Stolen green guitar leads to holiday joy in Dover
Dave Nickolson just wanted to pay it forward the best way he knew how, through his music.
The Dover-area musician had just recovered his stolen green guitar – a gift from his mother more than a decade ago – with the help of the Dover Police Department and through Facebook posts that went viral. He was looking for a way to show his gratitude.
The heart-breaking situation turned into a holiday windfall for many needy kids in the area when Nickolson and his wife, Kathy, decided to hold a fundraising concert aptly titled “Play it Back” to help the DPD’s “Holiday Heroes” program.
The event was held Nov. 19 at Bubba’s in Dover and featured four local bands: Chill and the Rabbits, Chainbreak and Nickolson’s bands Sporadic Static and Perception. The couple partnered with several local businesses to get donations for raffles and silent auction items and charged a $10 cover at the door, with all proceeds going to Holiday Heroes.
“When we got the guitar back, we wanted to do something for the police because they do care, but you just can’t write a check to the Dover Police Department,” Nickolson said. “We decided to do something to pay them back and my mom came up with ‘Play it Back.’”
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The Nickolsons found themselves in this unfortunate-turned-fortuitous situation after the iconic green guitar and a backpack containing Dave’s song lyrics were stolen from his car in downtown Dover.
After a gig at 33 West in late October, one of Nickolson’s band members asked him if he wanted to shoot pool across the street at Irish Mikes Old Towne Pub. When they came out an hour or so later, they noticed the passenger side window was broken and the guitar and book bag were gone.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Nickolson, 32. “Even though the guitar has sentimental value to me, it could be replaced. But I can’t replace the lyrics I’ve been working on my entire life.”
After the incident, Nickolson considered giving up playing music in Delaware altogether. But a day after the break-in, the musician received the news that the book bag and all the lyrics were found in a nearby alley, along with business cards linking the two together.
In the meantime, the Facebook posts Kathy put up were making the rounds because of Nickolson’s reputation in the Dover music scene. That paid dividends and led to police recovering the guitar and apprehending a suspect.
“Everyone in Delaware was looking for that guitar,” Nickolson said. “You never really know how much people have your back. It was absolutely amazing.”
The gig at Bubba's raised $1,307 for Holiday Heroes and allowed the organization to surpass its fundraising goal by a lot. The goal was to raise $4,000 by Dec. 1. With Nickolson’s contribution and other community donations, the Holiday Heroes program raised more than $8.000.
According to Master Cpl. Mark Hoffman of the Dover Police Department, Holiday Heroes is in its fourth year. The program allows children from the Dover area to pair up with a Dover police officer to go shopping for Christmas gifts at the Dover Target store.
Last year, the department helped 33 children from the area and provided them with a Christmas they likely would not have had, Hoffman said.
“Holiday Heroes is a great event that allows our officers to make new friends and build relationships in the community we serve,” Hoffman said. “One of my favorite parts about this program is seeing the initial meeting between the officer and their child and how it tends to be a bit awkward as they meet for the first time. By the end of the event you will see those same officers and children playing games in the aisles, eating dinner together, wrapping gifts and giving hugs and handshakes goodbye. It is really incredible to see those bonds formed in such a short time and speaks volumes about the event itself.”
Hoffman said the department stopped collecting money for the event because the fundraising goal was doubled. He said the officers will likely take 33-40 kids shopping this year and use the extra funds to help families the department has identified as having significant need due to “circumstances out of their control.”
As for the Nickolsons’ fundraising efforts, this year’s event was deemed so successful, they will be back next year and as long as the community continues to be charitable.
“They (DPD) helped me out so I can help them with Holiday Heroes,” Nickolson said. “It took more than my wife and I to get my guitar back. And it’s going to take more than our effort to truly help these needy kids. But if we work together, that will take care of itself.”
Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.