In appreciation of all the advice above, as well as several articles and a video by Mandy Tyner (banjolemonade), I have requested leaving the second melody string off my soon-to-be new McSpadden. I told Tim to just coil it up and throw it in the case; as we all know, it’s a bear trying to put a string back on, once removed.
As always, thanks to you who have taken the time to help out this semi-newbie with your advice and experience.
Marvin