Kalamazoo

In the late 1930's, America was still deep in the grasp of the Great Depression. A French Canadian luthier, was working for the Gibson Factory in Kalamazoo Michigan. Instead of the fine Gibson brand of Guitars and Mandolins the company was accustomed to making, they were forced to sell lower quality instruments to chain stores like Sears and Roebuck. For John-Luke Rouleau, who had been trained in the art of violin making in Canada, this change was difficult to accept. Upon finding that he had a terminal illness, he took great pains to put all of his craftsmanship into a final guitar. He selected the finest woods from their stock and secretly used quality gears and keys in the construction. Upon completion he placed the name of his recently deceased wife within the sound box. On a simple square of heavy paper, he wrote the name, "Isabelle". This is the story of the lives that this guitar touched in spanning 70 years along with the stories of those who played the Kalamazoo.