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By Crystal Tatum
crystaltatum@newtoncitizen.com
As a kid, Newton County resident Lance White fantasized about driving fast, jumping cars and outsmarting the bad guys, just like his heroes Bo and Luke Duke from the popular TV show "Dukes of Hazzard."
He watched the show religiously and spent his playtime with a buddy pretending to be a Duke boy.
"It was a big part of my childhood," White said of his fascination with the show.
White didn’t exactly turn out to be a car-jumping, crime-fighting good ol’ boy (he owns a heating and air conditioning business), but he can drive the General Lee anytime he wants.
White bought his own 1969 Dodge Charger several years ago and painted it to look like the famous Duke boys' car. Soon after, he began searching for "Dukes of Hazzard" memorabilia, eventually collecting dozens of miniature General Lees and anything and everything with the Dukes on it, like a vintage metal lunch box and a child’s guitar emblazoned with the faces of Luke, Bo and Daisy, the sweet sexpot who made men swoon and started a fashion phenomenon with her itty bitty shorts.
White also remodeled his office garage to resemble the Boar’s Nest, the Duke boys’ hangout. Now, his two sons watch tapes of the show and get just as excited as their dad did when the General Lee flies.
"It’s all in good fun," White said of his collection, but he can’t quite explain why the show inspired him so.
Travis Bell, a 31-year-old disc jockey from Indiana and a walking encyclopedia of all things Duke, seems to have figured out the show’s appeal.
"If you go to a 'Star Wars' convention, you can’t fly the Millennium Falcon, which is Han Solo's ship, back to your home, but if you’re a fan of the 'Dukes of Hazzard' and you have the means, you can sure as hell drive the General Lee back into your garage," Bell said.
White and Bell aren’t alone in their Dukes obsession.
A "Dukes of Hazzard" Internet search yields 149,000 results. There are fan clubs and merchandise sites and even encyclopedia articles. More than 5,000 people showed up for Bell's 25th anniversary reunion weekend held in Newton County last year, and Bell now plans to make it an annual event.
This year, the reunion, called Return to Hazzard 2004, will be held Friday, June 25 through Sunday, June 27. Five episodes of the series were filmed in Newton County in the late '70s, making it the perfect location for the event, Bell said.
"It’s a celebration of where the episodes were filmed and the car that made the whole show," Bell said.
The weekend will kick off Friday morning at 11 a.m. with a Civil War softball game at the Stone Road Complex in Oxford. The public is invited to cheer for the South team (or the North, if so inclined).
Friday night, the Newton County Chamber of Commerce will host a Screen on the Green at Legion Field, featuring two "Dukes of Hazzard" episodes filmed in Newton County.
"We’re really going to make it a fun night," said Tourism Director Clara Deemer. "Parents can bring their children and bring picnic baskets. We just want to make it a family evening."
Legion Field gates open at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $3 per person. Alcohol and glass containers are prohibited.
The event will continue through Saturday, with a free car show on the Square featuring lots of General Lees and other vehicles from the series.
The show will begin at 11 a.m. and run until 5 p.m. At 8 p.m., the public is invited to pack Mickey Dee's in Covington Crossing shopping center off U.S. 278 for live music and contests, including a Yee-haw showdown.
On Sunday at noon, the car show will open again and run until 5 p.m.
Die-hard fanatics, closet fans and the mildly curious are all welcome to attend the reunion.
"Come relive your childhood — that's all I ever tell anybody," Bell said.
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