Guitars from the original Gibson factory on Parsons Street live on
By Kris Hitchcock
Web Manager
Some things can transcend generations. An ideal, a family, a dream, a song; or sometimes, the guitar that created that song. Used two generations ago in the basements of rural southern Michigan, then set aside for 20 years, only to be found by a curious boy in his grandfather’s attic, this guitar has a story for the ages. And this story began in Kalamazoo, Mich.
(Photo courtesy of Lindsey Hurd) This Gibson/Epiphone acoustic guitar was built in 1962 at the Kalamazoo factory on Parsons St. The guitar was passed down from one generation to the next.
Orville Gibson opened the first shop for making Gibson instruments in 1894, in Kalamazoo. By 1917, a three-story factory for guitar had been built on Parsons Street, and Gibson Guitars were becoming famous throughout the country. Artists from all genres of music began making Gibson guitars part of their live show and recordings, and the legend was born. After beginning with mandolins, Gibson had expanded to acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitars, strings, accessories, and even other acoustic instruments like the banjo and ukulele.
In 1957, Gibson purchased rival company Epiphone, and moved the production of Epiphone instruments to the Kalamazoo factory. Epiphone had already carved out a good reputation for playability and design, and with Gibson’s factory, known for their hand-tested instruments, the merge was successful for both companies. Gibson peaked in production in this period and it was common for famous artists to travel to Kalamazoo just to see their instruments built.
Names like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Les Paul, Johnny Cash, Roy Acuff, Gene Autry, Peter Frampton, Chet Atkins, Bill Monroe, Willie Nelson and Mick Jagger have all visited the factory on Parsons Street at different points in their careers, and the Gibson name had become synonymous with excellent craftsmanship and perfect tone. Despite the attention to detail, the company was rumored to produce as many as 1,000 guitars per day in the local factories, and employed almost as many workers from the Kalamazoo area.
In the 1970s, the competition from foreign factories and a lack of demand for high-end guitars drove the sales down, and the factories were sold and the company headquarters moved to Nashville, Tenn. in 1981. The last Kalamazoo factory closed in 1984, 90 years after it had been founded.
The factory was reopened as Heritage Guitars in 1985 by former Gibson employers, and to this day is building high-quality guitars and other instruments, still being played by well-known artists. Roy Clark of the famed radio show “Hee-Haw” and Ted Nugent of Jackson, Mich. are counted among Heritage Guitars artists.
But that’s not where this story ends. That young boy playing in the attic had stumbled upon his grandfather’s 1962 Kalamazoo Gibson/Epiphone acoustic guitar, and after convincing his grandmother to let him play it, learned that the strong wood and resonating tone still held their original quality.
As Dan Anspaugh of Pittsford Michigan strums that old guitar, it takes him back to the moments he grew up with. His grandfather quit playing as his health deteriorated, and Anspaugh continued to play it in the tradition his grandfather had set. His grandfather had played with Robert Paige and the Country Playboys, and other local heros like Larry Beagle, Ernie Cole, and RNL Express. Years later when Anspaugh got to play with these men, they remembered the guitar and its history quite well.
“Sometimes while I’m playing it for people, I feel like the history of Hillsdale county music is in my hands; the guys that my grandpa played with, and my grandpa are there listening,” Anspaugh said.
Anspaugh plays in the country band Small Town Son, and the guitar was used again in the recording of their new single “When Does Missing You Get Easy” and appears regularly in their live set.
“The tone is so good, we couldn’t find anything else that compared to it, so we brought it out again,” Aspaugh said.
Where does the story go from here?
“Someday I’d like to do it justice,” said Anspaugh. “It’s my dream to play it on the Grand Ole Opry as a tribute to my grandfather and the music in my town.”
Thanks to the hard work of the Kalamazoo Gibson factory, there’s no reason to think that old guitar can’t make it there someday.
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