http://www.amica.org The Volume 47, Number 5 September/October 2010 AMICA B U L L E T I N Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’ Association

Knabe Concert Grand Ampico B Rebirth

ISSN #1533›9726 ThE AMICA B ULLETIN AU TOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION

Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’ Asso - Visit the AMICA web site at: http://www.amica.org ciation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax exempt group devoted to the to enter the “Members-Only” portal, restoration, distribution and enjoyment of musical instruments Current User Name: AMICA using perforated paper music rolls and perforated music books. Current password: tracker AMICA was founded in San Francisco, California in 1963.

VOLUME 47, Number 5 September/October 2010 AMICA BULLETIN FEATURES DEADLINES Ads and articles must be received on or before the 1st of the ODD Knabe Concert Grand Ampico B Rebirth. . .by Ken Long . . . . 304 months: AMICA 2010 Board Meeting ...... 291 January July 2010 AMICA Convention in Pictures ...... 308 March September May November 2011 AMICA Convention UK ...... 335 How It All Started ...... by Shirley Nix . . 337 Bulletins will ordinarily be mailed in the 1st week of the even months, for Late Breaking News - Major Auction ...... 350 expected delivery mid-month.

Terry Smythe COLUMNS 55 Rowand Avenue President’s Message...... 284 Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3J2N6 204-832-3982 (email preferred) Editorial Observations ...... 284 [email protected] Letter ...... 285 Nickel Notes ...... by Matthew Jaro. . 286 MEMBERSHIP SERVICES AMICANs Making Music ...... 325 Membership Dues: USA Bulk Mail ...... $55.00 AMICAns in the Spotlight ...... 328 USA First Class ...... $70.00 Overseas ...... $70.00 Chapter News ...... 331 Canada-Mexico ...... $65.00 Membership Update...... 334 Renewals – Additional $5.00 due if renewed past the Jan. 31 deadline In Memoriam ...... 338 Address changes and corrections In The News ...... 339 Directory information updates Carousels In The News ...... 345 Additional copies of Member Directory . . . $25.00 Web Sites Of Interest...... 349 Single copies of back issues ($10.00 Advertising ...... 351 per issue – based upon availability) William Chapman (Bill) 53685 Avenida Bermudas Front Cover: 1931 Knabe Ampico B Concert Grand (by Ken Long) La Quinta, CA 92253-3586 (760) 564-2951 Font Cover Border: from within Etude, November 1927 [email protected] Inside Front: Ad by Gold Leaf Galleries To ensure timely delivery of your Inside Back Cover: Welte ad Saturday Evening Post 1926 (by Anthony Engles) BULLETIN , please allow 6-weeks advance notice of address change s. Outside Back Cover: Ad by Tim Trager

AMICA Publications reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit any and all submitted articles and advertising. While the AMICA Bulletin offers accurate and historic information to its members, the bulletin, its publisher and the AMICA Board cannot be held responsible for contributions that may be considered by some as inaccurate, speculative, or of an OP/ED Format

Entire contents © 2010 AMICA International Printed by Engler Printing Co., Fremont, OH • [email protected] 281 AMICA INTERNATIONAL - International Officers -

PRESIDENT PAST PRESIDENT EDITOR Tim Baxter John Motto-Ros Terry Smythe 939 Briarcliff Rd NE 110 Allen Ranch Road 55 Rowand Avenue Atlanta, GA 30306-4664 Sutter Creek, CA 95685 Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3J2N6 404-377-1220 209-267-9252 204-832-3982 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENT TREASURER Alan Turner Joe Orens 148 Kingsway Avenue 8917 Wooden Bridge Road Winnipeg, MB, Canada R2L1J9 Potomac, MD 20882-3821 204-489-3075 301-340-6664 [email protected] [email protected]

SECRETARY MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Marlene Beckman Lyle Merithew & Sandy Swirski 4046 SE 53rd Street 416 Colfax Drive Berryton, KS 66409-9714 San Jose, CA 95123-3403 785-862-0128 408-227-9284 [email protected] [email protected] - Committees -

AMICA ARCHIVES CONVENTION COORDINATOR Tom hutchinson Frank Nix 15361 Hopper Road 6030 Oakdale Avenue Sturgeon, MO 65284 Woodland Hills, CA 91367 573-442-6675 818-884-6849 [email protected] [email protected]

AMICA MEMORIAL FUND AMICA Honor Roll Ray Dietz Thomas & Donna Stengel 1250 Lanier Road 46 Court St. Martinsville, VA 24112-5212 Lancaster NY 14086-2302 276-638-8563 716-683-5309 [email protected] [email protected]

AUDIO-VISUAL & TECHNICAL WEBSITE MANAGER harold Malakinian Karl Ellison 2345 Porest Trail Drive 6 Lions Lane Troy, MI 48098 Salem, MA 01970-1784 248-528-3111 978-740-5680 [email protected] [email protected]

AMICA ENDOWMENT FUND Richard VanMetre 1506 South Courtland Avenue Park Ridge, IL 60068-5333 847-318-7310 [email protected]

282 AMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 AMICA INTERNATIONAL Chapter Officers BOSTON AREA Board Rep: Vincent and Maryam Morgan Vice Pres: Ken Hodge Pres: Phil Konop Newsletter Editor: Bill Maguire Sec: Louise Lucero Vice-Pres: Bob Hunt - 207-985-2308 Treas: Barry Weiss Sec: Kirk Russell LAND OF DIXIE Reporter: Larry Emmons Treas: Dorothy Bromage President: Walt Gerber - [email protected] Board Rep: Jere DeBacker Reporter: Don Brown Vice President: Robert Soule Board Rep: Bob Hunt - [email protected] Treasurer: Tim Baxter SOWNY (Southern Ontario,Western New York) Secretary: Danita Gerber Pres: Mike Walter - 716-656-9583 CHICAGO AREA Board Representative: Tim Baxter [email protected] Pres: Jerry Biasella - 708-756-3307 [email protected] Vice Pres: Tom Cardinal - Vice Pres: Richard Van Metre [email protected] Sec: Carol Veome - 773-338-1042 MIDWEST (OH, MI, IN, KY) Sec: Garry Lemon [email protected] Pres: Don Johnson - 248-650-1840 [email protected] Treas: Joe Pekarek [email protected] Treas: Holly Walter Reporter: Curt Clifford Vice Pres: Liz Barnhart [email protected] Board Rep: TBD Sec: Hilda Merchant Reporter: Garry & Anne Lemon Treas: Alvin Wulfekuhl [email protected] FOUNDING CHAPTER Reporter: Christy Counterman Board Rep: Glenn Roat - Pres: John Ulrich - 510-223-9587 Board Rep: Liz Barnhart [email protected] [email protected] Photographers: Nancy Group & Anne Lemon Vice Pres: Karen Simons NORTHERN LIGHTS Sec: Bob & Bonnie Gonzalez Pres: Paul Watkins - 763-421-0672 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Treas/Bd Rep: Lyle Merithew & Sandy Swirsky [email protected] Pres: Richard Ingram - 760-244-0251 Reporter: Jack & Dianne Edwards, Vice Pres: Mark Kraabel Vice Pres: Mike Choate Sec: Michael LuBrant Sect/Reporter: Shirley Nix HEART OF AMERICA Treas: Barbara Watkins Treas: Diane Reidy Pres: Robbie Tubbs - 816-313-1075 Reporter: Jerrilynn Boehland Board Rep: Frank Nix [email protected] Board Rep: Paul Watkins or Mark Kraabel Vice Pres: Dan Davis TEXAS Sec: Trudy. Moffitt PACIFIC CAN-AM Pres: Rich Clayton - 972-369-0470 Treas: Brian Graham Pres: Bill Mote - 360-403-1970 richclayton®sbcglobal.net Reporter: HC & Marlene Beckman [email protected] Vice Pres: Bill Boruff Board Rep: Gary Craig Vice Pres: David Goodwin [email protected] Secretary: Judy Mote Treas: Janet Tonnesen LADY LIBERTY Treas: Mark Smithberg [email protected] Pres: John Dousmanis (646) 638-2201 Reporter: TBD Secretary: Suzanne McCall Vice Pres: Vincent Morgan - 718-479-2562 Bd. Rep: Dan Brown [email protected] [email protected] Bulletin Reporter: Ken Long Sec: Bob Stuhmer ROCKY MOUNTAIN [email protected] Treas: Maryam Morgan Pres: Jere DeBacker - 303-367-1493 Board Rep: John & Suzanne McCall - Reporter: Martin "Buzz" Rosa [email protected] j-mccall@sbcglobal .net Affiliated Societies and Organizations

American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) Carousel Organ Association of America Netherlands Mechanical Organ Society-KDV President/CEO – Ken Double Editor/Publisher: Ron Bopp A. T. Meijer 5705 80th Street North (918) 527-0589 Wilgenstraat 24 St. Petersburg, Florida 33709 4725 Montrose Dr., Bradenton, FL, 34210 NL-4462 VS Goes, Netherlands Phone: 281-798-6205 [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Northwest Player Piano Association THEATRE ORGAN Co-Editors – Friends of Scott Joplin Everson Whittle, Secretary Mike Bryant and Don Feely 1217 St. Croix Ct. 11 Smiths Road, Darcy Lever, Editorial Office Kirkwood, MO 63122-2326 Bolton BL3 2PP, Gt. Manchester, England 3111 NE 165th Pl. website: http//stlouis.missouri.org/fsjoplin Home Phone: 01204 529939 Vancouver, WA 98682 Email: [email protected] Business Phone: 01772 208003 Phone: 206-619-6645 Email: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] International Piano Archives at Maryland Performing Arts Library,University of Maryland Pianola Institute Associazione Italiana Musica Meccanica 2511 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center Clair Cavanagh, Secretary Villa Silvia - Via Lizzano, 1241 College Park, MD 20742 43 Great Percy St., London WC1X 9RA 47023 Cesena (FC), Italy Phone:301-405-9224 England Phone: 0039-547-323425 Fax: 301-314-7170 Fax: 0039-547-661264 Email: [email protected] Player Piano Group Email: [email protected] Adam Ramet, Bulletin Editor Website: www.ammi-italia.com International Vintage Phono 42 Park Road, Westcliff on Sea, Essex, UK & Mechanical Music Society Email: [email protected] Australian Collectors of Mechanical Musical C.G. Nijsen, Secretaire General Instruments 19 Mackaylaan Smithsonian Institution Peter Phillips - Editor 5631 NM Eindhoven, Netherlands Division of Musical History 26 Alice Street Washington, D.C. 20560 Padstow, NSW 221, Australia Musical Box Society of Great Britain Phone: (612) 9773-4734 Alan Pratt, Editor Society For Self-Playing Musical Instruments email: [email protected] P. O. Box 299 Gesellschaft fur Selbstspielende Waterbeach, Cambridge CB4 4PJ Musikinstrumente (GSM) E.V. Netherlands Pianola Association England Ralf Smolne Nederlandse Pianola Vereniging Emmastr. 56 Att. Jan van Hulzen, Member of the Board Musical Box Society International D-45130 Essen, Germany Chopinrode 25 Rosanna Harris, Editor Phone: **49-201-784927 2717 BH Zoetermeer, Netherlands 5815 West 52nd Avenue Fax :**49-201-7266240 email: [email protected] Denver, CO 80212 Email: [email protected] Phone: 303-431-9033 Fax: 303-431-6978 Email: [email protected]

AMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 283 President’s Message

Hello AMICAns – I am Tim Baxter, your new president. I am very proud to serve and will do my best to merit you’re the confidence you have placed in me. A little about me: I grew up in Rhode Island but now live in Atlanta with my wife, Lynn and my two young children, Andrew (8) and Elizabeth (4). My collecting interests have been primarily in the area of player and reproducing pianos, but I hold great affection for nearly all of the other types of automatic instruments owned by our members. It is my goal as President to keep AMICA as inclusive as possible and make it a place where every sort of person (and every sort of automatic instrument!) feels welcome. Most importantly, I want people to have fun in AMICA and take pleasure in each other’s company. Let’s always try to be respectful and tol - erant, while having a good time and not taking ourselves too seriously. Like all of our conventions, the recent one in Buffalo gave me a chance to see AMICA at its best. I marvel at our members’ breadth of knowledge and skill with automatic instruments, the easy rapport we have with one another, the warmth with which we welcome newcomers (my mother-in-law and her sister were first-timers in Buffalo and had a blast), and the undeniable fact that the biggest attraction at any of our conventions will always be our fellow AMICAns. John Motto-Ros left me with a strong slate of fellow officers as well as great prospects for increasing our membership. As John has stressed so often, each of us needs to be an evangelist for automatic music. Never miss an opportunity to share your collection or invite someone new to a chapter meeting. It’s not always easy to tell who will be interested, so cast a wide net! And, of course, it is the well-maintained instrument that wins us “converts.” Please let me know at any time how I may better serve you.

Tim Baxter [email protected] Editorial Observations

At all of the 21 AMICA conventions I’ve attended, a favorite topic of discussion is “The Story Behind…..” Regrettably, such stories are rarely documented, yet they are of great interest. Fortunately, in recent issues, we have been blessed with such stories. In May-June, Matt Jaro documented The Story Behind ‘Old Silver’. In this issue, Ken Long has kindly documented The Story Behind the rebirth of his rare 1931 Knabe 9’ Concert Grand Ampico B. Similar stories are invited from members, ideally with pics as found, provenance, pics during restoration, and finally a very nice pic in its current splendor. Something to think about. Again, at all AMICA conventions, a favorite topic of discussion is “How It All Started”. Widespread encouragement has resulted in a great article about how Shirley and Frank Nix got started. There is little doubt that every member could document similar sto - ries of great interest to all. Again, something to think about. Matt Jaro has once again written an article, this one wrapped around research in the Music Trades Review, Presto and the ZfI (Germany equivalent). In this article he focus - es on the coin and player piano industry in North America in the early 20’s. The Music Trade Review, Presto and the ZfI are mammoth sources of rich research material of interest to serious researchers. The first two may be acquired from the MBSI, while the latter may be acquired from me. By page count, this issue is dominated by our recent annual AMICA 2010 Convention in Buffalo NY, coupled with a very much appreciated COAA Band Organ Rally on the grounds of the Wurlitzer factory from where many of the organs present were born. A fine selection of photos help make this a great souvenir issue. Special thanks to Mike Walter for names and captions, and to Ron Bopp, for his help with the captions for the Rally pics. I am also pleased to note that members are starting to report musical events that they have sponsored, provoked, and provid - ed in a variety of ways that help very much to further AMICA’s goals, objectives and membership growth. All very much appreciat - ed, noteworthy and commendable.

