Mary Lou Hoogenboom

Mary Lou Hoogenboom was a factory worker for the Gibson Guitar Company when it was located in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  She was hired in 1951 and began working in the sanding department, but found that she worked in every department before she retired in 1985.  Her retirement occurred the same year the company left Kalamazoo for Nashville, Tennessee.  At the time she was one of only five employees that closed the famous factory down before it was reopened by several other past employees as Heritage Guitars.