One of these guitars (choice) will be auctioned at the Friends of Michaux Open House and Silent Auction, this Saturday March 8 from 3:00-5:00 at Founders Grille Penn National Golf Course. Tickets are required and you can purchase them through the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation website.
We are excited to announce the completion of two guitars that are constructed out of very special wood from Michaux State Forest! Read more about the wood here and see video and photo galleries below.
Back in 2002, the grand alleys of spruce trees in Camp Michaux started to decline. Four leaning trees were taken from the approach to the fountain off the main camp road, and separately one tight cluster of trees that had already fallen near the commandant’s log cabin up at the northeast corner of the main camp were removed.
We were all sad to note their passing, but it’s not entirely unexpected. Most of the Norway spruce around the main camp were probably planted in the late 1930s or early 1940s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), making them grand old trees indeed – at least 80 years old. Shallowly rooted on a well-watered slope, some of these trees had already been lost to high winds and they were becoming a hazard. (Don’t worry, young spruce were replanted to create a grand alley for future generations to enjoy.)
Michaux foresters carefully removed the trees with minimal impact to the site, and these trees started a new life. The logs were taken to PSU Mont Alto, where Michaux foresters worked with the faculty to set up a “log to lumber demonstration.” The lumber was then kiln dried, with financial support from the Friends of Michaux. Some of the lumber went to the to the Army War College, the Army being the closest living “relative” of the CCC. But some of this “story wood” was set aside to create demonstration products, such as these two guitars.
Paul Marr, a luthier in Shippensburg, donated his time to design and build these guitars. The paint is high quality automotive paint donated by two local businesses: Red’s Auto Body Shop in Dallastown and Fisher Auto in Newville.
Sample Sounds
Photo Gallery of the Ice Blue Guitar (“Winter”)
Photo Gallery of the Sea Foam Green Guitar (“Spring”)
Photo Gallery of the Guitar Build
Friends of Michaux State Forest 