While Clay Wuensche repaired band instruments, Patrick, then 6 months old, played with irreparable ones underneath the table. “When he got old enough to be useful to me I started paying him a quarter to vacuum cases,” Clay says. “He slowly just grew into it.” Eventually, Patrick took over what’s called the flush work, which means to thoroughly clean the brass instruments.
When Patrick graduated from high school, Clay encouraged him to move on beyond the shop. “He said, ‘Go find your own way, and if your path leads you back here, I’ll fully train you,” Patrick remembers. After going off on his own and exploring different careers, Patrick did find his way back. Now, at age 26, Patrick climbs the narrow stairs in the back of the String and Horn Shop to join his dad, working together as partners in their sun-lit space.
The transition from father and son to coworkers was not easy. Patrick was used to having his own space, and Clay had grown accustomed to having the repair shop to himself. “We knew we knew we would fight from the moment we started,” Patrick says. It took time to find a balance between their work relationship and that of father and son. “When we walk out the door, this place stays behind,” Patrick says. “Every day ends the same way no matter what kind of mood we're in,” Clay continues. “We give each other a hug and say ‘I'll see you in the morning. I love you.’”
Band instrument repair is a profession that requires time to learn and perfect. “It takes years to get the basics down, and then it takes years beyond that to master it. You have to invest a good 10 years in this before you're really making a respectable living,” says Clay, who originally thought he was going to be a band director but realized just before high school graduation that he liked repairing instruments more than playing them. “I've had students look at me and say things like, ‘I can be a doctor in that kind of time,’ and the rational response is, ‘Then you should probably be a doctor.’”
Like a physician, the Wuenches have to diagnose the instrument’s problem before they can repair it. When a key isn’t working, it’s a symptom, not a cause, Clay says. “The problem may be common, but the fix is almost always unique to the instrument,” he says. “Every instrument is different,” he continues. “So it's a process. You start at the top, you work your way down, you fix everything down to that point.” He considers himself a craftsman, not just a repairman, with a background in mechanical work. “We’re literally addressing acoustical physics here,” Clay says.
Repairing band instruments isn’t the only thing the two men have in common. “We’re trekkies!” Clay exclaims, referring to their shared passion for the science-fiction cult media franchise Star Trek. They’re also big fans of the British sci-fi television series, Dr. Who. “Yeah, we’re nerds!” Patrick says, and Clay nods his head. On that point, they both agree.
“My dad is my hero. He's always been my hero,” Patrick says. “I love spending every day getting to work with him.”
