Dad Reunited with Fiddle!!!

This is the best story ever, and it's about my own dad!

My dad, Andy Talley, was born in 1926. His father passed away while dad was still young, but not so young that dad doesn't remember quite a bit about him and his fiddle making. Dad knew that his father made 21 fiddles, but has never been able to see one as an adult. Just in time for Dad's 83rd birthday, he received the call of his lifetime.

It seems there is a lady (who wishes to remain anonymous) who attends auctions and usually buys old, family Bibles. She enjoys history and geneology. This lady, for whatever reason, decided to buy an old fiddle at an auction. She did some geneology, and eventually my Dad was tracked down. Dad drove to her house in Siloam Springs, AR and picked up the fiddle last week. The wonderfully, nice lady would not take a dime for the fiddle, and also gave Dad the geneology research she did. For all these years, Dad has wanted to have one of his father's fiddles, and now he does!

I will post pictures of the fiddle at a later date when I actually get to see it. (I'm dying to see and play it!!!!) Dad played it for me over the phone. Inside the fiddle, the label bears his father's name, city & state, date (October 1929), and "No. 11."

If you ever find a fiddle that has a label with the last name "Talley," please contact me! We'd love to find more of these. Dad says he remembers his father carving acorns on one of the fiddles. He also said he remembers his father having to "schedule" time with his mother to use the cookstove to dry out the wood. How cool is that?!!

Praise God for big and little things!