I made my first banjo in 1975 mainly inspired by the Foxfire 3 book. I had no previous exposure and knew virtually nothing about the music played on them, I just decided I had to try and make one. I had virtually no tools, basically a coping saw, pocket knife, two files, sandpaper and my grandfather's old eggbeater hand drill and small block plane. After I got it put together, I went to a music store in Harrisburg, PA and ended up meeting Bob Buckingham (also known as RBuck to Banjo and Fiddle Hangout folks). Bob was the first limb on our banjo family tree, and from that meeting grew many, many great friendships and experiences. Bob is also a reviewer and writer and still a great friend and wonderful musician. Not long after I met Bob Campbell (Campbell's Music, York, PA) through Bob Buckingham and through Bob Campbell Reed Martin. The Buckingham and Martin tree limbs have produced literally hundreds and hundreds of offshoots. I switched from rock and roll to old time fiddle and banjo music, Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton instead of Jimi Hendrix and shut the radio off. I continued to struggle through the learning school of hard knocks and make some banjos. The first ones were terrible, there was no one locally or any decent books or the Banjo Hangout builders forum to consult. I kept building banjos, including tenor and five string resonator banjos for bluegrass and jazz and gradually learned a few things about making instruments. As things improved I ended up doing a fair amount of carving and engraving work for other builders including Gary Price, OME, Will Fielding, Bob Anderson, Chris Warner, Froggy Bottom, CE Bear, and other luthiers. Each of those relationships happened mostly because I just wanted to meet and work with those fellows out of admiration for what they do. They all grew out of the original banjo limbs and now have lots of offshoots of their own. Our son Russ became enamored with the playing of Earl Scruggs at age 9 and decided he had to learn to play. He now plays banjo for Ricky Skaggs in his Kentucky Thunder group and before that for Audie Blaylock & Redline. Russ's own banjo adventures have added many more names and branches to our now fairly massive banjo family Redwood tree. We have old timey limbs and bluegrass limbs, luthier limbs and even a few Irish tenor and minstrel limbs as well. The Banjo Hangout itself might be considered a fairly large limb in itself as we have made some great friends through that big branch as well. Although I do something else for my living, I can trace the two corporate jobs I've had in my professional life back to relationships established through that first little mountain banjo, pretty amazing to think about. In 2014 I was given that little Stanley Hicks walnut banjo that was used for Foxfire 3, the same banjo that started me down this road. A 2013 Bluegrass Unlimited article about Russ and I was focused on our banjo journey and how it has mostly been about the people we've met and relationships we've made through the banjo. Its not so much about the banjo as an object but much more that it has been a great tool to meet a whole lot of really special people who have greatly enriched our lives much for the better.