Southwest Virginian’s guitar unites pickers across continents, cultures

A vintage Martin guitar has forged a lasting friendship that reaches across more than 6,000 miles.
Eight years ago, Castlewood, Va., native Wayne Dingus decided to sell his guitar on eBay. His highest bidder was Atsushi Kaneko, a bluegrass musician from Kyoto, Japan. Little did Dingus know where this seemingly routine sale would lead.
The sale was unusual from the beginning. The guitar is a 1941 D-28 Herringbone Martin made of Brazilian rosewood, which is an endangered species and no longer used for guitars. So, for Dingus to ship the rare item overseas, he first had to obtain certification from the Martin Co., documenting when the guitar was made. Then, Dingus had to obtain import and export permits, entitling him to ship the guitar to Japan and allowing Kaneko to receive it. The whole process spanned two months: The sale was made in July 2001, but the guitar wasn’t shipped until September.
Perhaps the lengthy transaction helped to cement the bond between seller and buyer. After the sale was complete, Dingus and Kaneko stayed in touch through e-mail.
“Our families got to be good friends,” Dingus said. “We got to watch his daughter, who is now 8, grow up. We exchange gifts at Christmas.”
The Kanekos wanted some items from Virginia, so Dingus and his wife, Sherry, sent them plenty of Virginia Tech shirts and caps, among other items. In return, the Kanekos sent the Dinguses gifts from Japan, including a Japanese fan that now decorates an end table in the Dingus living room.
This year, the Kanekos decided to visit America, with of course a trip to Castlewood.
“I felt like I knew them already, but I never did think in my lifetime that I’d get to meet them,” Dingus said.
The visit was in August, when Kaneko, his wife, Aki, and daughter, Yuumi, arrived at Tri-Cities Airport, where the Dinguses picked them up. As part of the visit, the Kanekos hoped to get to see the home of Ralph Stanley, one of their favorite bluegrass musicians.
Little did they know what Dingus had in store for them.
Prior to the Kanekos’ arrival, Dingus made arrangements through a friend for the family to actually meet with the bluegrass legend, which was the highlight of their visit. Kaneko even got autographs from Stanley; and the American bluegrass musician signed his Japanese fan’s banjo.
The Dinguses hosted their overseas friends in their home for the four-day duration of their Virginia visit. The Kanekos enjoyed Southern home cooking, including biscuits and gravy, and chili, and Aki Kaneko prepared a traditional Japanese dish, though Dingus admits he could not manage to use chopsticks. Dingus also invited several fellow musicians over for a cookout and a good old-fashioned pickin’ party. 
“They are both talented musicians,” Dingus said of Kaneko and his wife. Kaneko plays banjo, guitar and mandolin, and Aki plays guitar and sings. Aki even sang several traditional bluegrass songs in Japanese.
“That was really great to hear ... a song that we’d heard all of our lives in English, and then she does the same thing in Japanese,” Dingus said. “We just had a great time. It was a dream come true for me to get to meet them.
“It’s special that just selling an old guitar like that, the friendship we made, we just feel like they are part of the family, even though we just met them,” Dingus said.
Dingus has been a “back porch picker” for more than 30 years, playing guitar, mandolin and banjo. He now shares his knowledge by offering lessons to a handful of young people in the area, lessons for which he refuses payment.
“Wayne has never charged for a lesson,” his wife, Sherry, said. “All he ever asks is that they want to do it.”
One of Dingus’ guitar students, Andrew Jessee, 11, has been learning with Dingus for three years. Jessee’s family has their own gospel singing group in Lebanon, Va., and he is now able to contribute by playing guitar on some of the family’s songs.
“We are so thankful for Wayne,” Jessee’s mother, Lisa, said. “He was the guitar teacher we found by chance, and he has been the best.”
But Dingus’ family values extend beyond his music. The Dinguses never had children of their own, but they helped raise a foster daughter, Jessica Patrick, from age 3. Though they never formally adopted her, they consider Patrick to be their own daughter. She stayed with them extensively through her childhood, and has even traveled on family vacations with them. Now that she is grown, the Dinguses still play an active role in her life and that of her two sons, Cody and Ethan. The Dinguses consider the boys their grandchildren. Cody, 5, is even learning to play mandolin with Dingus.
When he is not playing or teaching, Dingus enjoys participating in car shows. He and wife, Sherry, are both members of the Tri-Cities Corvette Club.
Dingus retired from his 30-year career with the Clinchfield Coal Co. in 1996, following a stroke. Though his health might limit his physical activity, it certainly hasn’t mitigated his generous heart and his love of helping others. He notes that one of the reasons he is proud to be a member of the Corvette Club is that the club donates money to children every year.
“I’ve got a soft spot in me for kids and old folks,” Dingus admits. “It’s always a blessing to be able to help a child.”
Clearly, his soft spot has endeared him to people not only locally, but internationally. The Kanekos’ daughter, Yummi, even told her friends in Japan that she was coming to America to visit her grandparents.
To the children in his life, Dingus is more than a teacher, he is family. 
“We’re just so blessed to have found Wayne,” Lisa Jessee said. “He is so selfless and he is just a wonderful role model for any young child.”

Folks You Should Know is a regular Bristol Herald Courier feature focusing on the people who create the fabric of our community. If you would like to suggest someone for a Folks You Should know, contact Assistant City Editor Christine Uthoff at or (276) 645-2546.