Hack Ward and the Good Time Boys, from left, Huston Terry, lead guitar; Hack Ward, bass guitar; L0ronda Ward, drums; Ray Murphy, piano; and Bob Hall, rhythm guitar. | Clif Knight

Clif Knight

Hartselle Enquirer

Hack Ward has tried his hand at being a soldier, an auto plant worker, a roofer and a country singer and musician for over 70 years. Of them all, his true love is picking and singing classic country music He has been doing it since age 14 and is still going at age 85.

Hack Ward and The Good Time Boys performs free of charge on Saturday nights at Hack’s Place, a music venue across the street from home at 70 Clark Street in Hartselle.  It has been a destination place for his friends and fans to gather for entertainment and refreshments for the past 11 years.

“We’ll play and sing awhile, take a break to get something to eat and mix and mingle with our friends, and then do it all over again,” Ward said.

“The louder they clap, the better we play,” he added. “It’s a lot of fun.”

The band, members of which are Hack Ward, bass guitar Loronda Ward, drums; Huston Terry, lead guitar; Ray Murphy, piano; and Bob Hall, rhythm guitar also performs at American Legion Post 15 in Decatur on Friday nights and books play dates with civic, business, community and family groups.

Ward developed a passion for country music as a teenager growing up on Wilson Mountain in the Gandy’s Cove Community.

“When I was 14 my mother had this guitar that hung on a wall in our house,” Ward recalled. “She never took it down and played it when our daddy was in the house because he didn’t like guitar music. But when he was away, she’d take it down and play it for us kids. “We loved to hear her play. That’s when I got stuck on country music.”

He soon learned by ear how to play chorded instruments and he and some of his friends got together to make music for school dances and other events.

His music career was put on hold in 1950 when he volunteered for the U.S. Army at age 20. He served in the Korean War as a corporal with a combat engineering company.

“We moved around a lot,” he pointed out, “and there was not much time to play music.”

After receiving an honorable discharge, he joined the Alabama National Guard and served with Hartselle’s Company C, 1343rd Engineers.

Like many “Alabama boys,” he answered a call from Michigan in 1955 to go to work for an auto manufacturer. He worked on an assembly line for Buick for seven years before returning home to Alabama for good.

Ward next picked up a job as a roofer’s helper and learned the craft from Gladys Grigsby. In 1958, he organized his own roofing crew and operated under the name Ward Roofing for 50 years. The crew included his three sons, Tim, Steve and Jeff and two brothers.

Ward pursued his music career even though his day job kept him busy nailing shingles to rooftops in Hartselle and surrounding areas. He nailed on his last shingle at age 78 and still has the hammer/hatchet he purchased when he began his roofing career.

Hack Ward and The Country Boys developed a strong fan base in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990’s while playing at Dogwood Flats in Limestone County, Priceville Palace and numerous other venues in Morgan and surrounding counties.

Ardmore High School drew 12,000 people to a Hack Ward and The Country Boys concert several years ago.

“Some of our Friday night regulars are fans that came to see and hear us play at Dogwood Flats a long time ago, Ward said.

Some former band members are L.V Miller, Chip Sparkman, Ruel Miller and Peggy Atkins.

Ward has three sons, Tim, Steve and Jeff, and a daughter, Debbie Topper and 12 grandchildren.

“Runnin’ Bear” is the song Ward is asked to play and sing at all of his band’s performances.

One of Ward’s hobbies is coon hunting. He took up the sport as a five or six-year-old and still does some hunting with “Big John.”

Looking back, Ward said he has enjoyed his life. “If I could do it all over again, “ I’d do it the same way,” he said.