Update Wednesday night, July 29, 2015:
Once in a while folks around the globe join together through the magic of the Internet to do a good deed.
That happened tonight. “On Wednesday night, Kalamazoo Township Police told Newschannel 3 that the ukulele was anonymously dropped off at the owner’s home. The ukulele was in perfect condition when it was dropped off and police say the family is simply thrilled to have had it returned in pristine condition.”
Story here.
Thanks to the thousands who shared this story.
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This is sad day for fans of American history, musical antiquity, and family legacy. Today, the police in Kalamazoo, Michigan contacted me to ask assistance in spreading word of the theft of a 1920s Gibson ukulele that belongs to 103 year old Margie Bellson, widow of famed Gibson executive Julius Bellson.
Julius Bellson began working at the Gibson Guitar Company in the 1930s and served as personnel director in the 1940s, during which he hired the famed Kalamazoo Gals who built Gibson’s WWII-era musical instruments. In the 1970s, he served as company historian and published its definitive history, “The Gibson Story.”
Family lore has it that Mr. Bellson assisted in the building the soprano Gibson Uklelele-3, a highly decorated model featuring diamond pearl inlays on the fretboard, “The Gibson” inlaid in the headstock, and white, celluloid binding around the body and fingerboard. The ukulele is in its original case. The accompanying photo depicts the instrument in the hands of Mrs. Bellson when I visited her a couple of years ago.
Since Mr. Bellson’s death some years ago, the ukulele has become Mrs. Bellson’s most cherished possession.
The family is offering a $500, no-questions-asked reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the perpetrator or, simply and most importantly, the return of the ukulele.
If you have information about the ukulele, please contact Detective Paul Erlandson of the Kalamazoo Township Police Department at (269) 567-7523 or Crime Stoppers at (269) 343-2100.
Fans of American history, musical antiquity, and family legacy, please spread word of this theft.
