Remembering Allen Pollard

Herman Allen Pollard, 68, of Bandera, and former resident of Robstown, passed away Oct. 5. Allen was a longtime advertiser with the Texas Polka News promoting his Dancehall Sounds DJ business.

Allen was passionate about music. He received his first guitar at age 14 and over the years became an accomplished musician playing guitar, steel guitar and fiddle. Allen was a member of multiple bands, the first of which was a rock band. Later, he joined his family's country-western band, Mac Pollard & The Western Stars as lead guitar player, followed by steel guitar player for Al Dean & The All Stars, Jukebox Cowboys, George West Opry House Band, and The Majek Orchestra polka band. He also played with Leona Williams and Box Car Willie.

Allen's musical talents eventually led to the creation of Dancehall Sounds DJ service whose mission was to recreate the sounds and songs heard in traditional Texas dancehalls. This included occasional live fiddle and singing performances.

Dancehall Sounds was very successful, creating a large following of fans who enjoyed dancing to his choice of music. His life-long passion of music enhanced appreciation for traditional country music, created numerous special friendships, and one of his performances even made it to YouTube (Allen Pollard Fiddle Debut). Allen loved to entertain and instruct others how to play string instruments, especially youngsters.

Allen was a devoted husband and father and most proud of all his grandchildren. He loved the Lord, was baptized and a member of the Robstown United Methodist Church. He graduated from Robstown High School in 1968 and had attended Texas A&I University as a business major.

He began a career in radio that spanned approximately 15 years working as an announcer, program director and salesman for area stations KTAI, KOPY and KROB. Allen was recognized for his contributions to radio, and in 2008 received the "Straight From the Heart" DJ award from Music City Heart of Texas. He also announced the Alice Coyote football games on the radio for KOPY.

Allen's day-job career included employment by Champlin Refinery for seven years where he met a lot of wonderful people. After leaving refinery work, he became an independent insurance agent and then was employed by Carlisle Insurance in Alice, Texas where he retired after 30 years of service. He was a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow.

Allen is survived by his loving wife, Mary Hoelscher Davis Pollard, of Bandera; daughter, Karie (Trey) Wimberly, of Goliad; son, Jody (Leanna) Pollard, of San Antonio; step-son, Mark (Kelly) Davis, of Andover, Massachusetts; mother, Pauline Pollard, of Marble Falls; former spouse, Vicki Pollard, of Corpus Christi, Texas; and six grandchildren.

Contributions can be made to Andrew W. Davis Memorial Scholarship, Texas A&M University-Kingsville Foundation, Inc., PO Box 2202, Kingsville, TX 78363; Julie Wimberly Memorial 4-H Scholarship, 239 E FM 1961, Goliad, TX 77963; NCJLS Queen's Contest Scholarship Fund, PO Box 260968, Corpus Christi, TX 78426, or Andrew Davis Memorial Fund, Coastal Bend Community Foundation, 615 N. Upper Broadway, Suite 1950, Corpus Christi, TX 78401.