I met Reath Blickenderfer through the Herald classifieds.
A story on National Public Radio caught my ear a few weeks ago. Classifieds are news, too, the story said.
So, I thought I would check it out and try to find a story behind the story.
This ad caught my attention:
VIOLIN “” w/case, bow & fine toners: $95.
I gave the number with the ad a call. I learned Mr. Blickenderfer buys violins, refurbishes them and then sells them.
He recently bought four of them at a large flea market in Ohio.
He does most of the refurbishing himself, but for some things, like setting the sound post underneath the bridge, a special tool is needed, and a friend who has that tool helps him out.
Recently, he replaced the bridge “” the device that holds the strings away from the body of the violin.
“The distance from the top nut to the bridge is 12 and 15-16 inches. It’s got to be that,” he said.
In addition to repairing violins, Mr. Blickenderfer is a musician.
He plays in bluegrass jams around Manatee and Sarasota.
Bluegrass is all acoustic music. Nobody plugs in.
Musicians gather with their fiddles, banjos, guitars, mandolins and bass, and someone will sing a lick and pause, and then one of the instrumentalists will take a turn.
“They go around to each player. There are a lot of guitars and singers. They will step up and start singing. Then they’ll stop and a fiddle or dobro will put in and play a little bit,” he said.
Music has been his life. His father and brother also played violin, and his brother, who went by the stage name “Montana Blick”, once had a cowboy band.
Reath Blickenderfer, who’ll be 77 this month, made his living as a square dance caller and a sales supervisor for a food company. He called square dances for 18 years.
In addition to the bluegrass jams, he still entertains at condo associations with his fiddle and keyboards.
“I’m just blessed, I guess,” he said. “I’m mostly self-taught.”
The next jam is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Bee Ridge Park, 4430 South Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota.
I’m glad I got a chance to hear Reath’s story. I’m still curious about some of the other classifieds, whose stories remain untold: the Marilyn Monroe plate collection; the 19-foot sailboat, ready to sail for $1,299; and the Betty Boop items for $100.
By James A. Jones Jr.
July 19, 2009
source: bradenton.com