Dennis' note to me 4/18/16
            There were lots of people recording with reel to reel units in the 1950s
            and 1960 (you included I'm sure). Anyone who got their early exposure
            to bluegrass at Carlton Haney's first festivals knew that was a given. I was
            there in 1966 and 1967 helping a friend record everything by everyone.

            I started getting serious about collecting around 1971 and had very
            little to trade at the time but there were a couple of people who I
            believe advertised in Bluegrass Unlimited who got me on my feet, as
            well as many others, as a tape collector. They should be recognized.

            First and foremost was a pharmacist from the Chicago area, Don Hoos.
            All names spelled are going to be phonetic since I haven't heard from any
            of these people in years. Don had a fabulous collection and was willing to
            share all of it on cassette tape, which meant that reel to reel guys had
            to step up to the "new" technology. When I first received his tape list
            it was about 20 pages of priceless live shows, radio shows and
            impossible to find recordings. I would say in the 1970s and even early
            1980s Don was the go to collector in the United States. I'm sure the
            Flatt and Scruggs and the Osborne Brothers with Red Allen material
            came from his collection.

            The Sapporo, Japan story is an interesting one as well and here comes
            my phonetic spelling again. I traded reel to reel tape with two Japanese
            fans, Kenzi Tiara and Toshima (whose last name I forget). We would
            write to each other on the old "air mail" paper which was much thinner
            than normal writing paper and cost less to mail internationally. Then
            we paid the price by sending reel to reel rather than cassette, but
            we could do it internationally as media mail and it was certainly
            worth it. I got shows and copies of recordings that no one else in the
            country had. It was oneof the two of them that got the Sapporo recording
            for me. I apologize to Toshima for not remembering his last name. It's
            been a few years.

            WAMU broadcast a live fundraising bluegrass show annually as well as
            non-fund raisers, from time to time, when Gary Henderson had guests in
            the studio. I'm guilty of recording that one off the air.

            As I told you I gave the bulk of my collection to the International
            Bluegrass Music Museum, after converting everything to CD, in hopes that
            at some point they will share it with fans the way you are sharing your
            collections. Thanks for asking and letting me tell you about these pioneers.

            Dennis                                      [Author of]