Comments

A personal note from Ward Stroud...

Following are a few comments from folks who have blessed me by supporting my
little company. They, and people like them really are "why" i do
what i do... In my prayers each day i thank the Creator for the work i
am "honored" to do and for the beauty, and healing the flutes bring to us all...
Ward Jene Stroud

Comments from our customers...

Dear Ward,
To try to put into words the happiness that your beautiful flute brought to me on
Christmas day would be futile. I am overwhelmed with the
workmanship, and thoughtfulness that went into what is now part
of my life and sprit. I am practicing everyday, watching your video tape, and
enjoying myself so much. It will be truly cherished and enjoyed for years to come.
Can I ask you to please thank your grandmother for the case
she made? It is so pretty, and will be used with care.
I want you to know that I listen to your tapes quite often, with the sage burning, my soul is nourished.

We hope the New Year and it's beginnings will give you peace, happiness, and health.

Best Regards,
Teri G

Hi Ward.

UPS delivered it this evening. It's stunning. She was in the next room when I opened the package, and she heard me
gasp as I looked at the bag! By then she was in the kitchen and I couldn't stand it. It's hers, and so she should be the
one to remove it from the bag...

She carefully pulled this masterpiece out of it's beautiful case, took the certificate and fingering chart off, laid out the
chart...put the instrument to her lips and played the most beautiful, haunting tune I've ever heard her play. And she
started crying...and smiling...and playing...and crying.

This is a beautiful thing you have made. It has it's own spirit. She is one with it.

Thank you so much for going out of your way to get it to her in time. This will be a Christmas she'll never forget.

Lyell C-

Dear Ward (If I may call you by your first name),

My Native American Indian Flute # 740 arrived today! I was so excited, as you could probably tell from my e-mail of yesterday inquiring about it. I
received everything in fine shape. Your Christmas CD, personally autographed, was a wonderful surprise. Thank you for the beautiful
Christmas gift! I am so grateful for your act of friendship and kindness. I am listening to it and enjoying it as I write this.

The flute is everything I imagined it to be - and more. I am not sorry I changed my mind and ordered the curly chocolate cedar instead of the curly maple.
It is every bit as beautiful a wood grain. In fact, since I am a lover of fine wood grains, it is as exciting and enjoyable to look at as the tone of the flute is to
hear.

Your craft has to be the finest available - I could not imagine anything finer. Every time I look at the wood grain, I "read" something different into it. One
can even imagine an ancient language etched there. One particularly interesting mark is a small oval mark, that is as red as a red maple leaf, on top of
the flute, just about an inch from the end of the mouthpiece. I assume that is really natural also? If so, what wonderful presents nature presents us with if
we are only aware and watching and listening. (A play on words there.)

The wood carving is beautiful - the bear looks so real, and his "fur" that you have carved in at the end of his neck is so realistic. The detail is delightful,
especially the feather carved in your signature. You told me the bear means honesty and something else. It bothers me that I can't remember what the
other thing was that it represents, because it was also a quality I attributed to myself.

The tone of the flute is also everything I hoped for, except that I don't do it justice yet - but I will, I hope. I still play my clarinet in a local band, so I had no
trouble holding the flute or covering the holes. I need to work on my breathing - and practice.

You did your best and got it to me very quickly, very well packed and in excellent shape. Something had torn into the box and made a
two-inch gap, but it was the end opposite from the flute and did no damage. Those things probably happen often in shipping and the only reason I
mention it here is for your information, not that you could have wrapped it any more securely than you did.

I don't know if you have time to read e-mails such as this, so I apologize for the length of it. I do feel that I'd like to write to you both again later, but I hope
not to be one to take up your time.

Thank you both again for one of the most valuable (not speaking in dollars) purchases I have ever made. Owning this flute and "meeting" you (in
spirit) brings back to me what the word "value" really means.

With love and best wishes for the holidays,
Ellie M-

Dear Mr. Stroud,

My husband and I purchased a beautiful flute from you yesterday at the
Siletz pow-wow. I want to thank you for creating such a work of art, which
already has added another dimension to life as I relearn my way in music. I
played the recorder as a small child and the C flute as a young adult but
it has been many years since I played a musical instrument or read sheet
music. Crossing paths with you was at just the right time as I had lately
been thinking about playing again. Meeting you helped me know that now was
the time.

Also, your CD "Rhythm Quest" is exquisite. I have listened to it many times
already. Do you offer sheet music for the songs on your CDs?

Thank you,

Mollie M-

Dear Ward: It was truly a pleasure to meet you at the
Harvest Festival in Pleasanton this past weekend. I absolutely am bonded to my new
flute. I knew, as soon as I saw it, it would come home with me. I played for two
hours last night, the very first day and went outside into the canyon this
afternoon and played for another hour. I can't begin to tell you the peace that it
gives me. I think I mentioned to you that I recently became aware of my birthmother's
identity. She being an Apache Indian Woman, I have chosen to devote the rest
of my life, honoring hers. When I was a small girl, I lived on a farm in
Nebraska. Our farm, was also the home of several Natives that my father had known for
many years. When the government chose to send these people away, to places
unfamiliar to them, my father gifted them, his lifelong friends, their land,
which he felt, they had gifted to him, by letting he and his family farm it. They
lived in their old traditional ways across the river and every night, I would hear
their music echoing, drowning out the sound of the coyotes that made me so fearful.
The flute and the drum have been my center sound for meditation ever since.
It was a woman, by the name of Winome, that was my friend as a child that
played it so beautifully in the night. She, was my birthmother. I found
this out, after her death, and just last year. I honor my flute and intend on sharing
her spirit, as well as mine with the wind. Thank you again for your beautiful
craft. I love it very much. Always know, it will be with me and used in every journey
I take.
Regards, Starr T-

Hello Ward

High-B just arrived. It is beyond words and all expectations.The depth
of sound and the wood, I never saw anything that could match it. The
Eagle is going out to mountains for some echo songs.

