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I found a picture of Grampa and Grandma taken in the early-to-mid 80's, before the Parkinson's disease had taken hold of my grandpa. I though I'd share.
Other than a lot more white hair and some wrinkles, my grandma looks much the same now at 88.
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**like**
Thanks for sharing. Good to see the man who started you on this road with us!
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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He passed away November 1992 at the age of 81.
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I've been enjoying reading about the restoration of your grandpa's fiddle. What a treasure!
It must be great to have something like his fiddle. A very personal piece of his life.
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Another instance when I wish this forum had a "like" button. Thanks for sharing the photo, D. Your grandparents look like a sweet couple. It's so great that you have his fiddle and are learning to play it. What a nice way to keep his memory alive.
When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,
I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow.
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Thanks for the nice thoughts everyone.
Since it is Memorial Day weekend, here ya go:
I absolutely adored my grandpa when I was a little girl. I followed him EVERYWHERE when I was 2 or 3, and most of my pictures from that time I am sitting on his lap or hovering near him. We watched wrestling on TV together every Saturday [or was it Sunday?] morning. Until I was 10 or so, he always beat me at checkers. I would cry and then come back for more. I only wish I had pestered him to teach me to fiddle.
The thing to remember about my grandpa is that he was born on Halloween. He had a big ornery streak because of it, which my dad also inherited and so on... Just in case you were wondering why I am the way I am! 
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Thanks for the picture of grandpa, I had a grandpa that I used to follow everywhere. I rember every payday he used to give me a silver dollar (once a month) when i was 3 and 4. But my grandpa only smoked a pipe, no musical insturments. You were very lucky.
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dionysia said
I only wish I had pestered him to teach me to fiddle.
That picture is great and so was the memory. It reminds me of my own late grandpa who had promised to teach me to shoot when I was back in HS. Unfortunately, died before he had the chance. I inherited his rifles though.
For those we love who are with us now in spirit:
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That is a beautiful fiddle.
I think we always wish for more, when we think of what we could have learned from someone important to us. But in a sense, we do get more, since if we think of them when playing they continue to influence us.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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I'm pretty new to the forum and I've been mining the forum for information and tips. I encountered this topic regarding a Grandpa's fiddle and I am jealous of a sort. That is a great looking fiddle and I love the mechanical pegs. I've been wanting to outfit my fiddle with mechanical pegs and there just isn't very much information about that. I'm from the south central part of Virginia. Almost on the border with NC. I'm new to the fiddle circle so to speak but I grew up listening to it and other old timers playing it in the Blue Ridge. One tradition that I remember though is the rattle in the fiddle. There's no shortage of rattles where I live now and I have one in my fiddle. I can't say that it really changes the sound but I'd like to think it brings good luck. Right along with my fairy cross from back home in the mountains that I brought with me. I think we can always use a little luck.
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Thanks Siarl. My 7yo is a little bit scared of the rattle in my fiddle.
I lost it under the bed once, and things didn't seem quite the same til I found it. I can definitely hear it rattling around inside when I play. Not sure if others can.
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I'm glad this thread got resurrected--I hadn't been on the Forum back then. So nice you've learned to play Grandpa's beautiful old fiddle!
I didn't know about the tradition of a rattlesnake rattle in the fiddle. My senior year in high school we lived in eastern Oregon and my brother and I found a rattlesnake den on the hill a half mile from our place. We'd go up there and try to catch snakes. It was eerie when you got near the den--at first you'd see nothing but rocks but your eyes would get used to the shades and then you'd see rattlesnakes lying all over the rocks! You'd have to wear tennis shoes and walk softly otherwise the noise of shoes would scare them off as you approached.... I didn't have any interest in fiddles back then so never kept any rattles. Rattlers bear their young (some snakes lay eggs)--I killed a female once that had 8 baby rattlers inside her, about 6 inches long. She must have been about ready to give birth. Ah, some good memories of yesteryear. LOL.
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