DeWitt’s song “Flowers On The Wall,” during a break in one of Johnny Cash’s sessions. The infectious novelty made No. 4 on the U.S. pop charts (No. 2 country) and, despite the American references, also entered the U.K. top 40.

DeWitt was incapacitated through Crohn’s disease and left in 1982. He released the solo “On My Own” in 1985, but later died in Waynesboro, Va., on Aug. 15, 1990. Their stage act includes the homespun humor of their alter egos, Lester “Roadhog” Moran And The Cadillac Cowboys, and they gave themselves a plywood disc when the first 1,250 copies of the resulting album were sold.

On the other hand, The Statler Brothers’ Old-Fashioned Fourth Of July Celebration in Staunton attracted 70,000 a year. The Statler Brothers were managed from office buildings that used to be the school attended by Dewitt and the Reids. In 2002 they announced their final concert, having decided to retire at the end of that year.

You might be interested in checking out The Statlers’ official Web site at www.thestatlers.com. You can also contact them at: P.O. Box 2703, Staunton, VA 24402-2703, (540) 885-7297, or through e-mail at [email protected].



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