Al Gershen

Don Crowl · Post by **Don Crowl** » 5 Aug 2011 5:04 pm

Steeler Al Gershen died early this morning. Several years ago Al posted several entries on the Forum. I don't know how to connect with Basil Henriques. Basil bought a Fender PS 210 from Al & would probably like to know of Al. Al was a VERY SPECIAL friend who was suffering the past two years with increasing health issues.

John Bresler R.I.P. · Post by **John Bresler R.I.P.** » 6 Aug 2011 5:45 am

So sorry to hear of Al's passing. He was a friend of Red Rhodes and had Red's Fender 1000 with the padded knee levers which were added by Red.

Al was a good steel guitar player and very nice person to be around.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 6 Aug 2011 8:04 am

I'm so sorry to hear this. Al was one of the earliest members of the forum. As a ham radio enthusiast, he took to this medium like a duck to water. I never heard him play but he obviously knew his stuff.

My condolences to his family.

Don Crowl · Post by **Don Crowl** » 6 Aug 2011 10:03 am

Al continued to play that Fender 1000 locally until a couple of years ago when health issues started slowing him. I didn't know until an accidental discovery that he posted some early stuff on the Forum about me in regard to my MSA U12 with a wrist level. Al was a very kind thoughtful person. I recall him telling me that when he was quite young he entered a contest that was judged by Noel Boggs & was awarded first place.

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 7 Aug 2011 2:03 am

So sad, my condolences to family and friends. His memory will live on through the Fender PS-210 that I have.

Alav Hashalom
עליו השלום
זיכרונו לברכה

בזיל הנריק
דָּן

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 7 Aug 2011 7:05 am

So sorry to hear this, Al use to come up to Portland to our steel jams but have not seen him in several years. Our prayers go out to all.

Larry Behm

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 14 Aug 2011 7:48 am

I'm sorry to hear this and my condolences go out to Al's family.

A little story of how I knew Al (I never actually met him in person).......a few weeks after Al bought his PS 210 (which was a work project as the guitar was misrepresented) off ebay, I had the winning bid on another PS 210 that was in great condition.......Al contacted me and told me of his plight......he asked that when I received my guitar, if I would take photos and measurements of its parts and send them to him.......after having a long conversation with Al on the phone (this was right after my winning bid and the guitar had not yet shipped) I decided to have the seller ship the PS 210 directly to Al so that he could he could see the parts for himself and take the proper measurements.

Al took photos of the UPS man delivering the guitar to his home, unpacking the guitar, setting it up, playing it, and also sent me photos of every single part, every conceivable angle, and when he was finished with what he had to do,.....more photos of him disassembling it, packing it up, and sending it off to me.

I received my PS 210 (which I have to this day) in perfect condition from Al.......He was an honorable man and a gentleman. I was glad to be able to help him out and he was very appreciative.

May Al rest in peace.........

Don Crowl · Post by **Don Crowl** » 14 Aug 2011 8:20 pm

Thnx for sharing your experience, Howard. That was really special of you to have done that for Al. After seeing the presentations Basil did on the PS210 I saw the huge challenge that would have been ahead for Al. I'm glad Basil got it as I really feel confident that is about the best person it could have gone to.

Doug Jones · Post by **Doug Jones** » 7 Sep 2011 12:40 pm

I have great memories of Al. He was a southern Oregon mainstay for years helping other steelers. My condolences to his family and friends.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 8 Sep 2011 7:01 am

That's a shame. RIP Al.

bruce fischer · Post by **bruce fischer** » 8 Sep 2011 12:50 pm

our condolences to the family. RIP my friend. bruce & lynn

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 8 Sep 2011 2:48 pm

I remember Al. He was always so nice.
RIP

Steven Finley · Post by **Steven Finley** » 8 Sep 2011 8:48 pm

I met al in Oregon when I lived there in 2005,
Al told me about the forum,Al would come over to my
house from time to time and play my mullen, howeveral prefered his Fender 1000,Al was a good
friend and gentleman,rest in peace my friend you
will be missed by us all.

Paul Redmond · Post by **Paul Redmond** » 19 Sep 2011 10:51 pm

This comes as a shock!!! Over a decade ago, Al contacted me by phone when I was still living in NC. He had bought the PS-210 that Basil now owns and wanting the actual, accurate KL dimensions so that he could have some made for his guitar. I own serial number 11 PS-210 and was glad to measure up the KL's and send him a drawing. We had a long "bench-racing" session about the PS-210 guitars that day on the phone as I recall, and I really enjoyed our conversation. He was quite a conversationalist and definitely a "people person" for sure.
This is definitely sad news.
PRR