Hello,
I was doing some Internetting about Milt Smith and came across this older post. Sorry for ressurecting a long dead post, LOL...
But I grew up in Portland, Michigan and Milt Smith sold me my very first electric guitar in 1976. A Crestwood Strat copy along with a silverface 1976 Fender Virbo CHamp amp. (And has since then sold me several G&L guitars).
I was writing an email to a friend about a G&L order I am planning to make, and the topic of Milt Smith came up. I did a quick Google search on Milt's name and discovered he passed away on November 8th of 2017.
If anyone is interested, his obituary is here:
https://obittree.com/obituary/us/michig ... h/3295346/For a small shop in a very small town, Milt did have some of the best G&Ls on the planet. I think his order availability did have something to do with his personal freindship with Dale Hyatt. The first G&L I bought in my life I bought from Milt Smith. It was a brand new (at the time) G&L Braodcaster. (No, I don't still have it, I sold it like a dummy at a guitar show somewhere along about 1994-95-ish...)
JUst one of the dozens of guitars I have bought and regretted selling over my four decades+ of guitaring.
I no longer live in Michigan but I may be able to help track down the people you are looking for. I know there was one very big buyer from Ionia, Michigan who frequented Milt's store. Ionia is another small town about 16 miles west of Portland on Interstate 96. I know there was a person who had literally bought dozens (or more) G&Ls from Milt. Milt used to talk about him. It might be this is the same person you are looking for???
If you message me here (if you are still wanting to do some "detective" work on this person) and I'll send you my email addy and we can talk.
Today is a very sad day for me. It is the day I learned that the person who sold me my very first guitar (Milt Smith) has passed away almost a year ago... at the young old age of 94...
He worked in the store with his wife Doris for years and years and she passed away quite some time ago. Whenever I came back to town, I always made it a point to stop in and shop at Smith's Music, or maybe just spend some time and chit-chat with tis man who had literally decades of stories to tell about his store and the business in Portland. Howbeit it was a hub for national brands, and a welcome place in that small city of 3,000 people. Rest in Peace, Milt. You were my electric guitar father.
Candleman