jaywolfe Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Enjoying the "History" posts recently and wanted to relate something I've heard from several Heritage guys. They claim that when working late in the Parsons Street shop they have been visited by the ghost of Orville Gibson many times, which is why no one there wants to work late anymore. Some claim to be alarmed to look up & see this ghostly figure watching them as they work. Others say they left the building in a huge hurry & no longer work alone at night. One Heritage guy says he's no longer frightened & just carry's on a one way conversation with the old boy. We all know the Heritage Gang loves to kid around, but they get deadly serious when discussing this spooky topic, and they seem reluctant to talk about it. Bet this doesn't happen in Nashville.... Jay Wolfe
FredZepp Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Larry Perkins... Interview This is an interview with the guy that I bought the Centurion from.... He worked there from 1996 to 2006 TGC: Any insider stories about the goings-on at Heritage? LP: The old Gibson factory that Heritage took over has a lot of ghosts! Lights would turn themselves on and off, footprints would appear on the floor. Orville Gibson himself is said to wander around the factory. Almost everyone in the staff has at least one Orville story. TGC: Did you have any encounters yourself? LP: One winter day, during a bad blizzard -- this was in my second year at the company -- only about a third of the staff showed up. My boss came to me and told me that once I was done with what I was doing, and if the blizzard didn’t subside, I should go home. It was about 10 in the morning. The last thing I needed to do was take a rack of guitars to the finishing department upstairs. I rolled the rack to the elevator. And sitting in front of the elevator, partially blocking the door was this dolly with a 20ft long piece of mahogany on it. It probably weighed about a ton and I definitely couldn’t move it by myself. So here I was wondering where I was going to get someone to help me move it – there was hardly anybody around. And then the dolly with this huge piece of mahogany just moved about 8 inches by itself! Just enough so I could get the rack into the elevator! TGC: Did you go up the elevator then? I would have split! LP: I went up and then I went home. I met Orville. Everybody at Heritage has an Orville ghost story
Patrick Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Enjoying the "History" posts recently and wanted to relate something I've heard from several Heritage guys.They claim that when working late in the Parsons Street shop they have been visited by the ghost of Orville Gibson many times, which is why no one there wants to work late anymore. Some claim to be alarmed to look up & see this ghostly figure watching them as they work. Others say they left the building in a huge hurry & no longer work alone at night. One Heritage guy says he's no longer frightened & just carry's on a one way conversation with the old boy. We all know the Heritage Gang loves to kid around, but they get deadly serious when discussing this spooky topic, and they seem reluctant to talk about it. Bet this doesn't happen in Nashville.... Jay Wolfe Somebody should tell ol'Orville he needs to start checking those set ups a little closer before he lets some of those beautiful guitars ship out the door!! Hi Jay . . . . best regards, Patrick
GuitArtMan Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 I sense a new model being born - The Orville's Ghost.
smurph1 Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Enjoying the "History" posts recently and wanted to relate something I've heard from several Heritage guys.They claim that when working late in the Parsons Street shop they have been visited by the ghost of Orville Gibson many times, which is why no one there wants to work late anymore. Some claim to be alarmed to look up & see this ghostly figure watching them as they work. Others say they left the building in a huge hurry & no longer work alone at night. One Heritage guy says he's no longer frightened & just carry's on a one way conversation with the old boy. We all know the Heritage Gang loves to kid around, but they get deadly serious when discussing this spooky topic, and they seem reluctant to talk about it. Bet this doesn't happen in Nashville.... Jay Wolfe I bet you are right!! Ol Orville is probably proud of our boys! They do things the way he did!!
millemots Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Thats pretty cool. They should get those ghost hunter guys to do a show about it. Itd probably get their name out some more.
tulk1 Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Both Marv and Ren mentioned that during the first PSP. And at different times. Marv mentioned you can often see Orville in a window on the 2nd floor as they are closing for the day. I think he's trying to convince them to start building mandolins, again.
Gitfiddler Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 I sense a new model being born - The Orville's Ghost. That would be very cool!
smurph1 Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Thats pretty cool. They should get those ghost hunter guys to do a show about it. Itd probably get their name out some more. Thats a GREAT Idea!!
JohnCovach Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 The problem is, Orville never worked in that building. He was long gone from Kalamazoo by the time they opened that facility. It could be Lloyd Loar, though . . .
Thundersteel Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 I don't thing it's a ghost at all! I think it's a hologram of Henry J, trying to figure out how guitar building is supposed to be done.
High Flying Bird Posted March 16, 2010 Posted March 16, 2010 The problem is, Orville never worked in that building. He was long gone from Kalamazoo by the time they opened that facility. Good detective work John. I have never seen a ghost so I don't personally believe in them. That said, I am not saying the joint ain't haunted. If I were to see a ghost my hair would probably stand straight up and I would make the same sound as Shemp Howard. "Mememememe.........."
High Flying Bird Posted March 16, 2010 Posted March 16, 2010 I think it's a hologram of Henry J, trying to figure out how guitar building is supposed to be done. Like he cares.
hiro Posted March 16, 2010 Posted March 16, 2010 Wonder if its a topic of discussion at PSP? I have several instances in my life where I go to certain areas and I could feel this vibe, or get that feeling that someone / some people is watching me .
212Mavguy Posted March 16, 2010 Posted March 16, 2010 Wonder if its a topic of discussion at PSP? I have several instances in my life where I go to certain areas and I could feel this vibe, or get that feeling that someone / some people is watching me . Me too, around 15 years ago, in the Wind River Range Shoshone-Arapaho reservation (Wyoming) during a 9 day solo backpacking trip in the fall, I stopped at Sacajawea's grave stone before going in. The wind howls and screams there in an unnerving way, yet I felt secure and comforted, like the spirits were watching from the tops of the ridges just like in the old western movies. Very cool, the fishing was great, and no weather or bear problems either!
FredZepp Posted March 16, 2010 Posted March 16, 2010 Orville died in a psychiatric center about a year after Parsons Street opened. There were questions of a mental issue... He was quite familiar with Kalamazoo, of course , and may have just returned there for his haunting....
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