This past Saturday (Aug. 16) saw the grand opening of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, the small farmhouse in Dyess, Arkansas, where the legendary singer grew up, and often sang about. After much restoration, the home has now been transformed into a museum.
To kick off the opening, however, the fourth annual Johnny Cash Music Festival occurred on Friday night (Aug. 15) at Arkansas State University. The concert consisted of performances from Country Music Hall of Fame members Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn and Bobby Bare.
On Saturday, the museum's opening brought in the likes of fans from all around the world, totaling hundreds in attendance, and proved to be an emotional event for the Cash family. Rosanne Cash, the "Ring of Fire" singer's eldest daughter, stated, "I just had an experience of taking three of my five children into my dad's childhood bedroom and the four of us stood there and wept."
She added, "It was the oddest sensation of thinking of my dad as a little boy in that very spot and what if he could have seen his middle-aged daughter and three of his grandchildren walk in that room, how would he have felt? Could he even conceive it? It was too much."
Also in attendance were the music legend's younger brother Tommy and sister Joanne. The latter of whom noted the day was "bittersweet."
"They say you can't go back," she said, "but today we did go back and walk in the house where we were both raised. It's just very emotional for me."
