Komona Wauna Leiya Ukuleles

Lame Horse Instruments is proud to introduce Komona Wauna Leiya Ukuleles - The Original Cowboy Uke

Below is the story of the original Komona Wauna Leiya ukulele. The story came from a person who shall be known only as Joe. Joe is a notorious teller of tall tales. I do not believe a word of the story. I would encourage any reader of the story to consider it a total fabrication. That said, here is the story as told to me - The Legend of Bever Castor and Dusty Johnson.

The instrument turned up in recent years in Fort Worth Texas, but is rumored to have originated on the Big Island of Hawaii back in the 1920's. The new Komona Wauna Leiya ukuleles are very high quality reproductions of this original infamous ukulele. The new ukes are made using only the highest quality koa, cedar, rosewood, and mahogany. They play wonderfully, and sound even better.

In November of 2005 Joe received a visit from a long time acquaintance, Goodman Brown. Goodman's grandmother, Bever (pronounced be-vear, rhymes with year) Castor had recently passed away at the age of 93. She outlived all of her relatives with the exception of Goodman. Goodman was an only child. His mother, Bevers daughter, died at a very young age of ovarian cancer. It fell to Goodman to clean out his Grandmothers large house in south Forth Worth, just off Magnolia Avenue. It had once been a very fine place indeed, but the house had fallen into disrepair. The neighborhood for many years had been on a slippery downhill slope. At the time of Granny Castors death, the upstairs had been unused, except as storage, since the great depression.

In an upstairs closet, Goodman came upon an old steamer trunk. Inside the trunk he found a diary from his grandmothers younger days, and a weathered leather kit bag. The bag contained a sweated down silver belly cowboy hat, a well worn pair of Leddy Brothers stovepipe boots, and a ukulele, the back of which contained a painting of a scantily clad cowgirl. Goodman spent some time pouring over the diary. He was shocked by what he read.

Granny Castors house had been a brothel from the time Granny immigrated from France in the 1920's until the depression year of 1933. Granny had owned and run the place. It seems she had some professional experience in France before coming to America. The brothel closed down in 1933 when a cowboy named Dusty Johnson turned up dead in an upstairs room. The police found him dead as a hammer wearing only his hat, stovepipe boots, and a smile. He was clutching his ukulele. While Granny had a very good working relationship with the Fort Worth police, after all the publicity associated with Dustys' death, they could no longer overlook Grannys business. She was forced to close. Dusty's death was ruled to be of natural causes. No criminal charges were ever brought against Bever Castor.

Granny retired from her business with a nice nest egg, in addition to Dusty's belongings, hat, boots, and ukulele. The diary related that Dusty had cowboyed during the 1920's on the Big Island of Hawaii for the Parker Ranch. That is probably where he acquired the uke. The diary also related stories of Dusty singing cowboy songs and playing the ukulele in successful attempts to acquire free services at Bever Castors house in Fort Worth. There are few things in this world more cowboy than the Parker Ranch and Fort Worth, Texas. Thus, Dusty’s ukulele has been dubbed, the Original Cowboy Ukulele.

Joe claims that Goodman Brown gave the uke to him because, while he did not want it around to remind him of Grannys past, he could not bear to destroy it. The label says it was made by the Komona Wauna Leiya company of Kona, Hawaii. Bevers diary also related that she felt Dusty was more attracted to the cowgirl pinup on the back of the uke, than he was to its sound. However, it sounds sweet to us, and the new Komona Wauna Leiya ukuleles sound even better.