The Johnny Cash Boyhood Home museum is expected to open in the spring of 2014 in Dyess, Arkansas. “We have made great progress on the actual restoration of the house and are now working with members of the Cash family on acquiring the appropriate furnishings, which are being carefully researched,” Dr. Ruth Hawkins, director of Arkansas Heritage Sites, recently explained in a statement. “Thanks to his siblings Joanne’s and Tommy’s great memories, it’s going to seem as if the Cash family has just stepped outside the door to head to church.”
Cash’s family moved to Dyess and took ownership of 40 acres of land as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. The home is being renovated to look as it did when the Cash family moved there in 1935. The project by Arkansas State University also includes restoration of a nearby theater and the Dyess Colony administration building.
Helping fund the restoration is the annual Johnny Cash Music Festival at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. This year’s concert, set for August 17, stars Vince Gill, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Brothers and Joanne Cash Yates, along with show host Tommy Cash. Proceeds from the event also support a scholarship fund established in the superstar’s name.
Details and tickets at www.johnnycashmusicfest.com.
As previously reported, a Johnny Cash Museum recently opened in Nashville.
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Sarah Skates has worked in the music business for more than a decade and is a longtime contributor to MusicRow.View Author Profile
