Remembering Alton “Bear” Acker

In 1990, I received a phone call from someone I didn’t know–Alton “Bear” Acker. I was living in Putnam Valley, NY, commuting to New York City five days a week, and had barely picked up an instrument in over ten years. My wife and I were raising three daughters, and with a full-time job in Manhattan, playing music was no longer a practical priority.

Bear explained that he had a bluegrass band based in Amherst, Massachusetts, and needed a banjo player a few times a month. His mandolin player lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and we could rehearse there. I looked at my wife, who rolled her eyes and then said, “Okay.” Thus began an association and friendship that changed my life.

I had been a member of the Arm Bros, a popular bluegrass/country group based in Poughkeepsie, from 1971 until 1974. From then until 1979, I played in several other Hudson Valley bluegrass bands, notably Wheelhoss and Wildcat Creek. When I think back on those first rehearsals with Bear’s band, Billings Gap, at Eddie Goldbetter’s home in Bridgeport, I remember how insecure I felt—my playing was incredibly rusty, and I had no idea if I would fit in with this established group. As it turned out, it was an easy fit. Bob Dick played a wonderful bass fiddle, and he and Eddie complemented Bear with great vocal harmonies.

This configuration stayed together until around 1993 or 1994. Bob Dick left to join Front Range out in Colorado, and Eddie eventually moved to Winchester, Virginia. I can confidently say that if it hadn’t been for Bear, I might not be playing music today.

Before Bob left the band, we decided to make a recording together. We recorded at two locations, and the final product was released as a cassette tape. Eventually, Bear agreed to let Fred Robbins host the music on his “Frobbi” website. Bear and I kept in touch over the years through email. He discontinued the Gap but continued to play music with other groups for several years.

In 2017, Faith and I sold our home of 39 years in Putnam Valley and moved to Massachusetts to be near two of our daughters, who had settled in Amherst and Northampton. We built a home in an over-55 community—ironically, right across the street from one of the venues where Billings Gap had played back in the ’90s.

By then, Bear had mostly stopped performing and spent his time building guitars and serving as editor of Guitar Maker magazine. When I started attending Lillian Fraker’s bluegrass jam on Wednesday nights in Hancock, MA, I asked Bear to come along. He agreed, and for the next seven-plus years, he would drive to my house, park his truck, and I’d drive us over the mountains.

Lillian had occasionally filled in with the Gap on bass, so she knew many of Bear’s songs. Playing with Bear again felt like stepping into a time portal. I knew the tempos of his tunes and where to place the fills between his phrasing. It was magical time travel for both of us—and, in a way, it felt like I was repaying a debt, helping to keep alive the flame of music in him.

Of special relevance to the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association, Bear grew up in Billings, near the intersection of Routes 55 and 82, east of Poughkeepsie. There used to be a train station and a milk depot there, where local dairy farmers brought their milk to market. Bear’s grandfather worked at that depot.

On October 16th, Alton “Bear” Acker took his last breath. At the end of August, he had fallen in his shop while spraying finish on guitars he was building. He survived several surgeries, but in the end, it proved too much.

Bear had many other accomplishments, some of which can be found in the link above. I miss him and will always treasure his friendship.

— Jerry Oland