A Quote from Jack Houseman

Jack Houseman bought a couple of whistles from me in January last winter and after conversing with him at length, he voluntered to be an advisor on my whistles, flutes and fingering charts. Jack has extensive knowledge in advertising and collects whistles and all kinds of ocarinas, flutes and fifes. If you are a whistlesmith, I'll bet Jack has either talked to you or paid you a visit at some point in time.

The list of improvements I made this year to the product line, have almost all been because of Jack. He has scutinized every aspect of the whistle line, asked me a lot of questions, and been absolutely fair in his assessments of what he has liked and what he felt should be modified. The information in the fingering charts and diagrams for the individual instruments and their care are correct only because he has studied and proofread them after using the information to make sure it is clear and easily understood.

So when I recently received this e-mail I felt like I had graduated a grade in school.

Hi Rod! I had a chance to play the new two-piece, Low G Mystic Auto Flute with the Automatic Sideshooter Mouthpiece that you sent me last week. And, after playing it over the weekend, I can tell you that the tone is quite even over the first and second octaves, and it is very easy to play. Moreover, the sound is mellow, and it has a nice heft. I also really like the fact that the new copper tuning slide lets you position the head for ease of fingering and playing. The playing instructions are great, and the new, revised fingering chart is colorful, and quite easy to follow. And, the improved thumb rest that snaps onto the flute body enables you to hold it comfortably while playing music. Bottom line: I really like it. Regards, Jack Houseman.

The Canterburys-Visitors from Awayl

Folks that drop by from out of state are called "Visitors from Away" here in Maine. When Claude and Judy Canterbury dropped in the other afternoon on their way to a tour of New Brunswick, Canada, they set a new World and Olympic distance travel record for visiting the Whistlesmith. Their 40 foot RV had decided it needed a little wiring fixed, so they came up and visited with "The Amazing Daisy". Daisy is just a great dog and trained beyond belief. She speaks four languages, and she and Hai Yu, our pug conversed at length. We spent a couple of hours in the whistle shop and I gave Claude a tour of the premises and how a whistle is put together. We tried out several different keys of whistles and flutes and Claude decided he liked a prototype in-line flute in Low D the best. This instrument is now in Texas awaiting Claude' s arrival after the trip to Canada.