April 24, 2023 - BACK TO WORK, AND LOVING IT.
This picture popped up on a text to me from my cousin Carol. She is going through some of her parents belongings and found this picture of our grandfather, Giovanni Bernunzio, who enlisted in the Army during WWI, in order to gain citizenship. Strange, but I never thought I looked like like my grandfather… until now
We had a visit on Saturday from our old friend Lawrence Sugarman. We donated a banjo for a fundraiser he is sposoing for autism awareness. We go back around 40 years…and MANY banjos!
John’s Corner is coming along very nicely. I’ve added some furniture and I am surrounded by the things that I love. What can be better? More banjos…
We have uncovered a treasure trove of vintage parts and are going to start our eBay campaign again. Watch out! "Elleneast" is going to start listing lots and lots of interesting goodies.
At the end of the day I couldn’t help but buy two more mandolins to add to our collection… a nifty 1925 Gibson Snakehead and this unusual 1930s 12 string German instrument.
I had a lovely conversation with this "SKA" player from Cleveland who is here visiting a friend. We talked about the banjo history. I am back on my teaching bandwagon.
BACK TO WORK, AND LOVING IT.
April 24th, 2023
Hello friends,
For the past 10 days, I have been working at the store, getting to remember how to do things that I had long ago forgotten. It was 10 days of buying and selling a "storm" of instruments. I had to become a bit "panicky" about losing one of our key players but everyone on the staff rose to the occasion and, after 10 straight days at work, Julie finally brought me back to Penn Yan for some rest and relaxation. The store that we built and love so passionately is in as good hands as it ever has been. We had a week of buying, consigning and selling many vintage and new instruments….everything from accordions to stratocasters! Each person on my staff has their own particular expertise and together they have formed a team that is unmatched anywhere. I will be back in the store on Monday, but I feel much calmer than I did last week, and am really looking forward to the changes we have planned. I am still hoping to spend most of my time here in Penn Yan but when we are in Rochester, we are nicely taken care of in the basement of our daughter, Grace’s lovely home.
Saturday saw a revolving door of customers from both near and far. We got to know so many people, and hear their stories. I love this place…especially when the doors are open! This coming week I will be attending the convention of the American Banjo Fraternity. They are a group dedicated to preserving the classic style of playing banjo that was so popular in America in the period between 1890 and 1920. Gavin Rice will be coming with me and we are going to use his Edison recording machine to record some wax cylinders of the banjo players there. The convention is held in Palmyra, New York, and it should be a grand time. I am really looking forward to seeing some OLD friends!
Sincerely,
John Bernunzio
This little solid silver plaque is on the stick of a Bruno banjo we recently purchased. It harkens to the story, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, and a present left under the Christmas tree. "Della", screamed her husband. "you cut off your hair? you say you cut off your hair and sold it to buy me a banjo!……I didn’t want a banjo, I wanted a gold watch fob!"
I have made "John’s Corner" but this corner definitely speaks to Sam Snyder, Sammy Hirsh and Sen Neitz and the rest of the group. These guys really know their stuff. Together with Alex Patrick and Mike Cinanni in the repair shop we have a team of dedicated young people making Bernunzio’s THE place for vintage instruments in the Northeast.
Our old time jam was a nice small group of happy musicians who spent about an hour and a half "Clawhammering" away in the back room
Julie, doggies and flowers…. that is spring in Penn Yan