The Travelers Three
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This is a copy of one of the actual business cards of The Travelers Three |
| The Travelers Three got their start at Roosevelt Jr. High
School, under the guidance of Mr. N. David Stern, the Music Teacher at
Roosevelt during this period. Their career continued, as the three
young men entered Charleston High School.
They were a big hit at Roosevelt and an even bigger hit at CHS. Everyone in Charleston knew of them in a very short time. Anytime I talked with kids from other schools, they would usually ask if I knew The Travelers Three. Each of their voices complimented the others in a perfect blend of 3 part harmony. In fact, their harmony and sound could have equaled any other folk group of the time. They were greatly influenced by The Kingston Trio and sang several of their songs. Some favorites were: Tom Dooley, Green Back Dollar, Where Have All The Flowers Gone and others. I venture to say that if you went to a Kingston Trio concert and the Travelers Three opened for them, you wouldn't really care if the Kingston Trio came out, or not. The tragic part is, there are no known recordings of the Travelers Three. If you know of one, please contact me. |
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1964 WCHS-TV Channel 8 Charlie Stalnaker, Jack Hammond & Randall Wray pose for a picture |
May 1964 Jack's Home Looks like Charlie, Jack and Randall spent their Greenback Dollars at Frankenberger's |
May 1964 Roosevelt Junior High School Stage The Travelers Three in action. Wouldn't you love to have a recording? |
 This is the picture that was on the back of their business cards. |
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Bob,
It thrills me that so many of my classmates remember The Travelers Three. I truly enjoyed all of the gigs that we performed together and have fond memories of Charlie Stalnaker, Randall Wray and Mr. N. David Stern.
We were only together a little over two years, however, we were fortunate to
perform at several high profile places such as The Jackie Oblinger Show on
Channel 8, the West Virginia Showboat Rhododendron, the Mountain State Arts and
Crafts Fair at
The CHS Follies and various assemblies were a blast. It gave us a good feeling to hear our schoolmates applauding us.
We used to wear the same shirts, slacks and Bass Weejuns and had several different outfits, because all three of us wanted to be fashionable. As a matter of fact, we modeled the blue Henley neck shirts for a Frankenberger's ad that read, "The Travelers Three Wear T-N-T." I think T-N-T meant tailored and tapered. Everybody had one of those shirts. Initially, they only came in navy blue, but later, they made several colors.
I am a little nostalgic at times
and enjoy remembering my youth. As a matter of fact, I have saved several
items from my youth such as all of my CHS Yearbooks, several Bookstraps,
Travelers Three Scrapbook, Sports Scrapbooks and many 8” x10” photos that
our parents felt compelled to purchase for us. So, maybe I will bring them
to the
I would love for Charlie Stalnaker to share some of his memories of the ‘ole T-3.
Regards,
Jack Hammond.