Boxcar Willie remembered at Branson Centennial Museum

“Back in 1987, we were living in Texas and Dad had come and played in Branson and kept selling out every time he came here,” Brown said. “He was an old gentleman at that time and I think he wanted to get off the road. So this became a wonderful opportunity for our family because we never got to see our dad. He would go on the road so long I’d forget what he looked like and then when he came home he was sleeping all the time. So this was a wonderful experience for entertainers to stay home and have people come to them to watch them perform.”

They said they moved to Missouri in 1987 and fell in love with Branson and the state.

Brown said Boxcar loved everything about Branson.

“He loved the people, he loved the small town,” Brown said. She said the members of his band also moved to Branson from Texas.

Martin agreed that while Texas was in their hearts, Missouri quickly became home.

“We were young so that took a while to kick in,” Martin said. 

“But the older you get the more you appreciate a place like Branson,” Brown said. 

Brown shared about the days of Branson when they worked at Boxcar’s theater which today is the Dutton Family Theatre. She said the line to buy tickets to the show would go out the front door of the theater all the way to 76 Country Boulevard. 

Martin said Boxcar modeled his character after the hobos he would see on the trains in Texas in the 1930s and 1940s. He said he just decided to see if the character would work and it brought stardom, but the duo said Boxcar never let his success go to his head.

“I remember one time Dad went to buy a truck and the salesman wouldn’t have anything to do with him,” Brown said. “The salesman literally thought my dad was a hobo.”

Brown said Boxcar wrote a lot of his own music, and the family found all kinds of items over the years with songs written on the back, or a fast food bag with some lyrics on it. 

“I found tablets and tablets of lyrics,” Brown said. “I found fast food bags with songs he performed.

They said Boxcar knew how to play by ear, so he would hear a song one time and be able to replicate it on the guitar.

Martin said Boxcar loved country music more than any other kind of music.

“I remember one time I had to give a ride to the theater and I had in my cassette deck a tape from Bruce Springsteen,” he said. “He shut the radio off and asked me ‘What the (pause in place of profanity) are you listening to?’ I said it was Bruce Springsteen and Dad said unless it was country music he didn’t want to hear it.

Brown said one of the proudest moments of Boxcar’s life was his induction into the Grand Ole Opry. 

The duo said Boxcar had a great love for his fellow veterans. He had served as a flight engineer for many years on multiple different types of aircraft. Martin said in the museum next to the theater, where Abby’s Tourist Trap is today, Boxcar had the cockpit for one of the aircraft he had flown in. He would give people tours of it and talk about the things he did when he was serving.

“His military background, being an American, was something he was so proud of,” Martin said. “And God forbid if you said anything negative about America or the flag. He didn’t have a problem telling you how we felt.”

Brown talked about Branson Veterans Homecoming Week and how Boxcar was so happy having so many fellow veterans in town at the same time.

“I don’t think he got any sleep that week,” Brown said. 

The two said they will always remember the way their dad stayed at the theater after shows until every person who wanted to talk to him or get an autograph had a chance to see him. 

“He didn’t finish his show and head out the door,” Brown said. “He literally would stay until the last person had an autograph, and I know, because we had to be there until he was done.”

Martin said he remembered as a teen having to wait after shows sitting by the merchandise table.

“I was thinking ‘Shut up, go home,’” he said before laughing. 

Both Martin and Brown said their father loved to be an entertainer.

The museum announced their next special program related to local history will take place in February when Alderman Marshall Howden will help present a presentation on his grandfather, Mel Tillis. Information about the February event can be found at the Branson Centennial Museum, 120 S. Commercial St. in downtown Branson, or by calling 417-239-1912.