Springfield's radio and television history is often a favorite topic of mine, and as many of you know, this area of the Ozarks hit the big time in the 1950s with the Ozark Jubilee television series. Prior to that, a number of big name acts worked full-time as artists on KWTO when the majority of their daily programming was live. One of the early KWTO performers of the 1930s was Martha Haworth. Those with longevity in the Springfield area remember her simply as "Aunt Martha." She was one-fourth of the Goodwill Family, and while performing frequently, she had time to own and operate her own restaurant.
Born July 21, 1899, Martha was born in Petros, Tennessee, to John and Arlena (Goddard) Wilson. To my knowledge, she was the first born of five children. The four oldest would make it to adulthood. Let me point out that Martha's birth name was Vancy Martha Wilson.
Shortly after her birth, the family relocated to Christian County, as her mom's family was based there at the time. Martha grew up around Riverdale and Jamesville which is in northeast Stone County. As was the case with a number of Ozarks' families, the Wilsons were musical, blessed with singing and instrumental talents.
Martha would marry Herschel Haworth from Riverdale, and their son Herschel Jr. was born in 1922. He began a professional music career at age ten with his mom at KGBX and KWTO in Springfield. Junior, a talented guitarist, would later be known as Speedy Haworth, whose career would last over seventy years.
Martha and young Junior teamed up with her brother Clyde Wilson at KWTO in forming the Goodwill Family in the 1930s. One of the successful acts, their longevity together lasted until 1960-61. Clyde's stage name was Slim in those early years at KWTO. I have written previously about the careers of Slim and Speedy. Martha went by the stage name of Aunt Martha once the Goodwill Family was formed, and she would use the name to her advantage for the rest of her career.
Well-known for her cooking talents, Aunt Martha started a string of Springfield restaurants during the early part of World War II. Becoming quite successful, she would start a cafe or restaurant, and once business was booming, she would sell and a short time later open another eating establishment and repeat the process. By the time the Ozark Jubilee series was happening at the Jewel Theater in Springfield, Martha was operating the Corn Crib nearby on South Jefferson.
This restaurant operation was not only a great place to eat, but it was an opportunity for guests to meet many of the Jubilee regulars who often dined in. In 1959, Aunt Martha sold the Corn Crib, and soon, she opened her Aunt Martha's Pancake House at 302 South Jefferson. A bit later, she opened a second Aunt Martha's on East Cherokee.
After the Jubilee series ended, Aunt Martha closed the downtown location and shifted her focus to the East Cherokee location. Due to health reasons, Aunt Martha sold this business to the Swede and Ruth Freeman in 1964.
Aunt Martha, long remembered for her 40-year career passed away on August 15, 1966, at the age of sixty-seven. She was laid to rest in Springfield's Maple Park Cemetery. The Freeman family would continue to operate Aunt Martha's Pancake House until they closed it permanently in October 2015 after a 55-year run.
So, the question that often comes up. Did Willie Nelson wash dishes at Aunt Martha's? Well, I've looked into this and have heard multiple accounts in my years of researching. It's believed that in the late 1950s, Willie came to Springfield to audition for the Jubilee and Si Siman (producer) turned him down. Broke and stranded, Nelson found work at Aunt Martha's doing dishes and bussing tables until he financially was able to move on. Martha's granddaughter Shirley Jean recalled that Nelson likely worked at the location on Jefferson, and it indeed happened.
Willie made a stop at Aunt Martha's East Cherokee location in 2003 spending some time with Brenda Freeman before a concert.
By the way, there's an excellent piece on YouTube featuring Shirley Jean Haworth from 2016; on YouTube search for "Ozarks Voices, Shirley Haworth, September 7, 2016." The interview lasts around fifty minutes.
Happy trails, everyone, and I hope ya'll have a wonderful Christmas.
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