Kalamazoo Gals - A Story of Extraordinary Women & Gibson's "Banner" Guitars of WWII

John Thomas, law professor, writer and Gibson aficionado's book Kalamazoo Gals, tells the lost (or hidden) history of Gibson's guitar manufacturing during WWII.Through a complex combination of factors this story was lost, forgotten and disavowed. Gibson was pathetically incompetent at coherent record keeping of their guitar production. They were supporting the war effort with their manufacturing capabilities, so may have tried hiding that they were still producing guitars. They seemed ashamed of the fact that these "secret" guitars were made almost entirely by "unskilled" women (or afraid of the market response to that revelation).That shame or fear was unfounded as these guitars, with their unique "banner" logo are considered some of the best acoustic guitars in Gibson's history. That mysterious fact makes this story even more compelling.John Thomas's book undertakes a daunting modern-day socio-archeological "dig" to find this story behind these guitars. It took years to compile and expanded into more than just a story about guitars. Along the way, it tells the story of the "gals" who made these guitars, what put them in the workplace, how they made such good guitars without training or formal "skill". It tells the story about those people.It also paints a picture of our war-time country and small town America.John presents this story as a combination narrative "documentary" and dramatic historical non-fiction. He also sprinkles in a perfect dose of imagined 1940's dialogue and interactions.His writing style is immediately engaging, full of light-hearted sarcasm and heartfelt admiration for the subject. I particularly loved the proposed story of how the conversation went around Gibson's incoherent numbering system.I had expected to read this book casually and light-heartedly, but I couldn't put it down. Last night, I sat at the local fireworks celebration, waiting for dark with kids were playing all around - footballs and Frisbees flying. We were listening to our philharmonic belt out classic American tunes at their outdoor Independence Day concert and I sat in my lawn chair reading Kalamazoo Gals. Nothing could be more American than that.If you are a Gibson guitar fan, or appreciate guitars. If you ever just held an acoustic guitar, heard of The great Depression, ever saw a WWII-era factory smokestack or had a grandmother you should read this book.

Nostalgia is not what it used to be. 😄. Don’t despair. Books of this sort capture a bygone era and all that entails. Carefully researched and richly detailed, the author has created a heart-warming history that entertains and informs. Guitar lovers in particular will enjoy meeting the women who kept Gibson guitars alive and well, producing instruments known as Banner guitars during WW II. Readers will want to find and play one - possibly buy one.

Extremely interesting book. Turns out those "pre-war" banjos and wartime guitars that are so prized were pretty much made by women. During WWII, the work force at Gibson in Kalamazoo, MI became almost entirely female -- the author works with what information there is (turns out Gibson kept very poor records for that period -- almost as if they didn't want the women to get any credit!) to make his case for that conclusion. Makes terrific sense to me, and there's no evidence at all that I can find to contradict it. One note: I am drawing the conclusion about banjos myself --it makes sense to me, and my own interest is in banjos rather than guitars. Mr. Thomas addresses only the famous "banner Gibson" guitars -- those were truly made *during* the war. "Pre-war" banjos generally were made from 38-39 through about '48 -- I've no idea why they are all called "pre-war".One of the things that struck me the most was that the author convinced folks at MI State University to run some tests on the instruments that he could find -- he wanted to find out if there was any basis in reality for a musician's perception that these instruments **really** are different than the instruments made just before and immediately after the war. And, lo and behold, it turns out there is! Frets filed a micro-meter finer, something just a bit thinner, more finely done. Since these instruments were tested by those that were verifiably made by an all-male crew, I found this quite interesting.A good deal of the book is given over to interviews of those women Mr. Thomas could still find to talk with. This makes the women, and what they contributed to the music industry, really come alive. I'm really glad he helped preserve this part of our history, as without a book like this, it would be lost (note above that the Gibson company itself kept very poor records).Before purchasing this book, I read some of the other reviews -- there are some who are critical that Mr. Thomas didn't find more women to interview -- I am not sure how that is his fault though! 50 years after the war, there were only so many left, and only so many who could be located! So he did what he could. There are also some who criticize him for thinking that the Banner Gibsons are/were such a prized instrument -- well that's not something he invented either. Certainly in the banjo world, a banjo made in that era is worth a lot of money -- and I've heard from guitarists that indeed these wartime instruments are quite special. When one of these guitars or banjos can sell for something in the 100's of thousands -- well Mr. Thomas isn't fantasizing.Personally, I would recommend this book. It's an important piece of our history, and the women should be given credit.

I love Gibson guitars. I have never owned an original Banner guitar but I have enjoyed some newer ones, so-called "reissues". This book sets all the history of the old ones right onto new pages for us all to learn. This is fascinating info about wonderful guitars.Enjoy.

John Thomas has written a fascinating book on two levels. First, this is a story of the lives of people living through the Great Depression in a medium-size town in Michigan. Second, it is the story of how an iconic American builder of musical instruments used a nearly-all female workforce to produce guitars during WWII, while denying that they were making guitars at all.This book is an important piece of American history and also required reading for those who love Gibson guitars. Highly recommended!

This was very important read for me as I am from Kalamazoo, Mi. So, I grew up knowing about the Gibson Company. I had an uncle who was a prominent salesman for the company and who is mentioned in the book. I would recommend the book to anyone who loves history and making of the famous Gibson Guitars. It was especially important to see the role of women during the war years and how, with their skill, they kept the company going. It is a shame it has taken so very long to give them the recognition they deserved.

Knowledgable but also with the ability to bring out the personal stories and feelings of these forgotten girls. The must enjoyable book I had the pleasure of reading in 2019

fascinating insight into Gibson tried to hide the fact that female workers made Gibson guitarsduring world war2, did their best to eradicate it from guitar making history,the question is why.?

Great read for those into musical history.

I'm a sucker for history of 20th century guitars so this had to become a part of my library. It is factual and well written.

An interesting story about guitars and social history.