Bruce,

How ever could I resist your most gracious offer. To join men and women of such fine blood. Only a fool might resist.

I am in the recording (music) business in North Alabama. My clan seems to have been lurking about in LA (lower Alabama) for maybe four or five generations but I believe there are links to the U.K. Bickerstaffe as well. This is according to a Steven Bickerstaffe in Canada. There is also a Bickerstaff Brick Co. in Columbus, GA. But ... I have no idea if any of these are on line. Steven seemed to have a great deal of information concerning the roots of our family and if you are interested, I'll scrounge around and send you his address.

I have a very good friend in Aus. at this very moment. Oddly enough, he is studying your culture in exactly the utopian manner you describe in your Bus. home page. He took his family over for an extended period to sample the culture at ground level. You guys should talk. His name is Frank Chambless and he does free lance school programs in the Atlanta, GA area. Part of the trip is an internet relationship with several schools while he is in Aus. His homepage is http://www.abo.org Email at - Laurie (at) abo.org "abo" relates to his field(s) of expertise which is the study of native peoples and survival skills. I'll mention your page to him. Feel free to list me on your (our) worldwide home page and you may edit this letter as necessary.

Jim (Bubba) Bickerstaff

Yes, we even have a Bubba in the family. I followed a Methodist minister, a general practitioner, and an orthopaedic surgeon. It was time for a Bubba in the music business, don't you think???

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On 3 Nov 1995 Jim Bickerstaff wrote to Joe Bickerstaff (cc. Bruce Bickerstaff):

Dear Joe,

Sorry to take so long returning your mail. I would love to hear from Jennifer & Lee. What facet of the music biz are they involved in?

I was glad to see the Election results from Quebec. I think many Americans are concerned about the instability afforded from a split Canada. Your country has always been a comfort, sitting up there on top and being our pals! Of course, we have our own history lessons from the Civil War in the US to refer to when discussing secession. Best to stay a country by our calculations. From an outsider's point of view however, it seems some heavy concessions will have to be made to make our neighbors in Quebec happy again.

I visited Halifax NS twice when I was in the US Navy. My submarine pulled into Dartmouth and cut us loose on an unsuspecting Halifax. Boy what a headache. Your beer is much stronger (and better) than ours. I also attended the worlds fair (EXPO 67) with my parents but I don't remember much about the country.

This past summer, I was invited to play music with Chief James Billie of the Florida Seminole Indian Nation at a festival in Fort McPhearson NWT. What a trip. We stayed with the Gwichin Indians there for three days and camped at the festival site. I loved it and want to return someday, (if the sun would just go down!) I had some top-shelf pickers from Nashville up there and we were unable to sleep for several days. Needless to say, there was nothing but snores on the return flight!

Good hearing from you and I'll stay in touch.

Peace

Jim Bickerstaff

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Hello Bruce,

Jim (Bubba's) wife here, Bonnie. Just thought I'd touch base and say Hi. Jim's in South Georgia right now, working on Okefenokee Joe's second CD. Jim's latest production effort, "Old Ways" by Jim Billie (Chief of the Florida Seminole Nation) was released on Christmas Eve. We are very proud of it and the CD/tape is selling well in South Florida. (Check out the Earth Folk Catalog link on our site for a sample of the music.)

I noticed that Jim did not mention his 3 sisters in his original post to you. Here's a bit about each one for the Bickerstaff page.

Mary Ellen Bickerstaff Parker (email aus3rd at aol.com) and her husband Jamie live in Richmond Hill, Georgia with their three children Jay, Austin and Sara. Ellen is director of The Discovery Center, a daycare center in Savannah, GA. Jamie is a salesman and columnist for the Bryan County News.

Cheryl Ann Bickerstaff Dukes and her husband Roger live in Elizabeth City, North Carolina with their 2 children Tyler and Casey. Cheryl works in the home and Roger is a Senior Chief with the United States Coast Guard.

Lois Elizabeth (Beth) Bickerstaff Gibbs and her husband Paul live in Jacksonville, Florida with their 3 children Liza, Drew and Lillie. Beth is a data entry person with a local business and Paul works as a supervisor with a large roofing company in Jacksonville.

None of the sisters are online but if anyone would like to get in touch with them, they can e-mail us and we'll pass it on to them.

Here's a question that someone may be able to answer. Apparently in North Alabama "Biggerstaff" is a common name. If I don't spell my last name to someone, they assume it is "Biggerstaff" and sometimes when I do spell it, they write down "Biggerstaff" any old way! It drives me nuts!!! Is the name "Biggerstaff" a form of "Bickerstaff"? I'd love to know!

The Bickerstaff site looks good Bruce. Keep up the good work! See Ya!

Bonnie Bickerstaff

To contact Bubba & Bonnie, write to jbstaff (at) companet.net