stories to her younger boy every day. This, my friends, was one of the greatest compliments I have ever received. She said they had all kinds of questions they wanted to ask the Little Drum Majorette about the parade and her life!

And now, Camie and her sister Annie﻿ helped their children, James, Blake, Briar, and Sadie, make birthday cards for Don, the World War II vet I posted about. Camie said that this was an important opportunity to teach them a life lesson about Veterans and the meaning of Veterans day.

So, when people ask me what my travels and songs about Jewell Ridge mean to the people up on Jewell Ridge, and, in particular, my family, I think about James, Blake, Briar, Sadie, Camie, and Annie and IThe American guitar community lost one of its icons yesterday with the passing of Bill Collings, founder of Collings Guitars of Austin, Texas. The news was confirmed in a post on the company's Facebook page. Collings was 68 years old.

Building his first guitars in the mid–'70s after dropping out of medical school, Collings grew his company into one of the world's most respected manufacturers of stringed instruments.

Longtime friend and collaborator Walter Carter of Carter Vintage guitars told us, "I had never seen anyone so excited, so passionate about building a guitar.

"The sky over the guitar world is a little darker today, and it's hard to imagine it being as bright again without Bill." - Walter Carter

"Bill was what we call 'a character' — a unique, memorable, and lovable