I work for the Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality as a water quality specialist. I came to MT in 1969 when I was 18. The Catskill rivers were my favorites in the days when I lived near there. My mentors included Harry and Elsie Darby, rod makers Tom Bailey and Dave Decker, and also Bess Bailey. The old Payne shop was a magical place to me, though I missed the chance to make an acquaintance with James A. Payne by just a few months. The makers I listed above were generous with their tutoring of me, and I had the experience of working at the work stations in the Payne shop making reel seat hardware. I never did any bamboo work there, however. My rods are hand-planed and I brush the tung oil varnish.