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Show Feature Jacobs Outpost :svour store for SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 9. 1994 The ballad of Oregon Willie By Barbara Pyles If you think you've seen Willie Nelson. American country music singer and songwriter, in Fredonia or Kanab, go ahead and ask for his autograph. Just read what he writes carefully. It just might be signed, Oregon Willie. Oregon Willie is a dead ringer for Willie Nelson. He dresses & Rings Earrings Dakota Silver has been one of our best sellers this summer. When you see this unique and very affordable jewelry youll want a few pieces top! FIGI GRAPHICS COLLECTIONS Themed Frames Oak Framed Pictures with various sayings Themed Lamps Bathroom Wall Pictrues Lean in' Tree Christmas Cards Magnets All & Mugs occasion Cards Collector Cards A. More than 50 DESIGNS T-Shi- incident that occurred at Caesars Place Las Vegas. A delighted lady ran up to him and said, Mr. Nelson! I have every one of your tapes and records! Will you please give me your in Abbott, Texas in 1933. While Nelson was attending Baylor University, Willie was taking up welding at Area Tech in Minnesota. In 1964 when Nelson joined the Nashvilles Grand Ole Opry, Willie was playing music in Greenwich, New York. In 1973, Nelson achieved national popularity with his album Shotgun Willie. That same year, Oregon Willie moved from Minnesota to Grants Pass, Oregon. And when did Oregon Willie realize he looked like Willie Nelson? It all started when a friend told him if he grew a beard and wore a bandana, he would look like Nelson. So, he did it as a joke, and everyone started Little Willie. That same year, he legally changed his name from Arthur Phillips Jr. to Or- Oregon Willie is a dead ringer for country western singer Willie Nelson He s visiting some friends in Fredonia for awhile. Photo by Barbara Pyles call-inghi- South Dakota, California and Arizona. Im not Willie Nelson, anBut this free spirit is more swered Oregon Willie. a professional Willie Nelson then Well, Im not the Queen of egon Willie. I looked more like a England either, the lady said in Willie than an Arthur, he says. impersonator. He's also a singer, Even as a boy, Oregon Willie songwriter, country western a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. loved to sing. When Hank Will- model, and movie extra. He's I got a charge out of that, iams Sr. sang on the radio, Or- had parts in Teen Angel II, said Oregon Willie. egon Willie would singalong with Howard Hughes, and Rockwell. And another time in Las Ve- him. And in high school, Oregon Hes performed at folk festivals, gas, Diana Ross, pop singer and Willie would jam with Robert chili contests, lounges, bars and film actress, mistook him for Allen Zimmerman, more com- clubs throughout Canada and Willie Nelson. I thought shed monly know as Bob Dylan, singer, the lTnited States. be mad, but she just laughed, Oregon Willie wrote his first songwriter and guitarist. in 1993 about himself, and himhe said. Willie to song refers Oregon Once in Nephi, Utah a group self as a free spirit and has spent plans to write more songs about of girls hugged him and a good deal of his life on the road. his travels, and how he has lived. screamed, Mr. Nelson can we Hes appeared in Willie Nelson Last year, he cut his first tape have your autograph? Oregon look-alik- e contests in Nevada, called, The Ballad of Oregon Willie chuckled and signed his California, and Florida, and won. Willie and Friends" that he sells own name. The girls weren't And he's waved in over sixty-fiv- e personally. This soft spoken man has aldisappointed, he said. parades in Utah, Wyoming, ways liked to roam. During his lifetime he's been a hippie, rode the rails, hitch hiked and lived walk-i- n on the streets. While living on the streets, I learned to be very humble and eat humble pie," he autograph? We can help Call: and rts Willie Nelson was born in Tired of Living in a Freezer every Winter? A SJT of like Willie Nelson, and even sings like him. The only thing missing is the gap in Oregon Willies front teeth. And do people easily mix him up with the real Willie Nelson? Yes, and he loves it. With a voice laced with humor, Oregon Willie recalls one just what do these two men have in common? Oregon Willie was born in Hibbing, Minnesota in 1939. sweatshirts! South State Heating and Air Conditioning For repair on all makes or models Free estimates on new installations (801 ) 648-200- 1 COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, SERVICE AND REPAIR SHEET METAL FABRICATION learned to be grateful for everything I got. illie says he has been as far away as Alaska and New Zealand. Even today. Willie doesn't stay in one place too long. Being a home body is not for me. I have to see a variety of people. I have to be in my element of show says. I people, then I can talk real plain. Being on the road is home. Although the inspired Willie Nelson look-alikdresses like Will ie Nelson, he is still Oregon Will ie. He has discovered the strength and depth of character within himself. Oregon Willie says he has actual ly met T'exa s Wi ie" Nelson I got to talk to him and shake his hand." he says. It was a great experience to meet my role model. He told me to keep on doing what I am doing." e 1 1 . Oregon Willie is visiting friends in Fredonia. If anyone would like to buy one of his tapes, call 643-788- 1. Kane County Narcotics HOT-LIN- E 644-818- 8 Confidential, Anonymous Narcotic Information, Funds available to anyone providing information leading to narcotic related arrests. Leave Recorded Information, or Contact Kane County Narcotics Strike Force Agent D. Scott Jackson Dear Fredonia Area Voters: T hank You for your Support! Judge J. Micfiaef Ftournoy Coconino County Superior Court Division 42 Center Kanab 644-585- 9 1 |