Salt Lake Telegram | 1938-11-22 | Page 7 | Old Apple Tree and City Hall Door Provide Materials Satisfying Urge to Make Violin

Old Apple Tree and City Hall Door Provide Materials Satisfying Urge to Make Violin PRICE upon Carbon count county history and born of a mans man's urge to keep bus busy a violin has just been completed here which has many claims to a niche in the hall of fame The builder Roy E. E Wimmer Vimmer Wimmer Wim- Wim mer told a Telegram correspondent a story of patience and toil that resulted in love for what some would call an inanimate object Mr Wimmer a local barber shop proprietor says he has always had a yearning to make a fiddle but had never before got around to it it This Thas winters winter's business being slow he had plenty of idle time Although he had never seen a violin made and had little idea of what was required re reqUired re- re he started to satisfy his yearning Fells FelIs Tree Christmas day 1937 he went to the edge of town and felled an old dead apple tree which timers old-timers claim was one of the first to be planted in the valley and which had been dead for 40 years Brush fires had eaten way half-way through one side S but Ut the rest was sound and well seasoned From this apple tree was made the back sides and neck of the instrument At this time Price city was razing razing raz- raz ing g the ue Old city hall to make mak way for the present municipal building and an old heavy door frame frame of native pine which served its purpose for 43 years was sal sal- salvaged From this was carved the top of the violin Tools Were ere Costly Working tools being expensive he made most of them himself fashioning his carving knives from old discarded razors in his shop Considering that some parts of the violin are carved to within a thousandth thousandth thou thou- of an inch of perfection when compared with the work of the old masters the making of these tools was a gigantic task After nine months of work with never a days day's rest the final coat of I a N c r V r Yr r ll 4 J y a w BARBER SHOP PROPRIETOR DISPLAYS FIDDLE Roy E E. E Wimmer points to clamps used in making homemade homemade homemade home home- made violin varnish was applied October 5 marking the seventh coat to be applied He could now admire the result of many hours of careful labor labor and and live in hope that it would have the desired tone and resonance At that time he remarked that should it fail it it would make pretty pretty pretty pret pret- ty expensive kindling wood However when the finish was dry and the strings in place players from all over eastern Utah tried the instrument which is a copy of an old Stradivarius and declared declare d that hat it is outstanding in its excellent excellent excel excel- lent ent tone