BENSON - When Sydney Wheless' parents decided she should learn to play a musical instrument, the washtub bass probably wasn't what they had in mind.

But that was before the family met Raymond Jones through a youth sports league. Jones had recently taught himself to play the washboard, and he was looking for people to perform with. He found out that Sydney, age 7 at the time, could sing.

Audiences quickly took a liking to the quirky combination of Jones running thimble-clad fingers across a washboard and the young girl singing bluegrass songs and plucking a washtub bass. "The Washboard Ray and Little Sydney Show" has been a hit in the area for three years now.

"People just took off on that thing for some reason," Jones said. "Something about the washboard amazed them."

In recent months, the group has been growing. Instead of a background-music CD, Jones and Wheless often welcome two veterans of the local bluegrass scene, Robert Capps and Cecil Carroll. Also, Sydney's 6-year-old sister, Mattie, plays the spoons, and Sydney's taking banjo lessons with Capps.

"You don't see that much no more," Carroll said of having youngsters in a bluegrass band. "If you go to a bluegrass festival, you won't see but old folks there."

A recent rehearsal in a Benson auditorium was reminiscent of a Depression-era radio program. The group huddled around a single microphone doing old standards like "Rocky Top" and "Mama Don't Allow." Capps took the other musicians by surprise, changing the lyrics to "mama don't allow no washboard-playin' round here."

"That's what I'm talking about," Jones said excitedly as they finished the tune. "Is this unusual or what?"

Reaching out

Jones wants more kids to have the musical opportunities he's providing to the Wheless girls. He hopes to put together an after-school music program, with volunteers offering lessons on a variety of instruments.

Benson has plenty of youth sports programs, but offers little for kids who prefer the arts. Jones also wants to reach out to the community's blacks and Hispanics them.

"There's no telling how many minority kids would like to play a banjo," Jones said.

The town's Parks and Recreation Department is supportive of Jones' efforts and has offered space for classes. The challenge, Jones says, is getting donated instruments and volunteer instructors.

"That's my trouble, finding people," he said. "I don't know how to play everything."

The after-school program isn't Jones' only outreach effort. "The Washboard Ray and Little Sydney Cookie Fund" stems from their frequent concerts at nursing homes. The fund raises money to provide Christmas cookies to residents, an expensive proposition because of the various dietary restrictions older folks have.

Intrigued at the fair

Jones was a musician long before he picked up the washboard and joined Sydney. He'd been a drummer for years, but his instrument of choice changed after a trip to the N.C. State Fair.

At the fair, Jones saw a man playing the washboard. Impressed by the percussion potential of the old tool, he wanted one of his own. He managed to find a hundred-year-old washboard in a friend's tobacco barn, and he took it and added straps and a few bells and whistles. His knowledge of drums made it easy to teach himself to play.

"It's kind of a natural thing," Jones said. "I just put the music to it and let it go."