101 Years Ago {A Violin's Story}

101 years ago, a violin was made, skillfully formed by some talented craftsman who (I assume and hope) took great pride in his work.

I know the age of this instrument because, if you could peek through these f-holes...

 ...you would see a label inside that reads "Eduard Reichert, Dresden, fecit anno 1913."

28 years ago, my parents bought it for me, procuring it from Weaver's Violin Shop in Chevy Chase, MD, and paying $720 for it.  They bought it, a full-size violin, in December of 1986 to replace the 3/4 size Knilling Violin they had purchased for $175 in January of that same year.  In that case, that violin was purchased from a local family for me to use as my first violin when I began lessons.  I guess I grew enough from January to December to necessitate a new instrument.  ;-)

After taking violin lessons for several years in the 80s, I discontinued them as my school and extracurricular schedule got more and more crowded.  Something had to give; and although I often wished it didn't have to be that way, violin got pushed out of my life...

...until my college years when I briefly resumed lessons.  But once again, a full schedule demanded that I prioritize my obligations; and the violin got the ax.  (Fortunately, not literally.)  ;-)  However, while in college, 17 years ago, to be exact, I had the violin refurbished, so to speak.  With a new bridge, new pegs, new strings, new horsehair on the bow, and a few other repairs, the bill came to $245.92.

The violin traveled with me to California when I moved there as a newlywed; and if memory serves me correctly, I played it once for a church service.  When our life's journey took us to Israel, the violin was stored away, then eventually moved to Virginia where it sat virtually untouched in a corner of our library...

...for such a time as this.  And you can just bet that one look at my firstborn holding my violin made me overwhelmingly grateful that we had kept it all those years!

 Three days ago, we picked up the violin from Glen, a local luthier whom I've written about before.  When I dropped it off with him, I really wasn't sure what he would say about the instrument: after all those years of neglect, would it even be worth anything anymore?  And how expensive would it be to fix it up into good playing condition?

When Glen looked at it, he was immediately positive, affirming that he would be able to fix it with no trouble.  He rehaired the bow, put on new pegs, put a bridge on it, set the sound post back up, cleaned it, and treated it for mites--everything necessary to get it ready for its newest player to use it.

And the grand total for all his work?

$70.

The man is a jewel, I tell ya!  And the lessons I had previously learned from him flowed through my mind and washed over my soul again.  I want to be like Glen when I grow up.

It's funny what a violin can teach a person, even after 101 years; and the best lessons have nothing to do with Bach minuets and Vivaldi concertos.

They have to do with LIFE.