I first learned about the Hillbilly Days festival years ago when I moved to Eastern Kentucky. It is a big event there, and many businesses encourage their employees to dress up to celebrate the Hillbilly culture.
The first time I dressed up as a Hillbilly character, I put freckles on my face and wore an old straw hat and had a corncobb pipe.
Years later, as I began to collect puppets, I would bring one of my furry friends along with me. I would often wear a sign reading "Will Work 4 Moonshine".
It wasn't until 1999 that I came up with the name Jimmy Joe for my Hillbilly character.