Terry Smythe [email protected]

284 AMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Letter email from John & Nadine Motto-Ros: on a Seeburg Style “F” (one of my favorites in the Seeburg fami - ly. POST CONVENTION TRIP After stop/tour of Gettysburg National Military Park, we By John Motto-Ros were off to Marysville, OH, to visit the Ramey Family and the 31 July 2010 Ramey Piano Co. We stopped at the shop first. I like to see what Dave is working on. A Seeburg KT Special, refinished case in What a great convention--the SOWNY Chapter did a original silver-gray with gold trim, was in the middle of the shop bang-up job! So many places to see and events planned. It could awaiting assembly; a not have been better, and the “Taste of Buffalo” was exceptional. perfect match to the original colors. A Wurlitzer LX was awaiting its insides to be installed. Next was a very large Seeburg “H” with stack rebuilt and new piano action installed with coin chute sticking up on the right side of the stack. Dave dropped a nickel in, and the big piano came to attention and played a really great rag. Dave has many interesting pianos that belonged to his father, Bart Off with his beautifully restored Seeburg KT and they all play great. We then headed off to I understand the organ rally Sunday was well attended. The Old Bag of Nails Wes Neff and some of handiwork Nadine and I traveled to Mertztown, PA, to visit long- pub for a leisurely lunch with wife Susan and children. time AMICA member and collector Bart Off. Bart has amassed a After leaving the Ramey’s, we headed toward Detroit to huge collection of nickelodeons—Seeburgs, Nelson-Wiggens, catch our flight to Sacramento. Since we had an extra day, I Links, a Mills double Violano, and more. Every instrument I called Wes and Shari Neff as we would be passing by Findlay, dropped a coin into jumped to attention and really played its Ohio. We received an invitation to come by and see their collec - heart out. Bart’s instruments are all in tune. He does all his tion. Wesley’s father built furniture, and Wes does the same. I can’t remember how many pieces Wes has built, but more than I could count on both hands. Wes has built several “grandfather” clocks from sketches and gets dimensions from clocks in muse - ums—top quality work. Sheri does stained glass to complement Wes. Wes has restored at least four pianos and three juke boxes that I know of. Everything plays superbly. Next, we were on to Wes’s shop, and I was impressed with his well-equipped wood working shop. It contained stacks of wood all cut and packaged. I asked what it was for, and Wes precut the material for 300 birdhouses and 300 small toolboxes for the Scout camp. Wes shows the Scouts how to assemble them. What a good ser - vice for our youth—congratulations Wes. We capped off the evening with the Neff’s leading the way to their favorite Mexican Dave Ramey in his workshop restaurant. We knew it would be good as soon as we saw the restoration in-house: piano work, pneumatics, art glass and fit number of people eating there. and finish. His double garage is packed with instruments waiting Here we are at home with many good memories of the to move into his shop for restoration. Currently, Bart is working convention and the friends we visited.

AMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 285 Nickel Notes by Matthew Jaro A Blast from the Past

Two newspapers are of exceptional interest to collectors of mechanical music. These are the Music Trade Review and Matthew Jaro Presto. These were trade papers designed to promote the music (and especially the piano) business and its associated industries. Just like the AMICA Bulletin is not published to criticize or insult members and collectors, these newspapers were careful not to favor specific companies and to promote the industry. Most of the articles are what we would call “puff pieces.” The mast heads of these papers are

I chose the beginning half of 1921 for this column because it was a hard year for the business (there was a post-war depression) and business was starting to get better. It was also the year that Clark really started producing rolls and nickelodeons were beginning to be popular.

The first thing that struck my eye was the enormous number of piano manufacturers for both player and manual pianos. Look at this ad for Christman Reproducing Pianos:

I knew about Welte, AMPICO and DuoArt --- but Christman? It turns out that they were a Welte licensee, but never mentioned this fact in their ads. There are references to this brand as far back as 1894, and they were well respected. However, I never heard of them, but I never heard of a lot of things.

The extent of the player piano industry is unimaginable today. Look at the picture of the Bay Player Piano factory. It’s as big as a car assembly plant!

286 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Bay must have been a large company that is all but unknown today. I just marveled at this picture I came across in Presto that put this in perspective

So just how big was the player piano industry?

This gives some idea about how huge the industry was. It was so big that even farmers had to buy player pianos

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 287 Clark’s great idea was to try to get customers to buy one roll a week for their automatic machines. Look at this puff piece:

Since there was a mild depression at this time, the roll companies were out in force. Look at this ad from the newly formed Clark Orchestra Roll Company:

Lind music rolls was formed at about the same time as Clark and advertised heavily. Consequently, they got the following puff piece published.:

The irony was that Lind sold Clark rolls with different numbers and packaging. An early example of branding.

288 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 : Q.R.S. was also a big advertiser and got frequent puff pieces:

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 289 Almost all of the articles in Presto praise various aspects of the industry, Lyon and Healy was a Welte distributor. The executives of associated companies and optimistic views designed to company still exists and primarily energize salesmen. Look at this article about Gulbransen pianos manufactures harps.

Just look at the puff piece Lyon & Healy received

Sometimes Presto would actually express editorial opinions like this one regarding Mills Violanos. Could this be because I never saw an advertisement from the Mills Novelty Company?

Finally, the clip to the left repre - sents the worst predic - tion of 1921:

290 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 AMICA 2010 Board Meeting Roll Call and Introductions Archive’s Report -Tom Hutchinson Our Published Heritage -Terry Smythe The meeting was called to order by President, John Endowment Fund Report -Terry Smythe Motto-Ros Convention Chairman’s Report -Frank Nix Board Members present: President-John Motto-Ros, Honor Roll -Tom Stengel Vice President-Tim Baxter, Secretary-Marlene Beckman, Past Marty Roenigk and Harvey and Marian Roehl were added President-Mike Walter, Publisher-Terry Smythe, Membership to the Honor Roll. Secretary-Bill Chapman, Convention Chairman-Frank Nix, Memorial Fund Report -Ray Dietz Honor Roll Chairman-Tom Stengel, Memorial Fund Chairman- Website Manager’s Report -Karl Ellison Ray Dietz, Boston Rep.-BobHunt, Chicago Rep.-Richard Van - WebSite Inquiry Report - Jack Edwards Metre, Founding Rep.-Nadine Motto-Ros, Heart of America Awards Report -Tim Baxter (See Vice President’s Report) Rep.-Gary Craig, Lady Liberty Rep.- Vincent and Maryam Mor - gan, Midwest Rep.-Liz Barnhart, Northern Lights Rep.-Alan Chapter Reports Turner, Southern California Rep.-Frank Nix, S.O.W.N.Y. Rep.- Glenn Roat, Texas Rep.-John and Suzanne McCall Richard VanMetre moved and Tim Baxter seconded a Incoming officer nominees present: Bob Gonzalez-Sec - motion to accept the Chapter Reports. Motion passed. retary, Lyle Merithew and Sandy Swirsky-Membership Secretary Board Members absent: Treasurer-Robbie Tubbs, Web - Boston Chapter - Discussion of flood damage to piano in site Manager- Karl Ellison, Archivist-Tom Hutchinson, Audio Charles River Museum (See New Business Item) Visual-Harold Malakinian, Pacific Can-Am Rep.- Dan Brown Chicago Chapter Founding Chapter Approval of Minutes from 2009 Board Meeting Heart of America Chapter Lady Liberty Chapter - Marvin Polan’s archives were given A motion was made by Tim Baxter and seconded by to MBSI. John McCall. The minutes will be approved as published in the Midwest Chapter October/November 2009 Bulletin. Motion passed. Northern Lights Chapter Pacific Can-Am Chapter Officer Reports Rocky Mountain Chapter Southern California Chapter Tim Baxter moved and John McCall seconded a motion S.O.W.N.Y. Chapter - Glenn Roat is SOWNY Vice President to accept the Officer Reports. All reports are included in the Texas Chapter Board Meeting Notebook and will be published in a future issue Land of Dixie (new chapter report to be added later) of The Bulletin so were not individually read. Old Business President’s Report- John Motto-Ros - John Motto-Ros reported the President’s Award will be given to Jack and Dianne New Business Edwards for their many contributions and dedication to AMICA and Jack’s work answering questions on the AMICA web site. Where to advertise AMICA to increase membership.

Vice President’s Report- Tim Baxter - The Amica Interna - A lengthy discussion focused on how to make the public tional Award will be given to Robbie Rhodes and Jody Kravitz aware of AMICA in an effort to increase membership. Organ ral - for their work in creating and maintaining MMD (Mechanical lies are an outstanding way to raise interest in the hobby. Invit - Music Digest). Tim encouraged members to send nominations ing service organizations to view instruments was suggested. for The AMICA International and Leo Ornstein award. Each chapter should have a “silent salesman” to display brochures. AMICA has an advertising budget to use in promoting Secretary’s Report- Marlene Beckman the organization. Treasurer’s Report- Robbie Tubbs - John Motto-Ros has a Target select groups of businesses to send Bulletins. copy of the 2010 projected budget. Alan Turner will accept ideas of where Bulletins can be placed to Past President’s Report- Mike Walter ensure public exposure.

Committee Reports Other New Business

Tim Baxter moved and John McCall seconded a motion Endowment Fund to accept the Committee Reports. Motion passed. Terry Smythe made a motion that was seconded by Gary Publisher’s Repor t-Terry Smythe Craig. An Endowment Fund will be established and managed by Membership Secretary’s Report -Bill Chapman an Endowment Fund Committee consisting of the President,

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 291 Treasurer, and Three Members at Large. Motion Passed. money for the 2012 Convention. Motion passed. Members at Large are Richard VanMetre, Gary Craig, and Bill Chapman. Adjournment

Honor Roll Nominations Submitted by Marlene Beckman

Harvey and Marian Roehl were nominated by Ray Dietz, Richard VanMetre, Terry Smythe, Mike Walter, and Glenn Officers’ Reports Roat Marty Roenigk was nominated by Tim Baxter, John Motto-Ros, John McCall, Vincent Morgan, and Terry Smythe. PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT Mike Walter moved and Tom Stengel seconded a motion to add the above nominated persons to the Honor Roll. Motion Another year has passed, and this will be my last Annual passed. President’s Report. How time flies—I have been in office four Archiving of Original Material years and have seen many changes in AMICA—all good. Most members may not be aware of some of these changes, but they Terry Smythe needs help archiving the vast amount of are things that make it easier for officers to perform everyday material in AMICA’s possession. We also need a way to let heirs AMICA duties. Some of these changes are: know that written material has value. Discussion centered on how to instruct heirs in disposal of archives. It was suggested that archives be donated to a university after they have been digi - a) Electronic transfer of information from the Membership Secre - tally archived by AMICA. tary to the Treasurer, which means no more sending checks in the A discussion on the equipment needed to scan and mail. archive material resulted in the formation of a committee to pro - vide guidelines/specifications for archiving material. The com - b) PayPal on line to accept new members or existing members to mittee of Alan Turner, Terry Smythe, Glenn Roat, and Vincent pay dues, which means less handling of paper. Morgan will provide this information not later than October 1, 2010. c) . All of the past AMICA Bulletins, from inception to current, Charles River Museum Piano are on line, plus much more. Website Manager Karl Ellison keeps AMICA in the 21st century with the AMICA website. Please The player piano that had been restored by the Boston look at www.amica.org. Chapter and on display at the Charles River Museum was dam - aged by flood water. A motion was made by Alan Turner and seconded by d) The AMICA Bulletin has always been very good, but now has Tim Baxter.that Amica International provide up to $5000 to more color and articles covering many facets of mechanical restore the damaged piano. Signage placed with the restored music, from rolls to midi, thanks to new Editor/Publisher Terry instrument will credit AMICA with the restoration. Any recov - Smythe. ered insurance money will be returned to AMICA International. The motion passed. AMICA has moved forward with the purchase of a Financial Review small paper collection that will appear in The Bulletin and on line; more on this later. A big change of international officers Tim Baxter moved and Alan Turner seconded a motion will occur at the close of this year’s convention: President, Vice to amend the By-Laws, Article IV, Section 6 to remove the word President, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary. The “independent” review and replace “independent” with “internal” old saying is “a new broom sweeps clean,” so we may see some review in reference to the review of the treasurer’s books. The fresh ideas. Internal Review committee shall be comprised of three persons from different chapters. Motion passed. This year’s President’s Award goes to Jack & Dianne Edwards , who have been valued members since 1977; held key Future Conventions positions for several AMICA Conventions; Jack is live help on the AMICA Website. Frank Nix reported the following locations: I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to 2011 England the many members who made my job easier. 2012 Pittsburg, PA 2013 San Francisco Respectfully submitted, Tim Baxter made a motion seconded by John Motto-Ros JOHN MOTTO-ROS , President that the new Land of Dixie Chapter be provided $3000 seed

292 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 293 294 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Following the board meeting in Cincinnati I transcribed VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT the notes and recordings and compiled the report for publication in the September/October 2009 Bulletin. It has been a privilege to serve as your Vice President I have compiled a notebook of secretary’s responsibili - for 2009 ‐2010. The office of the Vice President has two principal ties so future secretaries will have an idea of what needs to be duties: (1) acting as a chapter liaison, and (2) Chairing the done and what AMICA information needs to be filed and kept. awards committee for the AMICA International Award and the Because the Board Report notebooks were bought at close out Leo Ornstein Literary Award. prices and will be reused and the copying was donated, expenses (1) Chapter Liaison have been minimal.

I would ask again that each Chapter place me on its Respectfully submitted, mailing and/or e ‐mail list for Chapter functions. My addresses: Marlene Beckman, Secretary AMICA International Tim Baxter 939 Briarcliff Rd., NE PAST PRESIDENT’S REPORT Atlanta, GA 30306 ‐4664 [email protected] The Past President of AMICA advises the president on various matters, as needed and also to chair the Nominating Snail mail need not be sent if you are sending me the Committee. Creating a slate of officers for this year's elections same notice via e ‐mail. Please also copy Karl Ellison, our web - was an interesting process and very worthwhile. This slate of master, so that he may post important notices to the AMICA web - officers for the next two years are as follows: site. Karl’s e ‐mail address is: [email protected] President - Tim Baxter Vice President - Alan Turner (2) Awards Secretary - Bob & Bonnie Gonzales Treasurer - Joe Orens An awards committee, consisting of Richard Tonnesen, Membership Secretary - Lyle Merithew & Sandy Swirski Janet Tonnesen and I considered nominations for the AMICA Past President - John Motto-Ros . International Award and the Leo Ornstein Literary Award. We received no valid nominations for the Leo Ornstein Literary The end of this meeting will mark my last planned Award. In fact, the Committee received only a single nomination attendance at an AMICA Board Meeting. These meetings, since from a single chapter. These awards serve an important purpose 1996 when I first started attending as a board rep for the and I would ask that Chapters work harder to generate and send SOWNY Chapter, have always been very interesting and infor - nominations. The committee’s recommendation is as follows: mative, sometimes cantankerous, but most importantly, they have been attended by individuals who have had a genuine care and International Award concern for automatic musical instruments. I salute you all for your efforts on our hobby's behalf. I hope that our successors will The Committee is please to award the AMICA Interna - have as must zeal as their predecessors. tional Award to Robbie Rhodes and Jody Kravitz for their outstanding work in creating and maintaining the Mechanical Respectfully submitted, Music Digest. Mike Walter Past President Respectfully submitted, Timothy A. Baxter Vice President, AMICA International Committee Reports SECRETARY’S REPORT ARCHIVIST REPORT The primary duty of the secretary is to collect and pre - pare the reports and agenda items for the annual board meeting. A couple requests for bulk shipments of AMICA Bul - All officers, committee chairs, and board representatives were letins to advertisers from Terry Smythe were filled. One signifi - asked to submit reports for inclusion in the board report. These cant contribution from a member was forwarded on to Terry were proofread and formatted and copied for inclusion in binders Smythe. I continue to house a large number of old Bulletins. The I had purchased during close out sales earlier. question will eventually come up as to what should be done with These binders were collected following the meeting in this rather bulky collection. Cincinnati so they could be reused for the Buffalo convention. The completed reports were posted on the AMICA web site so Submitted by: board members could peruse them prior to the board meeting if Tom Hutchinson they wanted.

