The Back Story

Local musician Andrew Allen was at a school clearing sale in Avenel in 1998 when he discovered an old neglected guitar case lying on the oval in the blazing hot sun. He flipped it open and to his surprise discovered what looked like a Martin guitar. On closer inspection of the headstock, found the Martin label. The guitar was in poor shape through decades of neglect, but Andrew decided he was going to rescue it. The guitar was in a mixed lot up for auction with a set of golf clubs, a beach umbrella and some walking sticks. Only Andrew and another lady placed a bid on the Lot. Andrew only had $50 in his pocket and to his delight, the bidding stopped at $50. When Andrew returned home he looked up the guiltar’s serial number on the Martin website to discover it was built in 1920.…