Salt Lake Telegram | 1929-08-11 | Page 23 | Violins His Hobby

VIOLINS HIS HOBBY J 4 r land Hand Made Instruments I Valuable V 1 k 3 w I t 1 I I I 1 C 4 71 si c A Never Nver co h hobby hobby- you'll It lose Ioe something big but u ut of your life is is' the advice of Lex Grain Cram railway brakeman who for foe 30 y years lr'S h has s made violins fort forthe e Violin Violin-Making Violin Ma 1 g S Satisfies frea Creative iy Urge i hi iii Ean II road Man Gives Philosophy LOS ANGELES CaLLet Cal Cn- CnN N A- A Let Lct your you Job l furnish food tood for tor your bOd body an and your YOUl hobby f food od for tor your Tour soul Dont Don't hobby a If It you OU wo would ld c continue tUnu to enjoy It Such Is is' tho the phU philosophy of ot Lex ex Grain Cram And because he believes In It h he lie continues working as a a. Southern Pacific brakeman even though h he could make more more money money- moneymaking moneymaking making a arid 1 loUns re Grain Cram has been making violins for thirty years Not like hike the ments menta turned out by mass mass production production i tion but direct copies copies' of teri Violins that tako tak him him over et a e r ot his spare th time e to tol to l finish Certainly T 1 would woud rather work vork on a work asa st brake brake- brakeman man man but to commercialize my ho bobby hobby hob bob by would destroy tho Joy toy of ot creation crea crea- tion lh that t I now noW know explains ls Cram Grain Crain uIt It would lose Jose Its app appeal n and ai a dally daily grind J I would become as a. a machine making vio- vio hits lins with no tl thought ought except except- them for ifor money Furthermore e. e hand violins are of s- s expensive and the market Is Is small In the end I Jd probably y bo no further ahead and Tand I would have havo lost lost- tho only l recreation th that t I enjo enjoy As S a a. youngster Grain Cram met mel an n Italian allun I violin maker ker nn and arr arranged n d to to help around an nn Itan Italian n violin makers maker's shop In tn exchange t for r violin vie vio lin ln lesson Heb He c m In violins J Jl s Under the Italians Italian's italIans italIan's Ital ital- I ians ian's ns n's tutelage tute lie ho became proficient In the art Thirty years years' of study j of oC the violin vie vio lin Un its Inception and Its history have made him hint an nn authority Today Today To To- To- To day lie can can detect a ip s from iron an original as as' quickly ho as-ho can detect a Do flat or awron awron n note te In In the engine on ona orCa a i as' as enser train My Iy friends ask always why I cant can't turn out that will equal In p rt nc of those built buill Jn in the seventeenth century cen ceo tur tury Grain Cram says nays In lii in inthe th the first firt place I haven't tho the or the tho Instruction Although h sonio some or o of pf Jn my lay woods are are mor than y the woods a and resins used hIP by byG G were much older Mer Then again their p th the result of ot years of ot t tutelage and years carr of ot labor I can put the labor Jabol Int Into a a 3 Violin loUn but ho no nop p person reon living Is In In a position to give the necessary Instruction in I have have- made land sold about sixty Some Somo of these have I been Very good others others' not so I They have been sold from 65 to e toda today today are re worth m times times' 3 their original iJ price