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 295 CONVENTION COORDINATOR REPORT

2010 -We are in Buffalo under the capable hands of Mike Walter. 2011 -We will journey to England to visit the Dorset Steam Fair, Stonehenge, The Big Pit in Wales and many other interesting places and collections. 2012 -We will have our Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (This is a change from previous announcements) 2013 -The Founding Chapter is hosting the meeting in San Fran - cisco. Submitted by: Frank Nix Convention Coordinator

EDITOR’S REPORT

Since assuming responsibilities as Editor (Publisher) of our AMICA Bulletin, I have produced 5 issues. The first, Sep-Oct 2009, carried on pretty much a similar format as previous with outer covers in color and all other pages in B&W. Commencing with the Nov-Dec 2009 issue, I introduced color pages, now typi - cally 22 to 24 pages in color. In prior years, our Printer, Jay Engler in Fremont, Ohio, has been doing the layout of each issue for us. Starting with my first Sep-Oct 2009 issue, I have assumed responsibility for lay - out. This has made it possible for us to translate cost savings into color pages. The spreadsheet here of our Bulletin printing costs, illustrates that for 11 issues, Dec-Jan 2008 through to Sep-Oct 2009, our cost for a typical Bulletin run has been $4,006.00. With the introduction of color in the Nov-Dec 2009 issue, our cost for a typical Bulletin run has been $4,568.00. That cost would be significantly greater if we did not do the layout inter - nally ourselves. The article, A Visit With Our Editor in the May-Jun 2010 issue attempts to explain where costs are incurred with vari - ous stages of layout. As I learn and assume responsibility for the final layout stage, we can expect to see our printing costs reduce proportionately, providing yet another opportunity to translate those reduced costs into more color pages. Member reaction suggests that new approaches to con - Our advertising policies and objectives therefore need to tent are well received. I continue to invite members to write arti - be revisited. Our advertisers offer that which nourishes our spe - cles that might fall within headings of, A Visit With….., or The cial interest. In the absence of significant sales, AMICA would be Story Behind……, etc. These topics emerge out of my attendance well advised to assist our advertisers from the perspective of at 20 conventions in my 39 year membership, where a frequent “support”, vs “revenue”. At very least, we can and should support topic of discussion emerges from these 2 very important topics. our vendors by keeping their names and contact points available. These stories need to be documented. They make it possible for this special interest to survive and Other new columns include AMICAns Spotlighted in grow. the News, News Items of Interest, and a variety of Generally Commencing with our Jan-Feb 2011 issue, I recommend Interesting Topics., emerging from an infinite array of sources. the following changes to our advertising rates, reflecting “sup - Members are encouraged to let me know of columns they would port/service” vs revenue: like to see. For whatever reason not fully understood, our advertis - Full page color $ 150 ers report zero responses to their ads, yet they continue to place Full page B&W 100 their ads, more as a gesture of support, rather than genuine mar - Half page B&W 75 keting. Those of our advertisers who responded, expressed con - Quarter page 50 cerns about the future of our special interest. Solutions appear Business Card 30 elusive. It has become clear that support for advertising is dwin - Classified ads, any length 20 dling, as no tangible sales emerge, not even for free offerings.

296 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 In the past, we have published a requirement that all dis - to scan a single 11" x 15" color page at 600dpi. That means about play ads that appear 2 or more times be unchanged, always the 4-5 hours to scan a single 52-page issue of Music Trades. same. With contemporary computerized layout processes, this There are much better large format flat bed scanners requirement no longer applies. Advertisers are free to submit made by Plustek, Epson, Kodak, HP, Xerox, etc. The best for our changes to their display ads from one issue to another, if they purposes is the A300 made by Plustek, the only one that is dual wish. Retention of unchanged display ads from one issue to purpose sheet and book, very quick at about 40 seconds per sin - another will not result in rate reduction. The current arrangement gle 11” x 15” color page at 600dpi. While its price has shrunk a of 6 insertions for the price of 5 is a reasonable incentive and little in recent years, it is still beyond what a retired volunteer can should be continued. afford. Hopefully, we have an AMICAn whose business has one, As in prior years, members renewing will be entitled, about to be replaced but still working. As a 501(c)(3) organiza - subject to Board approval, to a single free 100 word classified ad tion, AMICA would happily provide a tax receipt for its fair mar - in a single category. There will be no need to enclose a “FREE” ket value. chit as such advertisers will simply be compared to our comput - AMICA Publications erized list of renewed members. Classified ads for “FREE” items will be no charge. We now have a sufficiently strong electronic library that For over a year, we have been posting a quarter page AMICA can now offer an array of CD/DVD’s, priced at $25 display ad seeking an Advertising Manager. I understand no each, containing such as: response has been received, yet it remains a valid requirement. The Board may wish to revisit this requirement and suitably AMICA Bulletins to date adjust incentive. AMICA’s On-Line Library to date Billings Rollography Respectfully submitted, AMICA Technicalities Terry Smythe , Editor Purple Welte book AMICA International Obenchain Ampico Catalog John McTammany’s 2 books OUR PUBLISHED HERITAGE W. B. White’s 2 books Duo-Art 1927 Piano Roll Catalog Original Literature + others as our library grows

On our AMICA web site, we now have about 300+ All but the purple Welte book are freely available to all items, most in PDF format. About a third have emerged on loan on our website. These discs now being offered will be more of a from members, much appreciated. The task of scanning this convenience for those not inclined to spend many hours down - material is unavoidably labor intensive. However, many hands loading these files, and of course for those with dial-up or no make light work, so interested members are invited to join in internet connection at all. And even if they do not have a comput - with this initiative. Technological developments now make it er, there is always a friendly neighborhood Office Depot type ser - possible for members to share in this rewarding endeavor. vice center that can print PDF files off the discs. Many members now have significant computer power in You should be aware that all the files in our on-line their homes, along with scanners capable of providing excellent library are in optimized, compressed format. However, all the quality images. For those inclined to participate in this initiative, files available on these discs are in their original high resolution I have prepared guidelines, which I will email on request. format. Through gracious donations from a couple of members, AMICA is in the process of acquiring a significant collection of Future Considerations original literature. The initial installment is the entire 1925 run of Music Trades, a weekly newspaper competing with the Music All members are encouraged to consider plans for future Trades Review, both published in Chicago. Being a lesser period - disposal of various items within their collections. Please do not ical, it had a smaller distribution and is consequently harder to leave this decision to your heirs. Think this through now while find. However, it is rich in research content. you are still able to do so in a rational manner. If by chance, there While the vast majority of scanners are moderately are items of original literature, their loan in advance of final dis - priced, well within reach of most AMICAns, there is a scanner posal will be very much appreciated. that is very much needed for oversized original literature. A sig - Regrettably, there have been cases where valuable origi - nificant array of original literature is 11” x 15” or larger, within nal literature was disposed of into BlueBox recycling because the capability only of large format scanners. heirs, in the absence of specific written instructions, simply did We have a pressing need for a fast scanner capable of not appreciate that this material has important research value. scanning pages 11" x 15" or larger, a size that we find all too common in the literature we seek to preserve. Currently I am Respectfully Submitted using a Mustek A3 scanner. It does the job but is incredibly slow Terry Smythe (which explains its reasonable price), taking about five minutes

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 297 ENDOWMENT FUND cumstances. Grants or loans not deemed to be applied in accor - dance with conditions, should be retrieved to the extent possible Background and returned to the Fund.

AMICA currently does not have an Endowment Fund In the event that two or more donors emerge with size - aimed at provoking and nourishing major 501(c)(3) donations able bequests to be held in their name into perpetuity, the Board aimed at significant projects consistent with our goals and objec - may wish to consider forming an AMICA Foundation as a tives. 501(c)(3) umbrella protecting all such endowments. We do have a Memorial Fund in remembrance of deceased members, to be used for worthy projects. It is not con - Recommendation sidered to be an endowment as disbursements from it may be taken from its outstanding principal at a moment of time, assum - That the Board determine that such an Endowment Fund ing Board approval. Committee be struck, and that it be charged with the formation of An Endowment Fund within AMICA should have as a such a Fund and so reported in the AMICA Bulletin, followed by minimum of these characteristics: a set of published guidelines and periodic reports as to progress and accomplishments. • Should be so constructed as to inspire sizeable 501(c)(3) dona - tions aimed at significant projects and/or programs consistent Respectfully submitted, with AMICA’s goals and objectives. Terry Smythe

• The fund shall not ever be used for AMICA’s operating expens - es. HALL OF FAME (HONOR ROLL)

• The fund is to be used for investments only to produce invest - Since assuming the position of Hall of Fame chairman, I ment income sufficient to fund approved projects and/or pro - have received numerous files from past Hall of Fame chairper - grams. sons which I am attempting to sort and index. I have received a request from Karl Ellison to provide write-ups and photos of our • The fund is to be managed by a “Endowment Fund Committee” 2008 Hall of Fame members Ray Siou, William E. Flynt, and composed of our President, Treasurer and 3 Members at Large. Dave Ramey, Sr. which I am attempting to put together. I have This committee shall receive submissions for disbursements, provided Terry Smythe with information on deceased Hall of determine merit against resources, and so make recommenda - Fame member Emmett Ford for an obituary write-up. I have tions to AMICA’s Board. It may, on its own initiative, perceive received numerous correspondence from AMICA member disbursement opportunities, do suitable research and due dili - William Dean regarding information on Hall of Fame members, gence, and make appropriate recommendations. which I believe I have answered to his satisfaction. I have just received an email on April 30 from Craig Smith via Mike Walter • To protect its remaining principal, the existing Memorial Fund on nominating Harvey and Marion Roehl to the Hall of Fame for may be folded into the Endowment Fund. 2010. This is the only suggestion that I have heard for a 2010 nomination to the Hall of Fame. As I am new to the membership • This committee shall report annually to AMICA’s Board on the and also to this position, I would appreciate everyone’s sugges - state of the Endowment Fund, it’s health, it’s disbursements and tions and comments. Thank you. results thereof. Respectfully submitted, Examples of projects that might be considered suitable Tom Stengel for supporting worthy projects:

• Partial or Full Funding in support of restoration of an instru - MEMORIAL COMMITTEE REPORT ment of note in a public venue/location, under suitable guide - lines. This report includes activity from August, 2009 through March 10, 2010. • Digital archiving of the Emmett Ford Archives, the Music Trades Collection, and other somewhat similar caches of archival Memorials sent directly to the Memorial Committee: material. IN MEMORY OF: Examples of donations that might emerge include: AMICA MIDWEST CHAPTER Marion Leedy Carol Voss Garrit Doring • Individual bequests to the Endowment Fund, which or may not Norma and Jean Henry Jerry Doring have specific applications and/or restrictions. Frances M. Willyard Evelyn Schaller Frances M. Willyard Marvin Polan • Chapters may wish to donate a portion of their profits from Nadine and John Motto-Ros Marvin Polan sponsoring a convention. Shirley and Frank Nix Marvin Polan Frances M. Willyard William Babb • AMICA may wish to transfer portions of its revenue into the Frances M. Willyard Dennis McMenamy Fund. Frances M. Willyard Bernice Carnes Gail and Dee Clarke Marvin Polan • Contributions into the Fund may not be refunded under any cir -

298 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Memorials received by Bill Chapman with membership Having a webpage for your Chapter is hugely important. renewals: It shows your chapter and the browsing public what activities you're planning, photos you've taken and your general level of Bill Blair activity. I would frankly say that not having a chapter webpage is Tom and Marilyn Chase detrimental today, by virtue of its non-existence. If your chapter Algie and Patsy Crouse would like to have a webpage or even a whole chapter website, Franklin and Martha Diamond the process is very easy! In its simplest form you would create a Christiana Drapkin Microsoft WORD document containing your text and/or photos Dee Eltzroth just as you'd like them to appear on the web. But how do they get Wayne and Faye Irelan to the 'web'? Luke Leukhardt You can now use the AMICA website to host your Herb and Rochelle Mercer Chapter's website. I have created separate login areas for each Peter and Judith Metcalf chapter's use, so that the person in your chapter who created and John and Nadine Motto-Ros manages your chapter's website can host it on the back of Arnole and Carol Rathbun AMICA's web address. Even if you're not savvy on maintaining Larry and Marilyn Reichert websites, I make it easy by sending you explicit directions on Gary and Donna Ritz how to get your files to your chapter's web space. Please feel free John Spencer to contact me at [email protected] for simple step-by- Ed Tracey step no-fault instructions, and give it a try. John VanOpdrop This year I'll be busy as president-elect in my (work) professional society, but I will still devote the necessary hours to Total donations to the Memorial Fund are $930.00 Thank you let - maintain and upgrade the AMICA website. I'm still planning the ters have been written to all donors and acknowledgement letters logistics of integrating our Membership database with our web - that a memorial donation has been given have been sent to the site to allow members to login and update their own information. families of memorial recipients. The Memorial Committee Chair - MBSI has done this already, but they hired a thirdparty to create man has sponsored all postage as a contribution to AMICA. and maintain the works - and with it comes an ongoing mainte - nance expense I'd like to avoid. Respectfully submitted, Ray Dietz, Chairman Karl Ellison Website Manager WEBSITE MANAGER’S REPORT AMICA INQUIRY REPORT 2009 – 2010 To-date, 76,121 visits have been made to the www.amica.org website, averaging a little over 6,000 visits per 2009 was a quieter year in answering questions posed to month. I make an effort to get us linked with other sites that have AMICA through the website. There were only three people who parallel interests, for further visibility to AMICA and our activi - wanted to know how much to ask for in selling the pianos they ties. inherited and did not want. I did receive word from one of these We also receive email inquiries from people who have that he did give the piano to a local senior center along with rolls. questions that our FAQ page did not address, and they're usually There has been no report on how the gift has been used since very specific. Jack Edwards in San Jose volunteers to receive then. these inquiries, and forwards them to the people who can best Nobody asked about a piano technician and one person answer the question. did write with what he felt was a correction in the information I receive materials from different people for inclusion contained on the website. That information was forwarded to on the website. Some of it would be a copyright issue, others are Karl Ellison who did what was necessary. very long videos that can't be edited down to something that The most amazing response was to a request for infor - would be of interest, and others contain many duplicate photos - mation on a specific model of Seeburg orchestrion. The request all of which don't make it to the site. I do add what I can if it came from a man in the area, not an AMICAn though many makes sense or is of historic significance. One major achieve - attempts have been made to get him to join. He wanted to know ment is that all of the historic video that was held by our Audio- what a fair price would be for that particular instrument. The Visual committee; super-8 sound film, Beta-Max cassettes, question was put out to the membership of the Founding Chapter. 1970's "U-matic" broadcast tapes etc. have been digitized and are Responses came in hot and heavy from all over the United States all available for you to view in the "Members-Only" section. and one from Canada. The responders not only gave price ranges I have been working closely with Terry Smythe, who but what to look for, what to be careful of and suggestions on has been scanning rare documents for the Mechanical Musical moving the instrument. One respondent even gave the names of Literature page (also found in "Members-only"). Terry solicits people he felt to be honest saying that buying an instrument from you to loan him your mechanical-music related literature, and that person would assure honest treatment and that the instrument deals with several documents a month and spends mind-numbing would be in as good shape as one could get. hours to properly digitize them, and then they're added to the website (and returned to the owner). These documents have made Submitted by: up the bulk of the new material contributions for the prior year. Jack Edwards

