California Koa

We're down to three planks of the "California koa" lumber. These boards were purchased by Howard Rugg and Steve Jackel back in the 1980s for use in building FolkRoots dulcimers.

In 1989, when David Marks (Folkcraft Instruments founder) purchased Rugg & Jackel's assets (FolkRoots Dulcimers, plus various tools, fixtures, lumber, etc.) this koa lumber made a trip via truck from Felton, California to Winsted, Connecticut.

David used some of the koa between 1989 and 2006. On January 5, 2007, I purchased Folkcraft Instruments from David, and moved the remaining koa to the new Folkcraft/FolkRoots shop in Woodburn, Indiana.

The photo shows my father holding up one of the planks (which will be turned into ukulele parts tomorrow). You can see the "California to Connecticut" shipping label still attached to the board.

Close-up of dad's face, along with the shipping label (from CA to CT).