Thursday, February 11, 2021
Vada Ardith (Hartline) Spencer, 85, Nevada, Mo., passed from this life on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, at Nevada Regional Medical Center.
Ardith was the only child of Marion William and Velma Dorris (Reynolds) Hartline, born Dec. 31, 1935, in Walker, Mo. She attended both grade and high school at Walker, graduating in 1953. Following marriage, she lived on an acreage northwest of Walker where the couple farmed for 10 years. They moved into Nevada in 1963 and were divorced in 1973.
Ardith made her public statement of faith in a revival meeting at Walker Christian Church at the age of twelve and was baptized in Melton Creek near Walker by Pastor Wood. In Nevada, she transferred her membership to the Community Christian Church and served in various positions for 30 years. At her death she was a member of First Baptist Church, Nevada, joining membership there in 2003 where she continued to help and support the church.
The not-singing bird
With endless silence. David Olney
People say it was a poetic exit. I assure you, NOBODY wants to die onstage figuratively or literally. On Jan. 18, Americana pioneer, singer-songwriter, recording artist, pre-pandemic streamcaster, actor, and my longtime client and good friend David Olney died of an apparent heart attack midsong. He was center stage between Amy Rigby and Scott Miller at the 30A Songwriter Festival in the Florida panhandle. His last words: “I’m sorry.” His mantra, however, was, “Always be true to the song.”
Understanding the covenant between the audience and performer, David earned rapt attention from folks wondering how to classify what they were witnessing. Was it country? Folk? Blues? Vaudeville? Scottish newspaper