American Glory Guitar

On one of our many trips to and from southern Utah I noticed a sign along I-15 advertising custom guitars and basses. Eventually I did a search on google for custom guitars in Utah. After some searching I found Treker guitars. Treker is owned by the Bunker father and son combination. The senior Dave Bunker resides in Washington state and the younger lives just north of Mona.

Their player lists contains guitarists from BTO; the Osmonds; Heart, Earth, Wind and Fire; Alabama; Fire Fall; Chris Ledoux; Eric Clapton; the Allman Brothers; Red Hot Chili Peppers; the Spin Doctors; Poco and the Eagles; and the US Navy Band.

Next I checked out their instrument catalog. There I found my holy grail of guitars, the American Glory 20. I had wanted a flag guitar for several years for our summer gigs. I had even debated building an American Flag guitar myself but wasn’t sure that I could do it justice.

I considered purchasing a Buck Owens Fender Telecaster. Most of you won’t know who Buck Owens was but he was one of the first modern country artists. I remember watching him on television when he traded his trade mark butch hair cut in for longer hair. He was also the star of Hee Haw which ran from 1969 through 1986. However, I already own three Telecasters and wanted something more musically versatile.

After finding the Treker website I pulled the trigger and ordered a custom American Glory last spring hoping to have the guitar by the end of July for our summer gigs. He didn’t get it completed for last summer but I still hope to use it next summer.

I had suspected that Dave Bunker belonged to the Apostolic United Brethern group located at Rocky Ridge. Rocky Ridge is north of Mona on the west side of the highway. They run a cabinet manufacturing business making some of the nicest cabinets in Utah. The AUB has between 6,000 and 9,000 members located primarily in Utah and Mexico. They have an endowment house south of Bluffdale which you can see off of the freeway at the point of the Mountain.

The AUB's members tend to integrate with their surrounding communities, much more so than some other Mormon fundamentalists. This can largely be attributed to the AUB's former prophet, Owen A. Allred, and his desire to be up front with local law enforcement and the news media, especially when it came to ending rumors of underage, arranged marriages that many other fundamentalist Mormon groups were known for. Allred believed that transparency was key in helping the community see that the AUB and its members were not a threat.

We found the community to be very friendly and open. We waited for Dave at his home where his wife Marilynn was getting their son ready for a scout camping trip. I suspect that there was more than one wife in the household but didn't see any other adults. I was impressed with the pictures of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Christ which adorned their home.

Dave arrived took us to his shop for a short tour. It had to be short because the dust in the air irritated my lungs and caused a coughing fit. I have been fortunate to have toured the Martin, Fender, and Louviere guitar factories and Kamaka Ukulele factory this September in Hawaii. Most manufacturers use computer controlled routers and advanced spraying booths to keep quality up and costs down. Dave has access to the same advanced equipment through his association with the cabinet business.

After leaving Mona we stopped briefly at the Red Barn in Santaquin. From there we got back on the highway to return to Highland. As we were entering the highway Dave and a couple of other fathers loaded down in their mini Vans and Suburbans with scouts passed us heading out for a weekend camping trip. Thanks Dave and good luck on the camping trip.