October 28th, 2024

Good mornings folks,

      My love affair with the mandolin began somewhere around 1974. Yes, that was 50 years ago! I was a teacher at the Lakeshore Elementary School in Greece, NY.  I had just purchased a little Harmony mandolin for $50. I brought my mandolin to school to show my students. One of the teachers said that he had inherited his grandfather’s mandolin and he would bring it to school to show me. Well, the next day I had my first taste of a real instrument. His grandfather had a venerable Gibson A-4 from around 1921. I had never heard nor seen anything as exquisite. He let me take it home for a couple of days. It was them that I was fully smitten. I became obsessed and I had to find a Gibson mandolin. Of course it was not for sale and even if it was, I would never have had the resources to afford something like that. It was an inspiration and something that I was determined to eventually own.

   Upon the recommendation of Eldon Stutzman, I started lessons with Mrs. Veda Santos. They were three dollars per session! She and her husband, Don Santos, had been endorsers for Gibson mandolins and had operated a publishing company and school for stringed instruments in the Rochester area since the 1930s. Entering her studio was an inspiration itself. In her small home on Garson Avenue, in a shady part of town, was the collection of a lifetime. A ornate, concert size Lyon and Healy harp stood proudly in one corner. Then there was a huge fish tank with oversized, ancient guppies peering out at me.The instruments were all lined up on wooden stands: a 1920s Gibson L-5 with black finish and her name in the truss rod cover; a Bacon and Day Silver Bell banjo that was engraved to "Veda from Fred" (Bacon of course); a Martin tipple which she referred to as the ukulele that went to college and her beloved Gibson F-2 mandolin, which she used to teach. It was really mind blowing being in that studio those many years ago. Looking back it was that experience that shaped my career as a vintage instrument specialist.

   So, it is with a great deal of pride that we are involved with the Classical Mandolin Society of America’s convention being held in Rochester, NY beginning Wednesday. There are many events that are open to the public, but registration is now closed for the convention itself. We will have a display table at the hotel and we will be participating in the convention as much as possible. TO CELEBRATE THIS EVENT WE SELECTED OVER 50 MANDOLIN FAMILY INSTRUMENTS AS "DEALS OF THE WEEK", STARTING TODAY AND RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE CONVENTION. If you’re thinking about one of our fine mandolins, this is the time to pull the trigger.

With peace,

John Bernunzio

Don And Veda….

The garden is finished and we picked all the rest of the vegetables, trimmed and washed them, "dressed" them with fresh herbs and baked them in the oven. This made most delicious soup of the season.

the leaves,  looking up…..

….but now they’re down