I want to thank you for making such a great flute.
I am awaiting the high mountain in cold weather when the wind and
my echo songs join in Spirit.

From Robert L.

A Special Flute
Ward,
Today I received my Eagle flute and all I can say is that it is absolutely breathtaking ! After holding this wonderful flute in my hands, I now fully understand the things you explained to me over the phone about the inheritant life of the instrument and the intuitive nature of playing. The flute felt alive in my hands and almost demanded that I play it. Within 10 minutes I was playing - it seems so easy and natural - it's as if the flute is teaching me how to play. My heart sends out a joyful song in four directions for this "chance" encounter. I feel now that I am better equipped to "Clear the Way" and walk the earth in a wonderful manner.I wish to sincerely thank you for the honour and the priveledge you have afforded me by allowing me to take guardianship of this wonderful musical tool. Perhaps I will have the pleasure of meeting you some day. Thank you once again. We are all related and nothing happens by chance. (Mitawasicun he omakiyake - my familiar voice tells me so). Sincerely, Ian D. (St. Paul - Minnesota)

To Ward Stroud:
It has been many years since I started testing every wind instrument I could get my hands on, looking for a sound I could never find until this year. It is strange that I would quest for so long for a sound I had heard only once, and yet, had I not - I would never have stumbled on my first Native American Flute, nestled in the back of a shelf in one of the local stores in Bloomington, IN.
When I found this instrument , I knew I had found the sound I had heard so many years ago. A week or so later, I bought my first flute, and in my quest to learn more about it - I found your Web-page.
Since that first time I stumbled in, I have used the stories and quotes to explain to others about the Native American flute. They stop as I play -sometimes to listen -sometimes to question. When the package slip arrived in my mailbox, my breath held in my lungs, and I told myself to not get too excited. This package may not be the one I had been guarding the mailbox for.
My eyes found the package and I lost my composure. As I undid the packing tape and burrowed through the peanuts - I could smell the wood. As I pulled the flute free from its packing container, my hands heated up and with that I knew there was something yet to be done. I ran up to my room and found the package of tobacco and ran back outside. Four piles -four directions, and I thanked the tree that made the flute and the person who had crafted it into the instrument I held.
When I sat down for the first time and let my fingers drift to cover the holes. The first notes echoed across the back of my dorm's courtyard... and as I played the sun peaked out from the clouds for me -just long enough for me to see it fill the courtyard and then disappear. When I held the flute in my hands, I felt something inside me tell me this was the right thing. I felt the time and care that went into the wood, and I was honored to be able to hold it in my hands and be able to play it. I feel as through I have found a part of myself, and I am forever grateful.
A-HO Mitakue Osyin (We are all related)
Leticia H.

Ward...
Thank you for being a part of a very fine day. You appear to me as well focused and of high intent and energy. Your spirit sings to me in a clear and meaningfull voice. Thank you. My visit with you has left me consciously open to my spirit self. Thank you. This is a very centered and peacefull feeling. Thank you. With your passing of my flute to me I begin a new and heightened awareness in the cultivation of my spiritual path. Thank you. This is a priceless gift. Already my flute has become my spirit voice. Through it I have been listening to that special place in my heart speak. I am in the moment of the flute. Thank you.

LOVE-TRUTH-PEACE-HAPPINESS

Bob (:

Hey Ward,
Got the flute right on my birthday. Perfect timing. I love the totem of the
whale fluke. Whales are special to me, but I must confess, all animals are,
too. I've been an animal lover since birth, or even before that.

The sound of this flute hits me on a very deep level. Pure magic and beauty.
I have been taking it on my walks in the hills and playing to nature. I feel
I can give something back to the natural world by doing this.
I must tell you, that playing the flute is a dream come true for me. You see,
all my life I wished I could sing. Though I can harmonize some of the time, I
can't really carry a note. When I picked up the flute, I knew I found my
voice. This voice was right from my heart and I've been able to express
myself in a very different and wonderful way. You've given me quite a gift.
The workmanship is also outstanding and the wood grain is so pretty.
Your friend... Irene T.

Hi Ward
Got the flute yesterday - a beautiful instrument! Thank you. I'm sure this instrument will draw considerable attention during our Southwest tour this year. Thanks,
Mike B.

Hi Ward,
I received the flute today..it's beautiful!!
The wood is unbelievable...lots of attractive knots, but they must have given you a challenge in the carving and sanding! :-) Your carving is further indication of your artistic gift. The sound is very nice and smooth.
You've done a fantastic job, and I am most grateful !
Your friend,
Mike H.

The flute finaly arrived and I love it!!!! All week, as soon as I got home from work, I would say "Did the flute come yet?" Today the answer was yes.
I love the carving of the feathers on the flute that are part of the eagle. Thank you for the finger chart and certificate also. I will now begin to explore with my new friend.
Thanks again.

Christine P.

Stroud Flutes E-mail Us * 1-503-789-2831 * 6117 S.W. Washington Ct. Lake Oswego OR 97035 * 503-789-2831
"Play The Trees" picture above by Craig Walters