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 299 Chapter Reports CHICAGO AREA CHAPTER PRESIDENT: Jerry Biasella VICE PRESIDENT: Richard Van Metre BOSTON AREA CHAPTER SECRETARY: Carol Veome TREASURER: Joe Pekarek REPORTER: Curt Clifford PRESIDENT: Phil Konop BOARD REP: TBD VICE PRESIDENT: Robert Hunt SECRETARY: Kirk Russell In the Chicago Area Chapter we ended 2009 with 77 TREASURER: Dorothy Bromage memberships (130 members) which reflects a net gain of 1 dur - REPORTER: Don Brown . ing the calendar year. Our 3 meetings were each attended by 35 to 45 people. We started the year by giving a $1000 donation to BOARD REP: Robert Hunt the AMICA Memorial Fund in memory of Maury Willyard and ended the year with $7880 in our accounts. Since the last report the Chapter has met at the follow - Our first meeting was hosted by George Glastris in his ing locations: classic 1920s Chicago bungalow, which is decorated in the Arts & Crafts style in the West Ridge neighborhood of the city. He is a phonograph collector extraordinaire whose resume includes *August 16, 2009 : Home of Dorothy Bromage , Billerica, MA prior employment with Christie’s Auction House and the Antiques Road Show. Although he does not have a piano, George * November 7, 2009 : Charles River Museum of Industry and has a number of additional collections scattered around the house Innovation , with Dave Bowers the featured speaker. The Aeo - which include Mission Furniture, scientific and technical instru - lian player piano donated by the Chapter was put to use for all to ments, and Greek folk art. During the business meeting all agreed experience the culmination of a special project. that given our concerns about members’ privacy, we will no longer post the meeting minutes on the AMICA website. We discussed at length the books and resources now * April 11, 2010 : Home of Robert hunt , Kennebunk, Maine available on line including the 200 plus items of original litera - ture noted on the AMICA web site library which are available to In addition to taking care of official business, each facilitate research by the membership. It was noted that through meeting features a Mini-Mart, a Show-and-Tell Session, a talk by the efforts of our member Thad Kochanny along with Terry Smythe, the Obenchain Ampico Reproducing Piano Rolls Cata - the host about the home and collections, and time devoted to logue has been re-issued and they were working on Harvey questions and answers. Roehl’s book - Player Piano Treasury and making efforts regard - The chapter has $2,657.90 in the bank. All six New ing Larry Given’s book Re-Enacting the Artist. Members were England states are represented in the membership. encouraged to share their original materials with the group. It Members completed a project to provide a player piano was noted that the AMICA bulletins from 1964 to the present to the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in have now been electronically recorded with the exception of the most recent 9 issues. A proposal is before the AMICA Board to Waltham, Massachusetts. This project was reported in the Jan- make these available on DVD for a fee. Feb issue of the Bulletin. Bob Hunt facilitated the completion of In June, James Hubbard hosted the meeting in his 1918 the restoration. The museum staff continues to feature the Aeo - Prairie style church parsonage in Chicago. Within his totally lian upright player (electrified) as visitors enter the museum. rehabbed Arts and Crafts style home he has a varied collection Executive Director Dan Yeager was “instrumental” in arranging which includes a Coinola Midget, several juke boxes, an upright phonograph, an oak Victor V phonograph and a pin ball machine. the September 11 installation. We knew the piano was in good He also has an American style Photoplayer and a Cremona A hands (literally) as Dan sat down and played some great ragtime. Roll Piano Nickelodeon with flutes. James was quite proud of his On May 30, 2010, the Chapter lost a member and good newest acquisition - a piano with an LX System. Given the love - friend of mechanical music. It was Dr. Mark P. Malkovich III, ly weather, there was a mini flea market in the back yard and a who in his capacity as Artistic Director of the Newport Music great barbeque dinner. Our final meeting/holiday gathering was held in Decem - Festival, arranged to feature the Mason and Hamlin upright ber at Carol Veome’s house, which was owned in the 1930s by Welte-Mignon of Bob Bowerman in the July 2008 Festival. Con - baseball great Gabby Hartnett, a Hall of Fame Chicago Cubs siderable exposure and publicity for AMICA was generated at catcher 1921-1940. The house is adjacent to the Rockola (Chica - that time. The Newport Music Festival is a 16-day series of go based Jukebox family) mansion. Not much business was con - chamber music concerts in the Newport mansions. Mark met his ducted, but we all had fun with a “show and tell” segment for death in a single vehicle automobile accident while out of state which members brought unusual or historic items to share with the group. In the spirit of the season, holiday tunes were on most helping a relative move. He had been Artistic Director of the Fes - of the phonographs, 1950s hi fi, Wurlitzer 1015 juke box, musi - tival for 35 years, and the whole Rhode Island community is in a cal boxes, Steinway piano and the Seeburg G. state of shock, with the current year’s Festival opening July 9. For 2010 we are in the planning stages for our schedule of home meetings, field trip ideas and musical events. Submitted by: Respectfully submitted, Robert Hunt Carol Veome - Chapter Secretary

300 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 FOUNDING CHAPTER LADY LIBERTY CHAPTER

PRESIDENT: John Ulrich PRESIDENT- John Dousmanis VICE PRESIDENT: Karen Simon VICE PRESIDENT- Vincent Morgan SECRETARY: Bob & Bonnie Gonzalez SECRETARY- Bob Stuhmer TREASURER: Lyle Merithew & Sandy Swirsky TREASURER- Maryam Morgan REPORTER/Newsletter: Jack & Dianne Edwards REPORTER- Martin “Buzz” Rosa BOARD REP: Lyle Merithew & Sandy Swirsky BOARD REP- Vincent and Maryam Morgan

We currently have 45 paid memberships with 69 total The Lady Liberty Chapter currently has 44 families (68) members. Our total treasury is $4,592.35. individuals who have paid their dues for 2010. We had five meetings in 2009 at the homes of Richard The last part of 2009 the chapter held: a barbecue at the Reutlinger, Julie Porter, Bob and Bonnie Gonzalez, John Ulrich, home of Jerry and Cheryl Maler on Long Island in July, another and Lyle Merithew and Sandy Swirsky. We also had an organ barbecue at the home of Bob and Laura Yorburg in Yorktown rally in Sutter Creek. Heights in September, a meeting at Don Neilson’s museum in PA in November and our end of the year meeting at Herb Singe’s Respectfully submitted, collection in NJ in December. In 2010 our first meeting was held Lyle Merithew and Sandy Swirsky , Board Representatives at the home of Keith Bigger in early March and the second in the home of Dianne Polan in late May. On May 1st and 2nd the chapter also hosted an organ rally at Nunley’s Carousel in Gar - den City, NY and the Air and Space Museum next door. Since the HEART OF AMERICA weather was good this time, and normally is so the first weekend PRESIDENT: Robbie Tubbs of May, the chapter has decided to invite COAA to co-sponsor VICE PRESIDENT: Dan Davis annual organ rallies there in the future. SECRETARY: Trudy Moffitt In June, chapter members also attended Edison Day at TREASURER: Brian Graham the Thomas Edison Labs in West Orange, NJ; the COAA band REPORTER: H. C. and Marlene Beckman organ rally at Knoebel’s Amusement Park in Elysburg, PA, and BOARD REP: Gary Craig Wannamaker Organ Day at Macy’s Dept. Store in downtown Philadelphia. These were unofficial events that are of great inter - The Heart of America Chapter currently has 94 mem - est to many of our chapter members. bers. About 40 members show up for any given meeting. The In Dec. the chapter’s annual elections were held. Since Christmas meeting usually has 60 to 70 in attendance in most our by-laws state that the President may serve only three years years. We have members representing seven states in the Middle and then must step down, John Dousmanis was elected to this West. position. Vincent Morgan was elected to the position of Vice The Heart of America held the obligatory four meetings President and Maryam Morgan remains as the Treasurer. Bob in 2009. On May 17th and 18th our first meeting of the year was Stuhmer was elected to the position of Secretary. All elections held at the home of John and Barbara Washburn in Grain Valley, were unanimous. MO. The group met first in Independence, MO for a tour of a Due to the untimely death of Marvin Polan in January, motorcycle museum followed by a tour of the Harry S. Truman Dianne, understandably, withdrew from being the Board Rep. Presidential Library. After lunch at Arthur Bryant’s famous bar - and Vincent and Maryam Morgan were chosen for that position beque restaurant we visited the World War I museum. On Sunday at the May meeting, which was held at Dianne’s house. we had a brunch at the Washburn’s followed by a business meet - Our chapter was devastated by the death of Marvin ing. Polan in January, 2010. Marvin has already been missed at the Our second meeting was a monkey organ rally held at meetings and will also be missed at the conventions for all of his the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Leawood, KS on August 1 and 2. hard work, especially in the area of photography. Both he and The Farmstead is a children’s farm that attracts 1,500 people on Dianne contributed much to our chapter and to AMICA as a any given weekend. There were several small organs that per - whole. For Dianne to request a meeting in her home so soon after formed on Saturday. This was followed by a brunch and business Marvin’s passing was astounding. Jere Ryder took Marvin’s meeting at the home of Jan and Harold Engelhaupt on Sunday. place in demonstrating the many instruments in the Polan collec - Another monkey organ rally was held at the Missouri tion. My wife and I reflected that our first AMICA meeting was Botanical Garden on September 12th. We had eleven organs and also a barbecue held at the Polans’ home ten years ago. two accordions that played from 9 AM to 4 PM. That night we met at Gary Craig’s house for barbeque and a power point pre - Respectfully submitted: sentation on the history of street organs done by Cynthia Craig. Vincent and Maryam Morgan The Christmas meeting was held December 5th and 6th at the home of Mike and Sandy Schoeppner in Kansas City. On Saturday evening Mike and Sandy’s favorite Mexican restaurant MIDWEST CHAPTER catered a delicious meal. On Sunday we had our normal Christ - mas brunch followed by an exchange of gifts which is usually a PRESIDENT: Don Johnson “dog eat dog” event. This was followed by a business meeting VICE PRESIDENT: Liz Barnhart where we discussed meetings for 2010. SECRETARY: Hilda Merchant TREASURER: Alvin Wulfekuhl Submitted by: REPORTER: Christy Counterman Gary Craig , Board Representative BOARD REP: Liz Barnhart

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 301 The Midwest Chapter has 61 family memberships. Our Phipps Center for the Arts also located in the downtown area. spring and early summer were spent working on final details for Also, in March Don Barton of the Barton Player Piano the AMICA International Convention which was held in Cincin - Company sponsored his TENTH ANNUAL Piano Roll Flea Mar - nati, July 22-26, 2009. In May we did a “practice visit” to check ket and Silent Movie Event. He holds the flea market at his shop out area restaurants including the Hofbrau Haus, trolley rides and and the movie portion at the Historic Heights Theatre in subur - convention destinations. We also went to the Radisson in Coving - ban Columbia Heights, MN, with accompaniment by Ed ton, KY where the Convention would be held. Copeland. You 2005 AMICA conventioneers were here and Our fall meeting was planned by Hope Rider in Wabash, enjoyed this theatre and its specially installed theatre organ, cour - IN. On Saturday afternoon we visited the Wabash County Histor - tesy of the MN Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society ical Museum which featured “Portraits of Lincoln”: The Robert (ATOS). Lang Collection. We went on to the Dr. James Ford Historic This year for the first time in many, plans have been Home containing an authentic surgery room. Dinner was held at made to hold an August weekend get together and chapter meet - the Honeywell Center with Hugh McIntyre serenading us on his ing in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This will be on home ground for our accordion. Our highlight was visiting Hope Rider’s large collec - local chapter members Terry Smythe, Alan Turner, national tion of musical instruments which she and her late husband, member Milton Schenk and enthusiasts Morley Golden and Paul Frank, had accumulated. Our Sunday morning brunch and meet - Horsch. Terry, Alan and Milt have planned an action filled week - ing were held at Charley Creek Gardens. end so we have high hopes that the turnout is good for this Our spring 2010 meeting was in Marion, OH. We met at “North-of-the-Border” event. the Popcorn Museum for a tour and then on to President Warren We’ll close out 2010 with a Christmas party and meet - G. Harding’s Home which had an excellent docent. After dinner ing at Randy Hammond’s house provided he is still a member of at the Country Caterer we went to the home of Mike and Linda the teaching profession (jobs are uncertain these days and for Perry. They have a big collection of roller organs and music some of our members it has been a bad year financially and job boxes and a “secret” music room with a selection of large instru - wise). ments including the always favorite” Scopitone”. Sunday morn - Our treasurer reports the chapter has $4000 in a short ing was our meeting and brunch with Dave VanOosten and Jim term CD and $1000 in checking. We currently have a member - Althouse hosting. Dave has recently remodeled a fantastic home ship of 38 representing 24 households. 34 with octagon rooms on a lakeside setting and has a wonderful Our meetings and events fall mostly on Sunday after - collection of instruments and antiques. Afterwards, many drove noons with an attendance of 12 to 20 members. Our biggest to the Organette House of Todd and Betty Augsburger’s in Ken - attendance occurs for our Christmas party. Yearly we schedule ton and also to Dave and Susan Ramey’s in Marysville with the four to five get togethers that range from member hosting to out - well-known Banjo-Orchestra. side concert events. Secretary Michael LuBrant constructed an The Midwest Chapter would like to thank Bob Ander - Email Notification System that enables us to stay in contact with son for the fantastic job he did as chairman of the AMICA 2009 98% of our members. Cincinnati convention. In concluding our chapter report we want everyone to Our chapter sends out e-mails as soon as possible to know that we have two members who are distinguishing our announce future meetings. The detailed information is mailed chapter through their participation in AMICA national events. closer to the time of the meeting. Members need to keep Christy First, TERRY SMYTHE accepted the position of editor of our Counterman informed of any e-mail change. national/international Bulletin and this has been followed by ALAN TURNER being nominated for the national VP position. Submitted by: As a chapter we’re very proud of these two and their commit - Liz Barnhart , Board Rep. ment to our national organization.

