CBA Goodbyes: Ardis Hedrick & Dick Pawlack

It is with extreme heavy heart that the CBA notes the passing of two important members of our blues family, Ardis Hedrick and Dick Pawlack. Both played pivotal roles within our organization in their own ways and we will be eternally grateful for both.

Ardis Hedrick was one of the prime shakers and movers of the early Cascade Blues Association years. A board member including a period as Vice President and editor of the BluesNotes. Ardis created the newspaper format that the BluesNotes still uses today. Many of those early issues were crafted by Ardis and her team in her home’s basement, using the detailed and tedious manner of pasting each issue together by hand. It was also her idea to sell advertising in the BluesNotes to help make it a self-sustaining project. A lifelong music lover, she also served many years with Positively Entertainment & Dining as a contributing writer bringing to attention many of our local musicians and their CDs.

Dick Pawlack was a supporting member of the Cascade Blues Association for a number of years. He had a passion for the blues and could be found in attendance endlessly at numerous shows and events. Aside from being a supporting member, Dick was also a benefactor to the organization, donating many items for raffles, silent auctions and giveaways, including his own hand-blown glass pieces and the ever-popular oversized harmonicas that he had signed by musicians. Before he passed, Dick made a contribution through the CBA to the Memphis-based The Blues Foundation, sending them a personally-made quilt pieced together from festival t-shirts and another one of his large harmonicas that may be destined a place in The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame. A celebration of life for Dick will be held at Duff’s Garage on Tuesday, March 12th.