Encounter: Warren Hellman

Until his untimely death a few years ago from leukemia, Warren was a wise, generous, and wealthy person. Without his financial support, we would not have Freight and Salvage as prime local venues. He was an enthusiastic, but (as he admitted) very talented banjo player. He formed a group he called The Wronglers. He was the major supporter of my talented step-daughter Laurie Lewis. One day, she introduced him to me at the "Freight". Warren was the initiator of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. One day Barbara and I were walking around the perimeter of one of the meadows in Golden Gate Park used for "Hardly Strictly...", to my surprise, we came across Warren and a friend walking in the opposite direction. I blurted out "Oh, Warren: I didn't expect to see you here". He promptly replied "I don't know why not: It is my party". Of course what I meant was that meeting him there was a surprise, but I've always thought of his response as the "perfect squelch".