“Fourth grader Valerie Romero is just like most nine-year-old girls in the area. She goes to St. Johns Middle School, plays with her friends, paints her nails, and she plays violin in music class. But, until recently, no one knew just how good of a violin player she really is. That was because Valerie was born a little differently and did not have the availability of both of her hands, which is necessary to play the instrument. But that all changed this month, thanks to local resident Nate Kellogg.”

“Kellogg’s children — Carter, Emily and Clara — came home from school one afternoon and told him about a special little girl with one arm who needed help holding her violin and bow at the same time. During class, she could only practice the fingering of the notes, but could not play along like everyone else could due to this limitation. Kellogg, an apprentice mechanic at the Tucson Electric Power plant, knew he had to find a way to help Valerie.”

“Kellogg began to look at his various tools at work and asked his coworkers for help on the project.”

“‘I got to talking to the guys at work, and there is an instrument holder that would work perfect. It was already made and something you could buy online,’ Kellogg said. The device was adjustable, requiring only the turn of some knobs and it would hold a violin bow tightly.”

Read more at White Mountain Independent.