Submitted by NORTHERN LIGHTS CHAPTER Paul Watkins , Chapter President . PRESIDENT: Paul R Watkins VICE PRESIDENT: Mark Kraabe l PACIFIC CAN-AM CHAPTER SECRETARY: Michael LuBran TREASURER: Barbara Watkins PRESIDENT: Bill Mote REPORTER: Jerrilynn Boehland VICE PRESIDENT: David Goodwin BOARD REP: Paul Watkins or Mark Kraabel SECRETARY: Judy Mote TREASURER: Mark Smithberg Northern Lights is a “Middle-of-the-US” chapter cover - REPORTER: TBD ing Minnesota, North & South Dakota, Manitoba & Northern BOARD REP: Dan Brown Ontario To kick off the new year and to end 2009 we had our The Pacific Can-Am Chapter has 25 household mem - Christmas party and meeting at Bill Nunn’s Skyrock Farms in berships, representing 36 individuals in Washington State and Hamel, MN. Bill had just completed the new “European Beer British Columbia, Canada. Chapter funds stand at approximately Garden” addition to his large indoor facility which houses band $6200 and dues are $10/year per household. Four meetings are and fair ground organs and a small rideable carousel. The added held a year. In the past year, they have been in Sequim, WA, area and his European theme unify the surroundings and instru - Spokane, WA, Kent, WA, and Mercer Island, WA. Meetings con - ments nicely. sist of an afternoon gathering, a business meeting, a mart, some In March, 2010, we again started out our event year sort of demonstration or workshop, and a meal, often a potluck. with dinner and a meeting in downtown Hudson, WI This was The Chapter jointly hosts an organ rally with the Columbia River followed by an evening pipe organ concert by Martin Ellis at the Carousel Organ Association and this year it will be held in Rich -

302 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 land, WA in June. Other chapter activities include the continuing renditions of hand played ragtime followed by a concert pro - maintenance and demonstration of the Knabe Ampico piano in duced by his famous 9’6” Steinway DR Duo-Art. the Seattle Paramount Theatre. On February 15, 2010 a hardy group of members braved bad roads to travel to Art Reblitz’ shop in Colorado Springs to Respectfully submitted, witness the rebirth of a 1918 Wurlitzer CX that Art recently Dan Brown , Board Rep restored. The best way to view and hear the instrument is via the You Tube Video edited by Bob Taylor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omoos87WEPg. ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER A visit to Art’s shop is always a treat. He had received a hand carved Mason and Hamlin for restoration (this instrument is fea - PRESIDENT: Jere DeBacker tured on the front page of July 2009 Membership Directory). VICE PRESIDENT: Ken Hodge Another project is the restoration of an unusual prototype SECRETARY Louise Lucero violin/cello player made by the Stewart Whitlock Company. TREASURER: Barry Weiss After the meeting, members enjoyed music from Art and Jean’s REPORTER: Larry Emmons Seeburgs followed by dinner at a local restaurant. BOARD REP: Jere DeBacker Our next scheduled meeting will be held June 26, 2010 at the home of Ed and Karen Zimmerman in Denver. We will The Rocky Mountain Chapter had an active year which also plan a meeting (yet to be scheduled) at the new ‘Carousel of started on April 25, 2009 at the home of Barry Weiss in Boulder Happiness’ in Nederland, CO scheduled to open to the public in Colorado. This event was an “old fashioned” singing party start - May of 2010. ing at 6pm accompanied by the Conway player piano (Simplex The Rocky Mountain Chapter currently has 39 member Mechanism) playing rolls of great old American songs. A potluck families. A concerted effort has been made over the past six dessert party rounded out the evening. months to collect back dues and we are happy to report that our On June 24th we convened at the home of Don and membership is now current. Almost all back dues resulted from Owanah Wick in Colorado Springs for an afternoon of food and the membership not knowing where and when to send them. entertainment featuring the Wick’s 1927 Wurlitzer Pipe organ. Unfortunately, we have had some members drift away over the This organ is of significant historical interest having been initial - years but have some new members to make for a stable member - ly installed in the Empire Theatre in Montgomery, Alabama (now ship. the Rosa Parks Museum) and then moved to the Martin Luther At our December meeting, the membership agreed to King Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga. The Wicks raise the chapter dues from $5 per annum to $10. It was thought acquired the organ in 1974. We were treated to music played by that this would facilitate the establishment of enough funds over Denver’s Paramount Theater Organist Bob Castle. In addition, a time for the chapter to expand its activities and outreach to local 1925 Steinway XR Duo-Art, 1927 Chickering Ampico and many community functions such as street fairs. It was noted that we other instruments and artifacts were played and displayed. Of were not collecting enough funds to pay to move a piano to some particular interest were Owanah’s large doll collection and the of the community fairs where our membership participate. Cur - phonograph and train collections. We were pleased to have mem - rently, the Rocky Mountain Chapter has $1248.66 on hand (April bers from 5 states in attendance. 3). By invitation several chapter members provided mechanical music entertainment during the Englewood Days and Submitted by Barry Weiss Treasurer, and Larry Emmons Car Show Festival near Denver, CO. Merchants provided indoor Chapter Reporter space for a Seeburg foot-pumper with Jere DeBacker and Jud Murphy providing the rolls and motive power. A melodious little bird named ‘Ciello’ provided accompaniment. Barry Weiss SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA demonstrated an 11” Regina Style 20 music box and an Edison Model D cylinder phonograph at another location. Ken Hodge PRESIDENT: Richard Ingram and Pat Moore provided outdoor entertainment with the Verbeeck VICE PRESIDENT: Mike Choate Street Organ while Bryan Marklin patrolled the event with a Pell SECRETARY: Shirley Nix Harmonette Monkey Organ. A ‘well done’ was received by the TREASURER: Diane Reidy Englewood Days Organizing Committee and Chamber of Com - REPORTER: Shirley Nix merce. Ken Hodge also entertained with his Verbeeck at loca - BOARD REP: Frank Nix tions in California, and at the end of March at the “Vintage Volt - age” Expo in Denver (a major Denver show featuring old audio, The Southern California Chapter is alive and well, with radio, phonograph, musical equipment and arcana). meetings every evennumbered month. We have had meetings in 2009 was rounded out with a Holiday Party Saturday, members’ homes and at other venues. It has been a good year. Dec. 12, 2009, at the facility housing the Bill and Rosanna Har - We have done organ rallies in Sutter Creek, Long Beach ris’ large collection of European dance organs, orchestrions, nick - and Hanford. All three appear to be annual events, at least at the elodeons and other mechanical instruments in Denver. This was a present time.. joint event with members of AMICA, MBSI, and phonograph Our membership is holding fairly steady, and we are collectors in attendance for entertainment and the proverbial always on the lookout for new members. potluck dinner with all of the trimmings. We followed the party with a second set of meetings on Sunday, Dec. 13. First we went Submitted by: to the home of Steve McCormick for a Sunday brunch, a busi - Shirley Nix, Chapter Reporter ness meeting, election of officers and music provided by Steve’s reproducing pianos. We then moved a few blocks away to the home of Dick Kroeckel where he entertained us with his great Continued on page 308

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 303 Knabe Concert Grand Ampico B Rebirth

Although Kenneth Long of San Antonio and Dallas has piano to the public in 1931, the new serial number 11005 a special affinity for each of 16 reproducing pianos he has col - replaced the original number as was done with other unsold deal - lected over the past 20 years, he considers the acquisition of a er stock Ampico pianos. rare 1920’s concert grand Knabe Ampico piano as one of his Although the Knabe’s first owner resided in a large most unique finds. This research oriented reproducing piano afi - coastline mansion offering numerous rooms for placement, the cionado has painstakingly restored the ebony beauty to perfor - second story ballroom was selected for the piano’s location. mance quality and debuted its twenty-first century return to per - When the home was later expanded, the resulting architecture formance by producing and hosting two private nonpareil concert precluded any normal egress for the removal of the piano, which events. was removed from the house through the second story balcony Ken states: “This Knabe is now providing pleasure doors by means of a crane. again to a new The piano generation of was subse - audiences, per - quently pur - forming flaw - chased by lessly, and Robert Mari - always pleas - on Frasier in ing all per - the 1970’s, formers and probably listeners. This through piano has been Bernard a treasure to Kurtzman, a restore to its local New former glory York City and to keep the piano broker. tradition of Frasier had a piano perfor - Welte sym - mance and the phonic pipe Ampico alive.” organ in his 12 E.12th The Street Man - restoration was hattan comprehensive loft/workshop including key and may have action, piano, planned on hand rubbed the two ebony finish instruments like the origi - playing nal, and repro - together. He ducing system. restored por - Originally, the piano had two grand board moving skids but since tions of the instrument including the Ampico B system. He sub - have been removed, however, the original double legs remain. sequently advertised the piano for sale in the Spring 1978 and The Ampico Model B system was further customized to perform Fall 1979, Darien, Conneticut, Mechanical Musical Center, Inc. with the expected dynamic characteristics for a concert grand sales bulletin. piano by utilizing a larger and more powerful rewound motor, The Knabe was purchased in the early 1980’s by The installing metal ball bearing connecting rods, doubling the power Ballroom, a dinner theater and cabaret on 28th Street in Manhat - of the crescendo, inserting a more powerful spill spring which tan, similar to those in the 1920’s and 1930’s which featured retains its same number of coils, and adding another assist spring vocalists, comic performers, and dancers. The Ballroom opened activated only as the piano is accelerating into its second amplifi - with the Knabe accompanied by popular 1940’s and 1950’s cation step. vocalist, Margaret Whiting, daughter of Richard Whiting, the The plate serial number is 11005 indicating 1931 vin - famous composer of many early twentieth century popular songs. tage, however, an additional serial number 10874 is located on Other vocalists and musicians to use this Knabe included Rose - the key bed, action, and lid. It is assumed that this piano was mary Clooney, Helen O’Connell, Rose Marie, Peggy Lee, Patti originally serial number 10874 and manufactured in 1928 or Page, Helen Schneider, Lonette McKee, Blossom Dearie, Eartha 1929 and equipped with an Ampico Model A reproducing system Kitt, and Yma Sumac. However, this New York City for stage and Ampico demonstration purposes. culinary/cabaret venture was not long sustained due to declining After the Ampico demonstrations ended due to the demand and the piano was taken again to a Long Island residence Depression and the declining Ampico market, this piano was sold prior to being sold to a local historic piano collector, Rick Smith and placed in a Long Island manor house. In order to market the who ultimately sold it to the current owner in 2002.

304 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 In keeping with Ken’s desire to emphasize the Knabe’s timelessness rather than choosing career-developed master pianists, he selected two young virtuosos for the performances: Dylan Meek, an American jazz pianist, and Konstantyn Travin - skyy, a Russian classical pianist. Ken collaborated with each instrumentalist, meticulously orchestrating the two events, to ensure inimitable concert experiences while the Knabe Ampico demonstrated its enduring grandeur. Dylan Meek

Dylan Meek playing the Knabe Ampico in concert formance programs at Berklee College of Music during his high school years, and most particularly, intensive study from age 13 to 18 with master musician Jimmy Neeley. During the heyday of jazz and music clubs in Harlem, Neeley performed regularly at such clubs as the Apollo, Baby Grand, and Blue Note, and toured worldwide with jazz greats The Knabe’s renaissance concert was on March 30, such as Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Gene Krupa, and Arnet 2008, in San Antonio, Texas, performed by Dylan Meek to an Cobb, to name a few. Neeley instilled in Meek not only his audience of invited guests, AMICA members, and piano enthusi - music knowledge, but also a supreme understanding of musical asts. According to the inspired host, Meek, who was 17 years old tradition and the ability to continue Neeley’s legacy. Zez Con - at the time, held the group of 50 attendees on the edge of their frey, you have met your match with Dylan! seats and in absolute amazement playing such old favorites as Originally hailing from a small Texas town, the now “Perdido ”, “ I Got Rhythm ”, “ All The Things You Are ”, “ C-Jam nineteen year old Meek lives in Manhattan and is a sophomore at Blues ”, “ Over The Rainbow ”, “ On Green Dolphin Street ”, The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. Coinciden - “Autumn Leaves ”, “ Misty ”, “ Girl From Ipanema ”, “ Honeysuckle Ros e”, “ Samba de Orpheus ”, “ D’jango ”, “ Ain’t Misbehavin ”, “Take The A Train ”, “ Someday My Prince Will Come ”, and “Cherokee .” The concert event began with the Ampico playing a spe - cially punched Zez Confrey jumbo roll by Custom Music Rolls to greet the arriving guests, and those guests with Ampico pianos received a gift copy of the Confrey roll. A catered lunch was provided for the many notable individuals attending the young jazz virtuoso’s magic performance. Attendees included Vikki Carr, the accomplished and beautiful international vocalist with a career spanning five decades; Rick Rowley, renowned classical pianist, performer, and University of Texas professor of piano performance; Alejandro Radchik, Russian doctor and pianist, traveling from Mexico City; Ken Caswell, retired Executive Director of the San Diego Opera and Austin Symphony Orchestras, General Director of Opera Memphis, and Manager of San Antonio Symphony and Opera Festival Orchestra; and retired Swedish music critic and interna - tional news correspondent, Margareta Lindquist. Ken affection - Margareta Lindquist, Dylan Meek, and Vikki Carr ately recounts: “Margareta nearly became musically intoxicated and lovingly insane listening to the professionally arranged jazz tally, the location of his college at 55 West 13th is less than two masterpieces and their dynamic interpretations by such a young blocks from the Knabe piano’s former 12 East 12th Street and talented performer”. address 30 years earlier. Meek, the protégé of master pianist Jimmy Neeley, has During his first year in Manhattan, 2010, Meek has per - developed a heightened level of musicianship for a pianist of his formed solo, as an invited guest, and with the Dylan Meek Trio young age. This attribute can be accounted for by his having in concerts and club bookings at numerous New York area loca - begun performing with seasoned professionals at age 13, a self- tions including The Players Club for “Jazz at the Players”, The imposed rigorous rehearsal schedule, two five week summer per - Hewlett/Woodmere Public Library’s jazz concert produced by

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 305 Konstantyn made his Chicago debut at the Dame Myra Hess Series which was broadcast live and his orchestral perfor - mance include appearances with the Kislovodsk Philharmonic Orchestra in Russia, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra, and the Shreve - port Symphony. Konstantyn has won numerous competitions including the Gold Medal at the Wideman with a stunning performance of Terry Clegg and AMICAn Ken Caswell the Sergei Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1, First Prize at the Crescen - Jack Kleinsinger, The Lenox Lounge, The Showman, The do Music Competition in Tulsa, Second Prize at the Kingsville Garage, Pier 66, and numerous other engagements. He also per - Concerto Competition, and First Prize at the Texas Music Teach - forms regularly with the Tim Veeder/Dylan Meek Duo. ers’ Association Competition. Additionally, during his first year in the Big Apple, Mr. Travinskyy is becoming well known for his Liszt Meek has been invited to perform onstage by pianist Danny interpretations and has enlightened many listeners at his perfor - Mixon and the Harlem All Star Band, trumpeter Joey Morant, mances in the United States, Greece, Italy, Russia, and Ukraine. violinist Vitali Imereli of the Rosenberg Trio, pianist Marc Other prizes include 4th place at the Valsesia-Musica Internation - Devine, the Ehud Ashery Band, pianists Al Vega at Lucky’s al Piano Competition 2004 in Varallo, Italy, Finalist of the V Lounge and Steve Heck at Encore Lounge in nearby Boston, and International Competition 2004 for Young Pianists in memory of numerous others. Vladimir Horowitz (Kiev, Ukraine), Grand Prize and Overall Jack Kleinsinger, New York City’s jazz impresario and Winner at the 2nd International Music Competition for Young 37 year producer of Highlights in Jazz, New York City’s longest Pianists 2001 “Valsessia Musica” (Scopello, Italy), First Prize at running jazz concert series, endorses the promising 19 year old the International Competition “Art of the XXI Century” 2000 musician with the following public statement, (Vorzel, Ukraine), First Prize at the 4th International Piano Com - “Dylan Meek is one of the most original and versatile petition for Young Pianists “Konzerteum” 1998 (Greece), and pianists to come along in the last decade. He is a true Third Prize at the 1st International Music Festival after keeper of the Jazz flame.” Paderewski, (Glybchitsa, Poland). Jack Kleinsinger Producer, Highlights in Jazz New York Cit y

For more comprehensive information on Dylan Meek please check out MySpace: www.myspace.com/thedylanmeektrioquartet or FaceBook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1601914727

Konstantyn Travinskyy

Another piano concert was played on the Knabe concert grand by Russian pianist Konstantyn Travinskyy on the afternoon of November 22, 2009. Mr. Travinskyy is a 28 year old 2010 graduate in piano performance of the University of North Texas. He attended the National Academy of Music of the Ukraine Konstantyn Travinskyy performs on Knabe Ampico in concert before coming to the U.S. He began piano at the age of 5 and his piano professors have included Natalia Zajtseva, Tatiana Cha - The audience received a surprise lagniappe when laya, Olga Sherstyk, Boris Fedorov, and Van Cliburn gold medal - Ruusamari Teppo joined Konstantyn for a four hands duet on the ist (1973), Vladimir Viardo. Knabe of Franz Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor. Ms. Teppo start -

306 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 ed piano in her native country, Finland, at the age of five. After About 60 AMICAN’s, musicians, and guests attended graduating from the Sibelius High School in Helsinki, she stud - Konstantyn Travinskyy’s November, 2009, concert on the Knabe ied in Paris. She has artist’s certificates from the Prague Conser - Ampico. He played beautifully phrased and ingeniously inter - vatory and the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Currently preted classical pieces by Bach, Haydn, Chopin, Scriabin, Schu - she studies at the University of North Texas and has performed bert, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Schubert-Liszt. His style of supe - for radio and television in Finland and the U.S. with other perfor - rior musicianship on the technically difficult repertoire was mance in Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, astonishingly accurate, well-balanced, and brilliantly executed. Belgium, Estonia, and South Africa. Being a direct descendant Speaking for all of the guests at the concert, Ken stated, “Much of Jean Sibelius, Ruusamari performs many of his works includ - appreciation is bestowed on these wonderful and talented musi - ing a project for the unpublished, early chamber works. Ms. cians who made concert grand history on this rare Ampico Teppo is currently the pianist for the University of North Texas Knabe’s return to performance.” Symphony Orchestra, the Richardson Symphony, and the multi- national chamber group, the Elara Ensemble.

