The old Henderson Schoolhouse is gone. Time and the elements took care of that.

But the old schoolhouse had been going down long before Rex Locklar died in February 2014.

There was not much Locklar could do about it.

“Got a hole in my pocket and lazy in my bones,” he would say in his trademark, grumpy kind of way.

But, if “Old Rex” as he liked to be called, could be around this weekend, he would be mighty proud of what he saw.

The Henderson Music Park is alive with music – bluegrass music — and the old schoolhouse or what remains of it, is the centerpiece of the festival.

“Unless you’ve been around Rex’s Bluegrass Jamborees over the years, you wouldn’t recognize that it’s the old schoolhouse,” said Pete Austin. “All of the schoolhouse is gone except this – what was the kitchen – was all we were able to save.”

Austin, Bobby Jackson and Shelby Cardile are longtime friends of Rex Locklar, who started the Henderson bluegrass festivals nearly 50 years ago. To them and to the hundreds, to the thousands, who attended Locklar’s festivals and got hooked, Old Rex was Mr. Bluegrass.

“We are committed to Mr. Rex’s legacy and we are committed to keeping the bluegrass tradition alive,” Austin said. “But the old schoolhouse was falling in and Rex was gone. We didn’t know if there was any way to keep the bluegrass going here in Henderson.

But, Cardile said Locklar’s brother, Wiley Locklar, made it all possible.

“Wiley came to us and said we could keep the festival going right where it has always been,” he said.

“So, we went to work and got the building down except for the kitchen. We’re going to add a deck that can be used for a stage and some pickin’ sheds but that’s about it. We want the Henderson Music Park be like Rex would want it.”

And, it is “pretty much like Rex would want it.”

“We’ve cleaned it up a lot but it’s still, Rex,” Jackson said.

The three dreamers and doers have added about 12 RV hook-ups in the park, bringing the total to 92.  As of Friday noon, only five where not taken and a couple of RVs were parked at the gate.

“Rex is not here but the friendships that have been formed over the years are still strong,” Jackson said. “I’ve been coming about 10 years and most of the people have been coming at least that long.”

The Henderson Music Park was never intended to be an up-scale music park. Locklar just carved out a place for people to come play bluegrass music and fellowship. And, then he went around to other bluegrass festivals and coaxed folks come play with him.

“I was at a bluegrass festival, I don’t member where,” Jackson said. “We had a jam session going and Rex came up and said, ‘Why don’t you boys come to my festival?’ We didn’t know where his festival was but he let us know. The first time I went, I was hooked. There was nothing like it. The music. The fellowship. It was like a family reunion and still is.”

Some might think a bluegrass jamboree at Henderson is not the same, without Old Rex. However, Jacob Littleton said the same spirit of friendship and fellowship still exists.

“Last year, a friend, Ben Hughes, invited me to come down here,” Littleton said. “I didn’t know what to expect. But this is the best thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve never been treated so good. So welcomed. Here at Rex’s, it’s like family. It’s a place where you belong.”

Lee Benton has been a regular at the Henderson bluegrass festival for eight years.

“My brother, Alex, and I just showed up over here one fall and we’ve been coming ever since, Benton said. “Everybody misses Rex. He did so much for bluegrass. Over here, I’ve learned a lot from the older pickers. They don’t mind if you sit in and they’ll show you things and tell you things. This is the best place in the world to play bluegrass.”

Austin said the Ole Rex Memorial Bluegrass Jamboree is a memorial to Locklar and it’s also a way to keep family together.

“I don’t know what it is about bluegrass music that brings people together and holds them together,” he said.

“It’s like one big family out here and, when somebody new comes along, they just fit right in. Some people didn’t think the tradition would continue after Mr. Rex died. But look around. Look around. Listen.”

Bluegrass music was being picked on the hill and down in the hollow. That high lonesome sound resonated throughout the park.

“They said it wouldn’t go on without Rex, but it feels like he’s still here,” Cardile said.