Vernon has always been serious about his bluegrass music. While still a kid, Vernon went to work for Nick Trifelous, a family friend, helping Nick strip cars for junk. Vernon scrounged up an old car radio and car battery from Nick and listened to the Grand Ole Opry every night until the battery ran down. Next morning, on the way to school, he would tie a rope around his waist and drag that battery a mile down the road to a filling station. The guy at the station would charge the battery for him and he’d drag it back home again that night. On weekends, Vernon worked at odd jobs for the station owner in payment for charging his battery. This is a kid who is highly motivated to learn about the music he loves!