Guests gather for the Konstantyn Travinskyy concert Konstantyn Travinskyy and host Ken Long

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 307 Continued from page 303 SOWNY CHAPTER Treasurer report is as follows: Jan. 1, 2009 Dec. 31, 2009 PRESIDENT: Mike Walter Savings VICE PRESIDENT: Tom Cardinal Act Bal $1628.33 $1629.93 SECRETARY: Garry Lemon Checking TREASURER: Holly Walter Act Bal $ 606.78 $ 563.72 REPORTER: Garry and Anne Lemon ______Total $2235.11 $2193. 65 BOARD REP: Glenn Roat The chapter had 4 scheduled meetings in the year 2009. The SOWNY Chapter is an active chapter in the South - In March, the chapter shared a joint weekend meeting with the ern Ontario and Western New York area. We currently have 23 Sunbelt Chapter of MBSI in Houston. This meeting included 3 paying members. Our chapter has been actively planning and home tours: Dr Ray and Nancy Dickey, Darwin and Judy Klein - preparing for the 2010 International Convention. Our financial tob, and Allen Bies and Steve Boehek’s Victorian manson . A outlook is steady. We have $3,003 in a Certificate of Deposit and memorable treasure of this meeting was an inspiring and educa - $1,352 in a Savings Account for a total of $4,355in assets. Chap - tional talk by the late Marty Roenigk. What a memorable experi - ter meetings were held throughout 2009, including the ever popu - ence that was. He is sorely missed by all of us. lar Christmas Party/Meeting at Mike and Holly Walter’s house. Our September Meeting, a piano/organ concert, “The McKinney Blues”, was unfortunately cancelled due to the illness Plans for 2010 are focused on the success of the 2010 of one of the performers. The program has been rescheduled for Convention. In addition, Chapter meetings are planned for August this year. Spring, Summer and Fall. In October, we hosted a joint weekend meeting in Dallas with the Sunbelt Chapter of MBSI. Rick and Alla Wilkins hosted Respectfully submitted, members at the Olden Year Musical Museum in Dunkanville Glenn Roat with a tour and an informative lecture. Michael & Maureen Barisonek opened their home to members. The next day, Bill & Sharron Boruff hosted a breakfast visit and Richard and Janet TEXAS CHAPTER Tonnesen hosted a luncheon vist at their homes. Our Christmas Dinner Meeting was held at the home of our President, Rich Clayton. This is always a special meeting PRESIDENT- Rich Clayton with a catered meal and a Christmas Chinese gift exchange that VICE PRESIDENT- Bill Boruf always brings a lot of laughter. Rich gave a report from the annu - SECRETARY- Suzanne McCal l al convention is Cinncinati. TREASURER- Janet Tonnesen This year has a full schedule of meetings planned, REPORTER- Ken Long thanks to Bill Boruff. The chapter is healthy and led by a great BOARD REPS- Suzanne & John McCall team of automatic musical instrument aficionados.

The Texas Chapter has 48 paid memberships, represent - Viva la Amica! ing 76 persons. Submitted by Suzanne and John McCall , Board Reps 2010 AMICA Convention in Pictures

Hi Babit in Great Form!

ls Su Fal rpris ra e! S aga urp Ni rise!

308 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 2010 AMICA Convention in Pictures Photos courtesy of Glenda Steain, Bob Taylor, Holly Walter,Aline Kadlec. and Terry Smythe Early Birds Board Meeting

Gary Craig, Ken Hodge, Pat Moore

Registration

Holly Walter, Shirley Roat, and Chris John Steain, Lee Molnar, Rich Clayton Cardinal manning the Registration desk while Tim Baxter checks in.

Hospitality Suite

3 Editors - Robbie Rhodes (MMD), Julian Dyer (PPG Bulletin, and Tim Steain and Glenda Steain, Terry Smythe (AMICA all the way from Australia Bulletin)

Julian Dyer from Lee England, Lanier, and Tim Mike Baxter and Liz Barnhart

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 309 Mike Walter Bench cover on Mike’s 1935 Chickering and his 1935 Ampico B. Chickering Ampico B, on loan in our Hospitality Suite

Glen and Dick Shirley Roat, Merchant and Chris and Cardinal Ursula Ochs

Throughout the convention, various people , including Jason Klinger (owner of this player piano), Joyce Brite, and Robbie Rhodes, gave this player piano a thorough workout.

International Vice-President Alan Turner, and Northern Lights Chapter Presi - dent Paul Watkins Don and Peggy Lundry

310 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Bill Chap - man, Bob Hunt, Tom Ahearn, and Steve Bucknam

Bob and Gloria Taylor

Dick Mer - Hi Babit chant and Bob enjoys Gonzalez tickling the enjoying ivories as the spirit of much as the we enjoy moment. listening.

John McCall and George Wilder dis - cussing the story behind....

Margaret Bisberg, Richard Van Metere, and Jo Crawford

Ron Kilfoil, Lee Molnar, Rich Clayton, and John Steain Wine and Cheese Social following the Klezmer concert. enjoying a humorous moment.

AMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 311 Klezmerola and Klezmer Music

Bob Berkman presented a charming, polished pianola University at Buffalo Klezmer Band presented a first class realizations performance of his Klezmerola , a unique type enthused performance of typical Jewish Klezmer music. of Jewish music off rare piano rolls. See: http://www.klezmerola.com/ Welcome Breakfast

Convention Chair Mike Walter, welcomes Our Buffalo Hyatt hotel served up a fine buffet style breakfast to fuel us for the day. AMICAns to Buffalo Darwin-Martin Niagara Falls

the Darwin-Martin Complex, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, The grandeur of Niagara Falls, from either side of the was a fine opportunity to visit various buildings such as the border, never loses the magic of its Gardner’s Home, and the Interpretive centre. power and presence.

312 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Roycroft Campus

Vidler’s Five and Dime Store

Vidler's - An old fashioned five and dime store rarely found any - Jeff Vincent adding character. Highlight was his very well where anymore, possibly the largest 5 & 10 variety store, restored barrel piano. one-of-kind shopping experience.

Hal Estry browsing the many aisels of countless Sherri Neff revelling in numerous ‘finds’ attractive products. never found anywhere else. Pierce Arrow Transportation Museum

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 313 Scenes of Downtown Buffalo

Niagara Square, monument to Larry Norman presiding in Mayor’s throne. 1901 assassination of President McKinnley Historical Society Taste of Buffalo

Jason Klinger at the con - sole of an Aeolian Duo- Art reproduc - ing pipe organ

Donna and Hal Estry enjoying the ‘Taste’ Taste of Buffalo, with City Hall in background

Dottie McMe - Five owners namy and of Aeolian Dorothy Olds Duo-Art pipe organs: Jason Klinger, Bob Taylor, Carl Dodrill, Rich Clayton, and Joe Shirley and Orens Glen Roat

314 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Shea Center Silent Film Concert

Dennis James, inimitable raconteur, provides introductory Charlie Chaplin, looking for some peace and quiet, is disturbed remarks before he begins to tickle the Mighty Wurlitzer. by some pesky guy in a straw hat in the lower right-hand corner playing a pipe organ.

Wurlitzer Apollo reproducing grand in the lobby of the Shea Theatre. Original installation. Operated by Jason Klinger

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 315 Mart

Ron Kilfoil and Mike Barnhart negotiating with Bob Berkman

Steve Bucknam examining Bob Hunt’s e-valve system.

Bob Taylor Bill Earnest discussing discussing Hi the merits Babit’s book of Tom and CD of his Hutchinson’s perfor - roll repair mances. table.

Gary Craig helping Lydia Dodrill making a purchase.

Marie Pendelton and Larry Norman disposing of props from prior ‘Norman Productions’.

Ray Dietz and Dottie McMenamy manning side-by-side booths.

Julian Dyer and Robbie Rhodes discussing some merchandise in John Motto-Ros’ booth.

316 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Workshops

Bob Taylor discussing Ampico dynamic coding. Felix Klempka reminising about his long career at QRS. Stuart Swanberg looks on during Herb Lindahl’s discussion about pneu - matics rebuilding techniques.

Dave Heigl discusses various fea - tures of the PianoDisc system.

Pumper Contest

Dick Merchant competing.

Tom Cardinal defining the rules of the annual Pumper Contest

Dan Harrett competing.

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 317 Contestant Tim Baxter accepting “Footsie” as winner of the Pumper Contest Music Man Band members Terry Smythe and Mike Walter enter with the parade.

Judge Julian Dyer announcing the winner of the Pumper Contest.

^ Music Man Band member Joe Orens makes a grand entrance Music Man band members as its Drum Major. marching in precision entrance. v

Tim Steain and his unique, original performance of “Alley Cat”, with supplementary PowerPoint display. Band members Marie Pendleton "Professor" and Shirley Nix Harold Hill, Direc - mock fighting tor of Music Man, over ownership of aka Larry Nor - a piano roll. man, announcing destroyed in the the piano roll he process. plans to use in No winner. competition.

To the Music Man medley on a piano roll, “Professor” Harold Hill leads his cast into his unexpect - ed, surprise perfor - mance.

318 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Band mem - ber Holly Walter leads into a Barber Shop Quartet performance

Band members Mike Walter, Gene Benzino, Alan Weitzsacker and Robbie Rhodes singing a traditional barber - shop quartet, within this wonderful Music Man spoof.

Complete cast of all involved with “Professor” Harry Hill’s delightful, thoroughly enjoyable performance of Music Man medley on a piano roll, as an unsuccessful competitor in the Pumper Contest, but once again a highly successful entertainer. Cast of Music Man band. Larry Norman is to be commended for his ingenuity, creativity and commitment. Banquet

Christy Counter - man, Donna Estry, Sherri Neff, David & Dianne Reidy, and Liz Barnhart in period costome.

Maryam and Vincent Morgan

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 319 Alvin Wulfekuhl and Dr. Shirley Ekvall

Bob and Kathy Singer

Bill Cynthia Dean and and Paul Rich Mayer Dean

Hal and Joan Lipman Halie Dodril and Lydia Ann Dodril Dorothy Olds Florie Hirsch and Joe Orens

Tamar and Bill Earnest Keith Bigger Robin Biggins and Ardis Prescott

320 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Bill Chap - man, Lee Lanier and Bobby Clark

Bonnie and ‘Chip’ Lusby

Carl Dodril and Stuart Swanberg Dave caught in Jones earnest discus - sion about pipe organs

Jerrilyn Boehland, Bob and Gloria Taylor

John and Nadine Motto-Ros

Bonnie Gonzalez, Robbie Rhodes, and Joyce Brite H.C. Beckman, Gary Craig, and Greg Moffitt

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 321 George Wilder, Roy Beltz, and Jo Crawford The Pyramid Band Farewell Breakfast

John Motto-Ros bidding fond adieu.

Julian Dyer discussing Tim Baxter presenting AMICA’s AMICA Con - International Award to Robbie vention 2011 Rhodes, and Jodie Kravitz (in in England, Abstentia) and various points of great interest. COAA Band Organ Rally

1932 Pierce Arrow owned by Bill and Jean Irr John Ravert brought his Wurlitzer band organs display.

322 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Neil and Deb - bie Smith’s newly restored Wurlitzer 146B military band organ.

‘Katie Sue’, brought by Peter and Jill Hallock.

Liz and Mike Barnhart (in ‘Treveris’, a patriotic Stinson 146 dress), band organ, describing brought by their ‘Treveris’ Mike and Liz band organ to Barnhart Bill Chapman, Lee Molnar and Rich Clayton.

Kevin Sheehan’s Wurlitzer Caliola powered by a beautifulkly restored Fair - banks-Morse one- lunger reciprocat - ing engine power source.

Terry Haughawout and his Wilhelm Bruder fair organ. Bill McCleary’s Stinson M2000 band organ.

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 323 Tom Logan and his popcorn machine. Stranger in Paradise! A guest takes her turn at cranking a 31 note Raffin organ.

Paul Senger and his 20-note John Smith David Wasson leads the COAA band, accompanied by ‘Trudy’. busker organ.

John Prtljaga’s home built organ on a modified 165 scale. Larry Kern and his Stinson ‘Ambassador’; (Larry on extreme left.)

324 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 AMICANs Making Music hoop skirt and served as a Greeter as well as assisting me. Ken Hodge The day went very well. The Mansion staff treated us vol - unteers as guests and gave us a private tour of the first floor museum prior to the public’s admission. The second floor is the Off The Beaten Path private residence of the Governor of Colorado, Bill Ritter and his The historic 1908-vintage Governor’s Mansion in Denver, family. Before the day was over - in addition to members of the Colorado, is occasionally the venue for special events in addition public - the Governor, First Lady, and his Mother had enjoyed to regular free public tours. A Saturday family day open house - cranking out tunes on my Verbeeck Street Organ at the Mansion “Off The Beaten Path ” - was held June 5 to draw attention to entrance. All told, we provided over 3 ½ hours of happy music points of interest in Colorado’s eastern prairie counties. In addi - and information on the organ and AMICA. tion to the residence tours, performing musical groups and tables An excerpt from the organizer’s Thank You letter reads: representing historic prairie tourist attractions and events were “…your presence and the wonderful music was the hit of the set up around the Mansion grounds. entire day and was the best possible entrance we could have Organizers of this open house were acquainted with Art had.” Yes indeed - it was a wonderful day. Reblitz of our Chapter, because of his restoration work on their Wurlitzer Monster band organ in the Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel at the Kit Carson Museum in Burlington, and asked him if he could recommend someone to provide modest- size band-organ type music as one of the performers. The carousel museum would have a table at this event. The organizers were given my name and contacted me; Art suggested my Ver - beeck Street Organ would be a good fit. I agreed and engaged in exploratory e-mail and telephone communications with the prairie development folks. I was eager to participate because the performance would also contribute to my outreach efforts to pub - licize AMICA. Let’s cut to the chase. My assistant Pat Moore and I showed up quite early June 5 and were allowed on Mansion grounds to unload the organ and paraphernalia (e.g. music books, signs, AMICA brochures). Being early paid off in that we were offered a choice of perfor - mance locations. We quickly selected the event entrance at 400 Logan Street right in front of the Governor’s Mansion. At this site there would be lots of foot traffic and no other musicians to Ken Hodge and his 36-key Verbeeck Street Organ await visitors. compete with…all other musical activity would be in the rear Not visible behind him is a sign with instrument details and yards. Also, we could play all day whereas the other musical AMICA affiliation. Note AMICA brochures by the urn and groups were each allotted just one 30-minute slot. Pat, who is a monkey, tin cup, etc. on cart shelf in background. veteran of events at the Mansion, was in a period costume with

Ken Hodge and Pat Moore lis - ten as Gov. Bill Ritter plays a tune near the Man - sion entrance.

