Hilary Begle and his wife Laverne both grew up working hard on their families’ farms in Huntingburg, but they also found time for fun. There were six dance halls in their community when they were young, so it was never difficult to find a place to dance. On Thursday and Saturday nights, he recalls, “my wife and I would tear the floor up with the waltzes and the polkas.”
For many years, Hilary and Laverne played music at community festivals, church events, and nursing homes. They also hosted their famous “Garage Parties,” which were a stronghold for traditional local music. Hilary played guitar and harmonica at the same time, while Laverne sang and played the stumpf fiddle. Musical friends often joined the couple and played area performances for older adults. “We probably played close to twenty years in nursing homes,” Hillary recalls, “I’ve seen one man get out of his wheelchair, take his oxygen off, and stand up and just wiggle around … He was a dancer.”
While both were raised around music and dance, Hilary learned most of his tunes from his father, uncle, and other local musicians. Hillary and LaVerne Begle received a 2021 Indiana Heritage Fellowship, which honors their contribution to the region’s rich tradition of German-American music and culture