For nearly 30 years, the guitar just hung on a wall.
It dangled there with its body warped, the birch frame filled with stains and one of its five strings snapped. And etched to its back twice was the name "C.B. Irwin."
The former guitar of America's "Giant Cowboy" of the late 1800s and early 1900s has called Hollister home for the past 30 years. That's until later this month when its owner will donate it back to the Irwin family after nearly 80 years. The guitar's owner found the family after taking it to The Music Tree in Morgan Hill, where a repair technician researched its history and found the relatives.
The Irwin family plans to donate the guitar, along with other Giant Cowboy mementos, to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. That museum is in the process of creating a 1,200-square-foot Irwin wing that will display 300 items and 500 photos.
Irwin's guitar "fills all the gaps in the collection" and will be the highlight of the wing, said his great-grandson Keith Walters, who lives in Auburn.
"It all belongs in Cheyenne," Walters said. "It doesn't belong boxed up."
The 100-year-old guitar found its way to Hollister in the early 1980s when it was given to J.R. Guthrie, a musician who came from Wyoming, by his father.
Guthrie, a music enthusiast, hung the guitar out of respect for Irwin, one of the most historical characters in the state.
Born in 1875 in Cheyenne, Irwin is a legend. Even the state's license plate design is based off of Irwin's horse, Steamboat. Irwin, whose first name is Charles, also is credited with creating the Wyoming Pioneer days and the Cheyenne rodeo, Walters said.
A member of the Cowboy Hall of Fame, there are pictures of Irwin with Will Rodgers, President Theodore Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill.
Irwin established the Y-6 ranch, which still runs today, and he died in 1934 in a car accident when his tire blew out.
If you grew up in Wyoming, you know who Irwin, Walters said.
"He is bigger than life there - he is huge," Walters said. "And growing up, we all knew the stuff he did."
All Guthrie knew about the guitar, though, was that it belonged to Irwin and he played "Life is Like a Mountain Railroad" on it during the 1903 hanging of convicted murderer Tom Horn.
"I didn't know too much about the guitar," said Susanne Guthrie, J.R.'s widow and the guitar donor.
Her husband always kept it on the wall and referred to it as Irwin's guitar when guest asked about it. Guthrie always was conscious of its history before he died, his wife said.
Guthrie was a musician himself, creating the band "J.R. Guthrie and the Code of the West" that toured through the Central Coast in the 70s.
The second cousin of Woody Guthrie, J.R. Guthrie always cherished the guitar's history, but he never played it, Susanne Guthrie said.
Last November, Guthrie died of mesothelioma, which he mostly likely got after working in his father's business that dealt with asbestos, at the age of 67. With his passing, his wife knew she needed to find the guitar a new home.
"He didn't just want to give it to anyone," she said. "He would have wanted it to find a good home."
She didn't know where to start so her first thought was to look up a music store in the yellow pages, she said.
She found the address to Morgan Hill's Music Tree and decided the shop would know what to do with it.
"I took it there to find out if it was really real," she said. "I didn't even know his name was on the back."
And there, she got in contact with guitar repair technician Steve Wilson. He didn't change the look of the guitar. He didn't even change the strings.
"All I did was blow out the dust," he said.
The eccentric repairman delved deep into research after hearing the story.
"After she told me about it, I was so interested," said Wilson, of Morgan Hill. "Then I started doing some research."
From there Wilson got into contact with the museum and curator Cathy Osterman, who was unavailable to comment before press time. And Osterman gave Wilson the contact information of Walters in Auburn.
"None of this would have happened if it wasn't for Steve," Guthrie said.
Wilson only did what he was asked to do, he said.
"She said she wanted to find a good home for it," said Wilson, who estimated the guitar has a value of about $1,000. "After looking up the history, I thought it had to go back to Cheyenne."
Some more facts on the story:
C.B. Irwin
- Was 6'4" and weighted 500 pounds at time of death
- Inducted into the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979
- Produced the movie "Fall Round-Up on the Y-6 Ranch"
- Named his ranch the Y-6 ranch after his six family members
- Horse Steamboat is the University of Wyoming's logo and the logo on the state license plate
- Was given Tom Horn's rifle before Horn's hanging.
The guitar
- Believed to be from an early Sears and Roebuck mail order from 1908
- Initial cost may around $5; estimated value now of $1,000
J.R. Guthrie
- Lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming until 12
- moved to Hollister with wife, Susanne, in 1972
- received guitar from father in early 80s
- toured with J.R. Guthrie and the Code of the West for 8 years until son, Cade, was born
Song at Tom Horn's funeral "Life is Like a Mountain Railroad"
"Life is like a mountain railroad, with an engineer that's brave;
We must make the run successful, from the cradle to the grave;
Watch the curves, the fills, the tunnels; never falter, never quail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.
Refrain:
Bless'd Savior, Thou wilt guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore;
Where the angels wait to join us
In Thy praise forevermore.
You will roll up grades of trial; you will cross the bridge of strife;
See that Christ is your Conductor on this lightning train of life;
Always mindful of obstruction, do your duty, never fail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.
Refrain
You will often find obstructions; look for storms of wind and rain;
On a fill, or curve, or trestle, they will almost ditch your train;
Put your trust alone in Jesus; never falter, never fail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.
Refrain
As you roll across the trestle, spanning Jordan's swelling tide,
You behold the Union Depot into which your train will glide;
There you'll meet the Superintendent, God the Father, God the Son,
With the hearty, joyous, plaudit, "Weary pilgrim, welcome home!"
Song written by M.E. Abbey and Charlie D. Tillman
In this video, a repair technician who found the family of Charles Irwin, one of Wyoming's most historic characters, plays the old guitar, while the owner talks about its history in the family.
Connor Ramey Connor Ramey is a staff writer for the Free Lance. You can reach him by email or at (831) 637-5566.
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