50 Years of Elderly Instruments
For fifty years Elderly Instruments of Lansing, Michigan has been a central home for the warm sound of vintage instruments and an incredible selection of new instruments by luthiers from the US and abroad. A large brick building in Lansing houses thousands of musical dreams, a knowledgeable and friendly staff, but one more magic quotient. That is the father-daughter team of Stan and Lillian Werbin.
Stan started the Elderly adventure with former partner Sharon McInturf. As students in Ann Arbor, they began finding old instruments and selling them for a small profit. It was addictive and fun and they eventually moved their studio apartment operation to a small retail space in East Lansing across from Michigan State University. The folk boom was booming, northerners were discovering bluegrass and old-time music, and Stan played banjo and guitar. While the store built its reputation and inventory, it also helped build a community in Lansing of people who loved the instruments and old music.
A coffeehouse concert series, The Ten Pound Fiddle began. Bob Blackman hosted a folk radio show and also worked at the store. And as the folk scare dwindled, the music in and around Elderly Instruments continued to grow. They began creating printed mail order catalogs and eventually had catalogs for each category of what they sold—instruments, records, strings, cases and other accessories. Sharon originally designed the catalogs and for a while, local artist Kate Darnell took over the job, adding wonderful artwork and drawings.
By the early 1980’s, Stan and Sharon purchased a large building in what is now known as “Old Town” in Lansing. The showroom grew, inventory grew, there were lesson rooms and teachers and mail order sales were robust. Then, seeing the need, they started Sidestreet Distributing, which was a vibrant music distribution company. Sidestreet serviced a large number of stores in the Mid-West, bridging a gap in distribution for many small labels and artists.
When you walked into Elderly Instruments, you were treated to an overwhelming inventory of instruments, gear, magazines, LP’s, cassettes, CDs, and more. Fiddles, banjos, mandolins, octave mandolins, guitars, microphones, pickups, picks, capos, straps and so much more. Add to that a trusted repair shop. For those of us who managed to make a trek to the store in person, it was the most fun candy store you could walk into, and still is. Jam sessions break out randomly. Most employees have been excellent musicians. Past employees included touring artists such as Joel Mabus, Gerald Ross, Marcy Marxer and Sally Rogers. Many a band has formed from the convergence of Elderly employees.
When Marcy Marxer hired into Elderly, she said Stan told her his goal was to make working at Elderly a full career with health insurance and a retirement plan. He made good on that. Several other women worked there and soon Karrie Potter, Melanie Kennicott, Sue Fahey and Marcy formed the Bosom Buddies Stringband. They wrangled their touring and store work getting to festivals such as Winnipeg, Toronto and San Diego.
Stan and Sharon parted ways with Stan continuing at the store and when he married Sandy Dykins, she left her government job and became part of the Elderly family. Thirty two years ago they adopted Lillian. Stan openly says they knew nothing about being parents, but one thing is clear—Lillian Werbin received the daily unconditional love of two amazing people. The couple was clear that Lillian should choose her own path and there was no mandatory “store time” for her other than some hanging out while mom or dad finished work. After college, Lillian asked to work at the store. She was assigned to the warehouse to see how it would go. She hung in there. She learned to play the instruments and she acquired a love of the old music, along with her love of contemporary music her friends all loved. A college degree in Public Relations followed.
No one assumed Lillian would settle in Lansing, but she surprised both Stan and Sandy when she bought a home there. Lillian worked nearly every job at the store, getting to know the nitty gritty of floor sales, mail order, warehouse, vendors, luthiers and customer service. She did everything but instrument repair. Sandy retired from her store responsibilities and Lillian realized her parents had created something amazing. She began helping Stan with the music camps he co-organized; Midwest Banjo Camp and Midwest Ukulele and Harmonica Camp. She attended trade conferences such as the Folk Alliance and International Bluegrass Music Association. And of course, she went to NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants).
Lillian and Stan became a team and a few years ago, she officially became the President of and Co-Owner of Elderly Instruments, but no worries, Stan hasn’t retired. Lillian is steady as a rock, an amazing listener and a true people person. She and Stan meet daily, and his input carries plenty of weight. But he’s delighted to see Lillian take this leadership role. Part of that leadership role includes her volunteer work in the music community. When Lillian serves on a Board it is not in name only. She takes her community work seriously, both on a local level and national level. A leader and champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Lillian is active in working towards safe spaces and inclusion for all who want to be part of the music community. That includes serving on the boards of Bluegrass Pride (Board Chair), The IBMA Foundation, Old Town Commercial Association as well as working as a Committee member of the Arnold Shultz Fund and Co-Director of the Banjo Gathering. No wonder Lillian won the IBMA Momentum Award for Industry Involvement in 2022.
Lillian was at the helm of getting Elderly and all its people through the pandemic lockdown. She made sure everyone got paid and kept their benefits, which led to financial challenges for the store she was willing to take. People come first. That explains the loyalty from so many employees. A few have recently retired after 40 years at the store. There are nineteen people who have worked there for at least 20 years. It’s more than a store or a job. It’s a family and a community, which is exactly what music is when it has meaning.
Speaking of community, Lillian threw a heck of a 50th Anniversary party for Elderly. She managed to close a couple of streets near the store, run two stages of live music and essentially put on a festival in Old Town that celebrated 50 incredible years of work, tenacity and love of music. Stan said he didn’t realize how robust Lillian’s plans for the event were until he arrived. And of course, it celebrated his stewardship and legacy, which continues.
On my recent visit to the store, about my 20th, I did my usual…take a deep breath with a big smile while trying to decide what to explore first. The banjo room is full of US made new banjos, some great used gems and lovely gourd banjos. But then I have to try the ukuleles. Wait, rooms of guitars are calling me. For about ten years running, Elderly was the largest seller of CF Martin Guitars in the world. Today, you’ll find Martins, Collings, Guild, Santa Cruz, Taylor, Breedlove and more. And walls of electric guitars. An amp room. Plenty of pedals. But, the biggest treat was a trip to “the vault.”
The vault instruments are online, but not in a showroom. You can ask to see them and play them. They are one of a kind gems, priced accordingly, from days gone by and at times from contemporary luthiers. I played two awesome Jason Romero banjos. I played an original Kyle Creed banjo in beautiful shape. There was a gold-plated Gibson tenor for around $25K. At the moment, the priciest gem in the vault is a 1963 Gibson Explorer electric guitar for $198,000. Yes, I checked the number of zeros. Right next to it is a 1924 Gibson F-5 Lloyd Loar Mandolin for a mere $120,000.
I left after a full day at the store, including a lovely two hour interview and visit with Stan and Lillian. They listen to each other. When he forgets a detail, she fills it in. When she doesn’t know a detail, he chimes in. She’s both honored and delighted to carry on the tradition and to create new paths for the future. Kudos to Elderly Instruments for 50 years and going strong.
