Carrie and I played our first job together in 1964 after 14 years of marriage. But before we became a duo, I had played professionally for a couple of decades. I played my first dance job with my dad in 1944 at the Whitefish, Montana, Masonic Lodge when I was 13 years old and in the 8th grade.

Shortly thereafter that I was hired to play trombone for money with a band at the Great Northern Bar. In the 1940's it was a sleazy wino bar on Second Street that catered to the gandy dancers that worked the track crews on the railroad.

That first "pro" experience was made memorable by the Indian guitar player that drank an amazing quantity of beer and by the old drummer who was surrounded by cymbols, temple blocks, tom toms, wood blocks, bells and other gadgets. He used them all on every tune and never let up.

I never played there again, but from that night on I worked fairly steady on weekends right through high school. There was Vegas style gambling in Montana in that era and many clubs hired music on a regular basis. I worked at the Blue Moon, Club Rocco, Silver Shadow, Oasis, Skylark, Palm and for High School dances. In those days I made $15 a night, but $30 a week was big bucks for a teenager in the Forties..

This is dedicated to our great grandchildren so that they will know what their great grandparents did during their careers as professional entertainers.