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 325 to the ground level and wheel it over to the happy-hour room. Ken Hodge After a few words about mechanical music and the instrument, we entertained the group with happy music from the Verbeeck A CHANCE ENCOUNTER Street Organ for an hour and a half and encouraged some to crank out tunes. Also made remarks about AMICA and had some Late last year Pat Moore and I started serious planning literature on the bar. This was a totally unexpected event during for a winter break in Southern California. She had a week's time- our California travels. We were delighted to have the opportunity share slot to use-or-lose in January and we felt the beach city of to entertain and inform a public group. There were thank-you's Ventura would be central to family, friends, and sites we'd like to and words of appreciation in days that followed. visit. A short time later Frank Nix called and asked if we'd be We departed Ventura January 30 and participated the interested in participating in a band organ rally late January in following day in the organ rally in Hanford. The rally on January Hanford, a small city in central California's vast San Joaquin Val - 31 and our participation were reported by Shirley Nix in the ley. Of course we would! The AMICA Southern California Chap - March/April "AMICA Bulletin." We and the organ left for Col - ter had been asked by the city's Conference & Visitors' Bureau to orado the next day and were safely home a day later. The unex - join them in a celebration recognizing five unique pipe organs pected performance in Ventura was a highlight of our journey. A situated in four churches and a movie theater - "The Magnificent great start for the New Year! Organs Of Hanford." What an opportunity if we could combine the two events since it'd require a 1200 mile road trip to the West Coast from Colorado with our Verbeeck Street Organ in our van. I gave Dorothy Bromage Frank a tentative OK, conditional on our ability to schedule our vacation just prior to the Hanford event. Pat was a good nego - Ed Note: In our last issue, I reported on an occasion whereby tiator and the time-share condo's seven-day reservation was tai - AMICAn Dorothy Bromage sponsored a neighborhood concert on lored to end the day before the Hanford celebration. So on Janu - 8 July 2010 and actually conducted Sousa’s Stars and Stripes ary 22 we hit the icy road to California. Forever. Surprise! Surprise! She did it again! We arrived in Ventura late the next day and stored the It began with this extract within a regular program: organ in a bedroom so it wouldn't be riding around with us for the week of visits and excursions we planned before the rally. The condo was a second-floor apartment in a complex of many time-share units at a marina right on the water. Perfect for relax - ing and as our base of operations. A small elevator was available to move the organ between floors (we'd checked this out before - hand). Three days later we attended a weekly wine-and-cheese mixer sponsored by the site manager in their hospitality and events room. It was a congenial and diverse group and a lot of personal and professional information was exchanged. Somehow, during our explanation of who we were and why we were there, it became known to the surprise and astonishment of the group Followed that we had a street organ parked in a bedroom in our unit. They by this quickly agreed that they must see it and hear it. The manager was program devel - interested, too, so it was arranged for us to give a performance oped for the next evening in this same room; the bar would be open, too. 22 July The elevator made it fairly easy to bring the organ down 2010, with Ken Hodge Dorothy and Pat once Moore mak - again ing mechani - conduct - cal music with ing their 36-key Sousa’s Verbeeck Stars and Street Organ Stripes in Ventura, Forever CA, during the Harbor - town Point Marina com - plex's Happy Hour.

326 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 unforgettable experience and a dream come true. Learning in Retirement Association Dorothy came armed with a wealth of musical experi - University of Massachusetts ence. When she lived in California, she conducted church choirs, Lowell, MA men’s barbershop choruses, women’s barbershop choruses, small vocal groups, and a small orchestra. She enjoyed five-years as THE CONDUCTOR TAKES THE PODIUM timpanist in the Claremont Symphony Orchestra. Life in San Francisco included singing with the Schola Cantorum and serv - The weather was good. The musicians were profession - ing as the organist at a church. Whenever she is asked if she is al. The audience in the park was attentive. Dorothy Bromage nervous about the guest conducting, her reply is, “I’m comfort - went up the steps and to the front of the bandstand where Lewis able in schools, hospitals, libraries, meetings, and anywhere there Buckley, Director of the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, intro - are musicians.” duced her. The Metropolitan Wind Symphony performs four Thurs - “The Stars and Stripes Forever” is the national march of days in July for the Lexington “Concerts in the Park” series. the USA. It was December 1977 when Congress passed the law Sometimes the Lexington “Minuteman” gives the MWS a little and President Reagan signed it. All around the world, this march publicity, and this did happen with three photos and captions in by John Philip Sousa is familiar to people. So what is Dorothy the July 15 issue of the paper. During the year, three indoor con - doing up there? At the spring concert held in Lexington’s certs are presented at the National Heritage Museum in Lexing - National Heritage Museum, the printed program had a short para - ton.. Information about New England’s premier concert band graph announcing that a person could sponsor a concert and con - can be seen at www.mws-boston.org. duct. On the way out after the concert, she expressed an interest A bandstand in a New England Park on a summer in conducting, and the process, once started, ended up July 8 in evening—what could be more nostalgic! Dorothy had such a Lexington’s Hastings Park with her conducting debut. It was an good time that she conducted the same march again on July 22.

Guest conductor Dorothy Bromage of Billerica leads the Metropolitan Wind Symphony in 'Stars and Stripes Forever' during a free concert in Lexington's Hastings Park 22 July 2010..

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 327 AMICAns In The Spotlight Jim Lowell KVOA TV News Tucson, AZ 18 August 2010 Not all instruments need a musician TUCSON, AZ - Did you know some of the oldest self- playing instruments ever created are right here at a Tucson man's home? He has refurbished collection of antique self playing music boxes and we got to take a look and listen, meet Jim Low - ell. He says his love for these rare musical players started when he was in his twenties, that's when he bought and restored his first player piano. Lowell said, "I liked it so much that I did another one, and another one, and another one." Now his home is full of music making history and he says thirty five to forty of these remarkable instruments take up much needed space. Lowell said, "Our house now has everything in it practi - cally that can fit." He has a player violin from the year 1918 and is con - trolled by a modern windows laptop. Lowell said, "This computer is set wirelessly so it will play through the original electronic stuff." It's all original and all spruced up, its good old fash - ioned music for today's ear, Jim says, that's what it's all about. Lowell said, "When you take something that hasn't played for close to a hundred years and you work on it for a month or two and it comes back to life, so that's pretty spectacu - lar." Jim says eventually his collection of instruments will go up for sale. Richard & Mary Thomas http://tinyurl.com/2vnayzh Antelope Valley Lifestyle Antelope Valley, CA June 2010

COLLECTOR'S CORNER The sound of music

WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY Rich Breault

Richard and Mary Thomas' collection is music to their ears, and to the ears of all the people who visit them. The couple, married 52 years, collect automatic musical instruments-play - er pianos, calliopes, disc playing music boxes, band organs or fair organs, orchestrions or nickelodeons, reproducing pianos, and dance organs. "Almost everything we have plays with a roll or disc," said Richard, who was executive vice president and a director on the board of

328 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 America Honda Motor Co. before he retired several years ago. technic High in Sun Valley and at Rio Hondo College, and during a sum - The couple, determined to downsize, moved from La Canada to mer vacation we hauled a trailer as we toured the United States," Richard the Antelope Valley in 2002. said. "Collectors tend to expand their collections to meet available "We bought a pump organ and a grandfather clock while we space," Thomas said. "So we thought by downsizing we would get rid of were in Maine. We just liked them. We put the pump organ on the roof of some of the pieces in our collections. the car and the grandfather clock slept on the floor next to me in the trail - "But once we moved, I asked Mary what she was going to give er." up, and she asked me what I was going to give up." Richard is especially proud of his 1925 Welte reproducing play - "And it became quite clear that neither of us was willing to give any-thing er piano. "It doesn't just play notes," he said. "It accurately reproduces how up," Mary said. the person who made the roll played the song. It plays with the player's In order to house their many collections, they built a storage passion and emotion." building on their property. It's expansive and has the feel of a modern Reproducing player piano rolls had additional punched holes hunting lodge. along both roll edges that activated mechanisms to control tempo, volume, But what hunting lodge has one automatic musical instrument, expression and subtle tone. let alone more than a dozen? Then there's the antique record players or With many of the couple's other player pianos, the operator "talking machines," jukeboxes, Edison dictaphone, and even a Rolmoni - determines how the music is played. Seated at a pump player piano, ca-an automatic harmonica that played roll music and plays the same note Richard pumped harder to accent the notes played, and let off a bit to soft - on the draw as the blow so the player can use the instrument without hav - en those same notes. ing to stop to take a breath. "At conventions, club members have pumping competitions," While the Rolmonica is the couple's smallest instrument, the said Richard, a member of the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors largest is a circa-1925 dance organ-10 feet tall, 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep- Association, as is Mary. made by DeCap Brothers of Antwerp, Belgium. "And most people think player pianos just played." "Each piano, each organ, each music box becomes part of the family," Mary said. "We enjoy the music, but we also get kind of used to it. It's not really interesting until someone comes over and we play the music for them. And we fall in love with them all over again." Some of the more celebrated instruments are the couple's 1905 Pianella Corona Xylophon, which combines the piano, mandolin and xylophone; a coin-operated Cremona from the 1920s, which combines piano and mandolin and has stained decorative glass inserts; a 1905 North Tonawa-nda Musical Instrument Works band organ, which is extremely loud and was perhaps used at a circus or carousel, its drums and cymbals visible to the audience. A couple of their unique instruments are the Mira Grand with duplex harp/zither-a deluxe disc music box made around the turn of the century-and a Klingsor Gramophone with string resonator. The Klingsor features criss-crossed strings in front of the horn and a couple of sound boards designed to make the music resonate. "I can't tell a difference in the music," Richard said. "But it's unique nonetheless." The couple's Mira Grand is believed to have been used at the Cliff House in San Francisco and might have survived the 1906 San Fran - cisco earthquake. "That's the story anyway," Richard said. "But the music box is nice, with or without the story." "For me, the beauty of the collection is the music first, then how the machines are made," Mary said. "I also like the historical aspect of them. "All I know is that when they're playing, everyone is having a good time. Not much different than when they were first played."

The couple bought the dance organ about 35 years ago. "We http://avpress.com/avlifestyle/index.html took out a loan to get it," Richard said. "At the time, people wondered what we were doing. Ed Note: Contributed by Shirley Nix "It has gobs of (organ) pipes, bass and snare drums, cymbals, tri - angle and more. And most of the Decap dance organs were heavily deco - rated in art deco. This is only one of two I know of that has a classic case." had to start somewhere "We started collecting these about 40 years ago. I taught at Poly -

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 329 years old. But the piano didn't look like his mother's piano. This Bill Chapman one had a paper roll above the keyboard and big pedals. He tried to play it but was told not to touch it. The Desert Sun, But curiosity got the better of him. Palm Springs, CA “I went over and stepped on the pedal, and it played, 12 August 2010 and I was just thrilled,” he said. “That planted the seed. When those keys went down without me touching them, I was amazed. Local man restores player pianos I thought it was really the cool thing.” As a kid, he checked out books from the library on play - to their former glory er pianos. When he was 15, he traded an old church pipe organ he'd been given for a cheap player piano. by Debbie Council “Everybody in the house loved it,” he said. “We had a lot of fun with the player piano.” Walk into Bill Chapman's home in La Quinta, and be But because their home furnace was directly below the prepared to step back in time. room the piano was in, parts dried out, and the instrument would - The old player pianos beckon one to grab a partner and n't play properly. So he said he took it apart. And with a book do the foxtrot or rumba. from the library, he fixed it. Chapman slipped a cotton and wood fiber piano roll When Chapman and his partner of 28 years, John punched with tiny holes into a 1926 reproducing Weber piano, Ohrenstein, moved to La Quinta from Seattle, they downsized. flipping a brass switch, and the keys magically moved up and But Chapman couldn't part with his pianos. down playing the upbeat melody “Carioca” from the 1933 musi - Inside the couple's home are four pianos along with a cal film “Flying Down to Rio.” collection of 1,000 classical and popular piano rolls. Aside from the 1926 Weber, he also owns an 1860s-era Cramer burl wood upright from England with elaborate black scroll work and brass candleholders on each side. He said it predates the player piano by about 30 years. On another wall is a 1926 Marshall and Wendell middle line reproducing piano of dark walnut that he bought in an antique store in Portland. He said he admires its range and mellow tone. A fourth was a lucky find for Chapman, who received a call about a 1926 Mason and Hamlin reproducing piano, just what he'd been looking for. He drove from Seattle to Albu - querque to look at it. It was in rough shape, he said, but he bought it. Still in the process of restoring it, white tags lay on the piano to be attached to specific black tubes so he doesn't lose track of where he's going. “You have to label them because they all go to different places, and they're not color coded,” Chapman said. “So as I go, I glue on the name of what that tube does. In this case, it's step two of the dynamic range for a recording.” Bill Chapman sits at the 1926 Marshall and Wendell reproducing Chapman's workshop is in his air-conditioned garage. piano he purchased at an antique store in Portland, Ore. More pianos wait for his tender loving care. Piano parts are (Photo by Debbie Council, Special to La Quinta Sun) propped along the wall and stored in boxes. There's just enough room for a small work table in the middle. Chapman's hobby is repairing and restoring antique “There's a real satisfaction in knowing you saved some - automatic instruments. He's known for his ability to meticulously thing from demise — restoring an instrument, like a dusty old and patiently bring the beauties back to musical life. pile of junk, into something that's admirable and working again He has restored about 15 instruments for clients. like it should,” he said. It's not a cheap hobby, he said, quoting the cost of miles +++++++++++++++ of black rubberized cloth, expensive blotter paper and leather for the valves. Plus, he buys old pianos for the parts. The work is a Bill Chapman belongs to the Automatic Musical Instrument Col - matter of good eye and hand coordination, he said. lectors' Association International, which is dedicated to the “I guess it's the same enjoyment I get out of taking an preservation of the instruments and music of the player era. For old tarnished silver urn and polishing it back to gleaming silver,” information and sounds of the era, visit www.amica.org he said. A retired social worker, Chapman said he has been fas - http://tinyurl.com/2fkd7o9 cinated with player-type pianos for 68 years — and he's only 72. Growing up in Portland, Ore., in the early 1940s, he saw his first player piano in a housekeeper's home when he was 4

330 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Chapter News NORTHERN LIGHTS President - Paul Watkins Reporter - Jerrilynn Boehland

The Northern Lights Chapter held its late summer meet - ing August 6-8 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Nine members headed north for a most enjoyable weekend. Saturday morning, we were joined by several local members for breakfast. We discussed the day's plan of events as well as options for the evening. We began at the lovely home of Terry and Eleanor Smythe. Here we visited, viewed their collection, and spent time in their garden. Eleanor has an extensive collection of pop-up books which we eagerly pored over. Welcome breakfast at the CANAD-Inn Next we headed to the home of new members Morley and Marlene Golden. They have a lovely home filled with many interesting items. They treated us to a lunch along with listening to rolls on their impeccably restored Mason & Risch Duo Art reproducing grand piano. We want to extend a huge welcome to them. The conclusion of our first day in Winnipeg was at the home of Alan Turner. We toured his recently acquired vintage home, and enjoyed music from his varied collection of pianos etc. most of the afternoon. Next, our chapter president, Paul Watkins conducted a business meeting. The high points dis - cussed were the Buffalo Board Meeting and Convention, chapter membership, and planning for 2011. Alan and Perry provided us with a tasty buffet supper which we enjoyed on the patio. The evening was beautiful, with no bugs, and it was dark when we Terry, Alan, Marlene Golden, Jerrilynn, Paul, left. Morley Golden, Don & Mark at the Smythes'. Sunday morning the members met for breakfast again. This day was about visiting the city of Winnipeg. Several of us visited the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and English Garden in Paul Assiniboine Park. What a beautiful place in which to get lost. Watkins & Lucky for us this was the middle week-end of Folklorama, a Tim Wheat yearly event in Winnipeg consisting of dozens of venues show - examining one of casing ethnic cultures and cuisines from around the world. Sever - Eleanor's al of us were able to attend one or more of the pavilions. pop-up On Sunday, we bundled up Terry's gift, to the Chapter, books. of approximately 1,000 88note piano rolls into several vehicles for the trip back to Minneapolis. The Chapter may do as its wishes with the rolls. Monday morning most of us headed back to the Twin Cities filled with fond memories of our wonderful neighbors to the north. Morley Golden with his Terry & Mason & Eleanor Risch Smythe Duo-Art with their piano . Fischer

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 331 Midwest Chapter

President Don Johnson. Reporter Christy Counterman

On Saturday afternoon July 10th after the pumper con - test during the AMICA Cconvention in Buffalo, NY, Midwest Chapter members convened for a meeting to discuss future plans. As always, we had a great turnout for the convention with 16 members attending. Our next meeting will be Oct 23-24 in Michigan. These pictures show some of the adventures we had while in Buffalo.

