An undated, colorized photograph of Al Shade and the Short Mountain Boys and Girls.
Al Shade was originally from Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. This brief sketch of him appears on the web site of WITF, the PBS station serving the Harrisburg area:
Growing up in Gratz, Pennsylvania, Allen Shade would listen to the radio with his family on Saturday nights. He heard WWVA Wheeling, West Virginia Jamboree, performers Doc Williams and the Border Riders with Chickie Williams. He remembers artists like Crazy Elmer, Dusty Ownes, the Osborne Brothers and Jimmy Martin. He went on to take guitar lessons at age 12 and eventually started hosting square dances at the fire hall in Gratz. He also performed on weekends on Lebanon’s WLBR radio station and went on to play at fairs, carnivals and anywhere else he could, making numerous records along the way.
See also: https://www.witf.org/2019/09/18/witf-music-al-shade/
Another photograph of Al Shade’s group appeared in a Gratz history published in 1997:
Al Shade grew up on Market Street in Gratz (Lot 59).
Identified in the above photo of The Short Mountain Boys & Girls:
Front: Al “Spirdy” Shade.
Rear: Les Harner; Jean [Gesford] Shade; Bud Schoffstall; Joan Gesford, sister of Jean; Junior Shade
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The photograph at the top of this post is from the web site of WITF. It is colorized from the black and white photo presented there. The complete article, “WITF Music – Al Shade – He’s Country and Proud of It,” is found on the WITF web site.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.