StevenL1

=__Guitar Makers__ = =Gibson =

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Gibson has been a very successful manufacturer for more than 100 years. Gibson was started by Orville H. Gibson. Orville was born in 1856 in Chateau-gay, New York. Orville was the youngest of 5 children. Orville's parents were John W. Gibson and Amy Nichols Gibson. Orville had 2 sisters, Emma and Pluma, and 2 brothers, Lovell and Orzo. In 1890 Orville moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. On August 21, 1918 Orville Gibson died of chronic endocarditis.=====

**Fender**

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Fender is a very successful guitar maker. Clarence Leo Fender was born on August 10, 1909 in California. Leo went to a junior college in 1928. He majored in accounting. Esther Klosky married Leo Fender in 1934. Fender was hired as an accountant for the state of California. In 1946 Clarence opened the Fender company. Sadly, Clarence Leo Fender died on March 21, 1991.=====

=Gretsch =

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Gretsch is a unique guitar manufacturer. Friedrich Gretsch, the founder of Gretsch, immigrated to america in 1872. He was originally from Germany and was only 16 at the time. Gretsch worked making instruments and finally started his own company in 1883. His son Fred, the oldest of Gretsch's 7 children, soon took over at the age of 15 because of his father's early death in 1895.=====

= Resources = [|Gibson] Bacon, Tony; Electric guitars; 2000; Thunder Bay Press [|Fender] [|The Gibson Website]