Last week we were visiting Pete Daigle’s' unique zither manufacturing shop almost under the third runway, south of the airport. Pete owns d'Aigle Autoharps at S. 191st St and Des Moines Memorial Dr. S.

Autoharp, a brand name for the chorded zither, first introduced by Oscar Schmidt in the ‘20s, is Pete's obsession. Names like Desert Rose and Laura Lee grace the maple, walnut or cherry instruments. They can run anywhere from $300 to $3,000 in a variety of styles.

Need to repair your zither? Pete has the only place in the county to make unique stringed music makers look and sound like new.

He has been building and restoring all manner of these historic instruments in the Highline community for more than 35 years and has some marvelous tools in his shop, including a table saw that is so sensitive to touch of a finger that it shuts itself off in a fraction of a second, saving precious digits.

Stop by the shop or find them online at www.daigleharp.com.