The night was a classy affair with live music by Ruthie & The Wranglers, who played a set of Patsy Cline covers and closed the night with a set of their own music. Raffles were drawn and prizes awarded, and notable area residents spoke about Patsy and Brunswick.
One of the main purposes of the event, beyond raising money for the three organizations, was to help spark a cultural revival in Brunswick, a topic which was on the tip of many of the event’s organizers and attendees. Lou Iaquinta, president and CEO of IKO Real Estate Inc., and co-chair of the event’s management team, emphasized this point.
‘‘I’ve been coming to this town for eight years and I’ve found it to be a very unique town,” he said. ‘‘The people seem to have a deep love for their city and they want to see their city become an economically viable city, and this event is a catalyst to starting such things, starting to bring more cultural events to town.”
Master of ceremonies Del. Richard B. Weldon Jr. (R-Dist. 3B) of Brunswick served up laughs and kept the night’s events flowing smoothly.
‘‘Ladies and gentlemen,” he began after everyone had eaten dinner. ‘‘Try to imagine yourself in the 1950s ... you’re coming to the Fire Hall to see a show. That’s what the Main Street program is all about: bringing people to downtown Brunswick.”
The first speaker was Mayor Carroll Jones, who related nostalgic tales of his and Cline’s friendship in their youth. The two rode the school bus together in Loudoun County, Va., in 1948, and they also exchanged letters as young adults, he said.
‘‘I was in the service and we wrote back and forth a little bit to share our experiences,” he said. ‘‘I thought she was a very special person and I still do. I remember those red lips, the really red lips, the really, really red lips ... Patsy was a good person and I’m very fortunate to have known someone with such talent. I appreciate you all coming out to celebrate the true genius of Patsy Cline.”
Patsy Cline grew up in Winchester, Va., and was ranked No. 1 on CMT’s 2002 list of ‘‘The Top 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.” In March 1963, Cline, who played at the Brunswick Fire Hall numerous times in her career, died in an airplane crash at the age of 30.
Brunswick resident Vicki Stair also spoke at the tribute. When Stair was 5 years old, she had an accident that left 45 percent of her body burned. Cline sponsored a benefit concert at the Brunswick Fire Hall to raise money to help the young girl’s family pay her expensive medical bills, and Stair, now 58, said she is still alive in part because of Cline’s generosity.
Stair said she was nervous about speaking in front of so many people so her speech was very short. But she gave Councilman Wayne Allgaier a sheet of prepared remarks to read for her.
‘‘I’m here tonight to honor the memory of Patsy Cline,” Allgaier read from Stair’s letter. ‘‘It’s very comforting for me to know that someone like Patsy Cline took her time and her talent to help a little girl she didn’t even know.”
After Stair spoke and the first raffle prizes were awarded, Ruthie & The Wranglers took the stage and the dance floor opened up to the delighted revelers.
‘‘I love this fire hall! Isn’t it great to be here?” lead singer Ruthie Logsdon asked the crowd before launching into a rollicking rendition of Cline’s ‘‘I Fall to Pieces,” a No. 1 Billboard country chart hit from 1961. ‘‘I love playing shows in groovy joints like this.”