The townsfolk of Bronson, Iola and places in between got a bit of surprise Friday morning when a tour bus carrying all four members of the country music legends The Oak Ridge Boys broke down. THE OAK RIDGE Boys were en route from Branson, Mo., to Emporia, where they were to perform Friday evening. A portion of their concert was dedicated to military personnel to coincide with Veterans Day weekend.
The bus first encountered trouble just west of Bronson on U.S. 54, when engine pulley problems caused a belt to break.
“We were broken down right in the middle of the highway,” said driver Billy Smith.
The situation was dangerous enough without the curiosity factor.
“There were quite a few people pulling to the side of the road, then doing a double take when they realized who was on the bus,” Smith said.
Smith had a spare belt and replaced it as quickly as he could, but the malfunctioning pulley caused it, too, to eventually wear down and snap.
The bus made it as far as Herb Sigg’s Iola Auto Parts store in Iola before it broke down once again.
“They’ve got everything we need, so we’ll be OK,” Smith said as the repairs were being completed.
The band members were asleep for most of the ordeal, with one exception.
Lead singer Duane Allen popped out to say hello to a handful of folks from the auto parts store while the bus was being repaired.
“Our ties to southeast Kansas run deep, and they’ve been that way for 35 years,” Allen explained.
The group’s long-time manager, Jim Halsey, is an Independence native.
Allen noted one of their earliest performances was on a trailer bed during Independence’s Neewollah celebration, not unlike a similar performance by the late Roy Clark — another Halsey client — had done previously.
“If it was good enough for Roy Clark, it was good enough for us,” Allen said. “It was kind of remarkable our paths sort of followed his after that, too.”
Veterans Day celebrations are poignant and powerful for Allen and his bandmates.
“We have a theater in Branson, where they celebrate Veterans Day unlike anywhere else,” he said. “Veterans Day lasts a week there.”
As a testament to Allen’s showmanship and friendliness, he politely declined when asked by a Register reporter for a photo.
Wearing only a T-shirt and sweat pants, it was understandable. He, too, had been rousted from what was supposed to be a relaxing trip to Emporia because of the engine troubles.
Then a nearby motorcycle caught his eye.
“It’s so windy, this may look right,” Allen said as he carefully climbed aboard the motorcycle to pose for the accompanying photo, while good-naturedly pointing to the broken-down bus.
The Oak Ridge Boys break down in Iola
