(posted this on the banjohangout thread as well)

I have a really amazing reel-to-reel tape my father Howie Mitchell recorded at Frank, Sr.'s place around 1962 or 1963.

It features Frank and several guests (Golden Ring members: Howie, Ed Trickett, not sure who else). It's a fake radio show called "Station WOP" where Frank jokes around about groundhogs and opening a groundhog steak house, and talking about "corrections" to the liner notes for the Folk Legacy record and such in between singing various songs, and some nice tunes by the guests.

Its about 45 minutes long. I recently had it digitized but will be sending it off to have remastered and likely donated to the Folklife Center or other appropriate archive at some point. He sent his copy of it to Caroline Paton not too long ago but she says she misplaced it, mine is the copy he made for the Dildines.

I also have a number of letters he wrote my father, his sense of humor was very sharp and witty.. I should scan them in sometime to share.. My dad really respected him a lot and still likes to cut up and rearrange advertisements to say something ridiculous, something he says he learned from Frank.

Speaking of Earl Scruggs.. I have a 45 of the Earl Scruggs method that Frank sent my dad with something written on it about learning from it :)

Now that I wrote about it I guess I'll get motivated to scan and post some of it. Not sure the best thing to do with the tape though since I don't have any rights to have it published.

-David