Alan Turner with his Stroud Duo-Art upright. Our Group’s first stop on Thursday was the Buffalo and Erie County Histor - ical Society where Christy Counterman made a sou - venir penny of the Pan Amer - ican Exhibition Building.

Jerrilynn Boehland & Alan Turner with his Steinway Duo-Art.

We toured the Gardener’s Cottage at the Darwin Martin complex: Hal Lipman, Wes and Sherri Neff listen to our guide.

Paul Watkins conducts the chapter meeting at Alan Turner's

Don Barton, Jerrilynn Boehland, Randy Ham - mond and Howard O'Neill enjoy Alan’s back - yard patio. Among those learning about the Roycroft print shop are Hal and Donna Estry, Don Johnson and Bob Andersen.

332 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 The Midwest Chapter held their Chapter meeting in the Atrium of the historic Genesee Building, which was incorporated into our hotel.

Getting ready for the silent movies at the Shea’s Theater balcony Liz Barnhart explains the inner workings of the Treveris organ are Ron and Judy Warriner and Liz and Mike Barnhart. that husband Mike built, they are on the grounds of the Wurlitzer building in North Tonawanda.

On the advice of Dan Wilke, Christy Counterman and Wes and Sherri Neff traveled to the Parkside Candy and After dinner on Saturday, chapter members posed Ice Cream store, a fixture in Buffalo since 1927. in their banquet attire

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 333 Membership Update Kent Arnold Annemarie haywood 802-658-2356 3085 N. Bellflower Blvd. PO Box 10406 [email protected] Long Beach, CA 90808-3702 Southport, Gold Coast (correction) [email protected] Queensland 4215 Australia Jim and Marcia Ratsoy James Blanco 12391 Gilbert Rd 165 S Main St Karen & Lynn herche Richmond, B.C. V7E 2H7 Jefferson SC 29178-9799 11440 Tilli Dr. CANADA 603-772-4882 Pinckney, MI, 48169-9525 604-275-1973 [email protected] [email protected] Francis himpsl Dan Boland 1140 E. Industrial Blvd Steven Reading 8181 Folsom Blvd Sp 82 Audobon, CO, 81007-6549 425 Euclid Ave., Apt. 10 Sacramento CA 95826 San Francisco, CA 94118-2620 916-388-0166 James & Patte Inman [email protected] 100 Fremont Pl Marian Chabansky Los Angeles, CA 90005-3867 Geraldine & Leonard Readinger 777 San Antonio Rd. #31 1408 Hampden Blvd FL-1 Palo Alto CA 94303-4835 James K. Jelinek Reading, PA 19604-1828 650-776-6543 7105 Pleasantdale Dr. [email protected] Countryside, IL 60525-5072 Larry Reece [email protected] 551 Townes Rd Bobby Clark WAYZATA, MN 55391-1330 3219 Plantation Road John King 763-442-6121 Raleigh NC 27609-7825 14401 Secretariat Drive 919-832-8204 Bowie MD 20721-1288 Rob & Penny Reid [email protected] [email protected] 6114 21st Ave NE Seattle, WA 98115-6912 Gregory Coen Sally Lewis 206-525-5238 1150 Evergreen Ave. 7377 US 31 N, Plainfield, NJ, 07060-2631 PO Box 297 Gary Shipe and Sean Gardner [email protected] Music House Museum 127 University Av ACME MI 49610-0297 Buffalo, NY 14214-1226 Philip Dayson 716-833-5206 5955 Balsam St #1202 Richard Lohr [email protected] Vancouver B.C. V6M 0A1 P.O. Box 260 CANADA Buffalo, NY 14231-0260 Bob & Kathy Singer 604-222-8766 6205 Clinton St. [email protected] Ian Mavor Elma, NY 14059-9491 1703-641 Bathgate Dr. David Evans Ottawa, Ontario KIK 3Y3 Allan Smith P. O. Box 3088 Canada 41839 Firenze Revelstoke, BC V0E 2S0 [email protected] Lancaster, CA 93536-2976 Canada [email protected] [email protected] Tom Mayer and Connie Fourre 12786 Sprandel Rd Andrew Snyder Robert Grimm Finlayson, MN 55735-8563 24 East Summit St 1001 Parma Way 320-233-0438 Somerville, NJ 08876-1915 Los Altos CA 94024-4858 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Michael Metcalfe Brian Thornton & Massimo Pessino Marietta Guzzo & Davil Fell 10216 Pattrson St S 207 S. McCrary 211 S Av 57 #209 Tacoma, WA 98444-6026 Woodbury, TN 37190-1439 Los Angeles, CA 90042-4739 253-548-0465 [email protected] 323-344-3969 [email protected] [email protected] Joe & Judy Twitchell (email change) Gary Nelson 14653 Berry Wy 1553 Upland Place San Jose, CA 95124-3545 Stephen hassett & Joseph Cangaloli Medford, OR 97504-9211 4458 Oak Beach Assn. [email protected] Ken & Jeanine Vaughn Oak Beach NY 11702-4621 2628 Zollinger Rd [email protected] Nancy Jacobson and Dennis O'hora Columbus, OH 43221-2659 PO Box 4502 641-940-2196 Burlington, VT 05406-4502 [email protected]

334 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 AMICA Convention 2011 UK Julian Dyer Convention Chair I’m glad to report that arrangements are progressing * Tuesday 6th: Burtey Fen organ museum, with next year’s convention, which will be a coach tour starting plus private visit. from London, England. The highlight is a whole day spent at the * Wednesday 7th: Cotton Museum. Great Dorset Steam Fair, with many other top attractions along * Thursday 8th: return to Heathrow. the way. I described the proposed tour in the last bulletin, so won’t repeat myself beyond giving a brief summary of the itiner - The costs for the tours are as follows. These figures ary. As well as the main convention tour itself we are offering an include all accommodation, coaches, entry fees for all the optional extra tour for those who want even more mechanical planned attractions, breakfast every day, and a few dinners. You music. The extension is, as its name suggests, optional, leaving pay your own airfare and for the remaining meals and any extras. you free to organize further touring for yourself – indeed, I hope Thanks to the way that British hotels operate there has to be an that everybody uses this tour as an excuse to do lots of further extra charge for single-occupancy rooms. The costs, per person, travelling in the UK and further afield! therefore work out as: I’m delighted that we’ve secured the services of Linda Hardiman to arrange everything for us. Linda will be well known Double Room, per person Single Room, per person to at least some of you as the organiser of numerous other highly- Convention $1425 $1748 regarded tours in the UK and Europe, her “History in harmony” Extension $925 $1115 business specialising in mechanical music – she knows every - Both tours $2350 $2863 body and everywhere, so we’re in the very best possible hands for our convention. Linda has already completed the arrange - These figures are based on an exchange rate of 1 Pound costing ments for travel and accommodation, and given us a firm price 1.9 Dollars, which is a worst-case estimate: the actual rate should for the tour. be better than this and any surplus funds will be returned after the I’m also delighted that Liz Barnhart has, once again, Convention. Non-US attendees will be able to pay directly in agreed to manage the registration process for us, bringing her Pounds, to avoid unnecessary additional currency-exchange unparalleled experience of dealing with overseas AMICA events. costs. With this bulletin we’re including a Preliminary Registration form so we can judge the level of interest and make sure we book TIPS, QUESTIONS AND enough hotel rooms. No money is needed at this stage: we will ask for a deposit in a couple of months and expect the full sum in ANSWERS early Spring 2011. By Frank and Shirley Nix To spell out the rest of the setup, I’m the UK convention organizer, supported (and egged on) by Frank Nix as AMICA’s At the Buffalo Convention we Convention Coordinator. I put together the tour, Frank makes asked how many were interested in next year’s England Conven - sure you get here! We’ve prepared some tips and answered some tion, and were pleasantly surprised by the response. We did get a questions, which you’ll find below. If there are other things we lot of good questions, however, and decided from now until next should deal with, let us know and we’ll publish answers for all to year we will have a short Q and A column to try to address these read. issues, and to give tips to make your trip more enjoyable. As a brief reminder, here’s an outline of the tour: England is full of great venues, and we will try to take you to some of the most interesting and fun Main tour places. Our first tip is: PACK LIGhT . No more than one suit - * Sunday 28th August 2011: arrive at Heathrow hotel. case per person please, and keep it down in size. You will have to * Monday 29th: Kew Gardens, Kew Bridge Pumping Engines handle your own luggage or have someone else on the trip help and Brentford Musical Museum. you, no porters. We won’t be doing anything where you will need * Tuesday 30th: Stonehenge, Salisbury. to dress for dinner, so don’t worry about that. Figure on wearing * Wednesday 31st: Great Dorset Steam Fair. your outfits more than one day, and layer your clothes to save * Thursday 1st September: West Somerset Railway, Minehead, space. This is perhaps the main point where you can help your - plus a house visit. self. You can always pick up clothing over there if the need aris - * Friday 2nd: Bristol, Big Pit museum, Steamship Great Britain. es. The tour will be staying in each hotel for at least two days, so * Saturday 3rd: Roman & Georgian Bath, return to London. there will be plenty of opportunities to organize laundry. Don’t forget to have a valid passport. Don’t wait until Optional extension tour the last minute… check now to see that yours is dated well beyond when you return home, six months at least. This is very * Saturday 3rd: drive to Norwich. important, since sometimes it takes a bit longer than you might * Sunday 5th: Thursford Collection, North Norfolk Railway. figure to get your passport updated. You can get the forms at the * Monday 5th: Bardwell windmill, Bressingham Gardens and post office or on line. Steam Museum.

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 335 Rain? Well, this is England after all, and you should be setting in for winter! The typical temperature during the day in prepared for it. A small umbrella or cheap plastic raincoat which early September in southern England is nearly 70 degrees, more folds into a small bundle doesn’t take up much space in your than that if it’s clear and sunny, and less if it’s cloudy. It’s quite suitcase, or you can always buy one over there should it be need - likely to be a bit of both during the tour. If it is clear it will be ed. very pleasant indeed during the day but will get chilly in the Unfortunately we can’t accommodate wheel chairs or evening, so be prepared. On our big day out at the Dorset fair, if scooters on this trip. You will need to be able to walk on your it rains, you’ll find there are lots of marquees you can hide out in. own without mechanical help of any kind, although some help Average rain is about 2 inches a month at this time of year, and it will be available at Dorset – see Julian’s note below. tends to come in a few bursts. It’s a lot drier here than you might The Dorset Steam Fair will be a long day, but we will imagine from British weather’s reputation – 30 inches rain per have the buses make a trip back to the hotel earlier for those who year in London as compared to 46” in New York and 14” in Los don’t want to stay the full time. This is a huge event, and you Angeles. For the extension tour, Norfolk is drier, having not won’t want to miss it. much above 20” rain. We are trying to find out if there will be laundry facili - The Dorset site is very big, a full square mile if you ties available at some of the hotels, and will let you know if this include parking and camp sites. The organizers do what they can information becomes available. for the less mobile, given that it’s farm land. As a coach we can We encourage you to come a few days early to let your - get quite close to the main gate. There is a bus (well, tractor plus selves get over that famous jet lag before the trip starts. We’ll be farm trailer with seats) that runs around the site regularly at a hotel close to Heathrow and the transportation into London is throughout the day. There are plenty of seats or benches in front good, so you can see some sights on your own and rest up to be of organs, and around food stands, so you don’t need to be on ready when the Convention trip starts. There is a lot to see and do your feet all day. If you wish to bring a small folding seat, make in London of course, and you should take advantage of it. As sure it’s something easy for you to carry and fits in the bus with well as the registration costs which were given earlier, right now you. We have the whole day at Dorset, so you can pace yourself air fare, if we were going this year, would run about $1300 each very gently and still see all the highlights. If you need a little from Los Angeles. help, Dorset organizes a supply of electric buggies to be available Do plan to come. It will be a good trip, with lots of time at the site. These are provided by a third party, the “wheels for to enjoy the sights, and you may see some things you would freedom” charity, and you must book with them well before the never find on your own. fair. Their GDSF booking details are at http://www.wheelsfor - If you are planning on coming please send in the prelim - freedom.talktalk.net/gdsf.html, or you can phone 01202 661770 inary registration form as soon as possible. (11am to 3pm UK time). This scheme always sells out early, so make sure you book even earlier – the lines normally open on 1st If you have questions you can write or email us at: April. It’s your responsibility to book this service if you want it. Finally, why not start thinking now about making this a Frank & Shirley Nix [email protected] longer trip than just the Amica part? Come early, stay longer. 6030 Oakdale Avenue There’s a great deal to do, many places to see. Don’t fall into the Woodland Hills, Ca. 91367 common “if it’s Tuesday this must be Italy” trap – pick a few places and see them properly! I hope we’ll have some sugges - tions of side-trips hosted by the mechanical music community More answers here in the UK. For the general tourist, there’s a lifetime’s supply by Julian Dyer of sights to see in London. For instance, at the time we’re travel - ling, the Proms series of classical concerts are running, one or We know that our tour starts just after the end of the two concerts from major orchestras each day for two months. MBSI convention in Washington DC – it finishes on the Saturday Further afield, it’s the Edinburgh Festival in the run-up to our night, we start Monday morning. This isn’t a problem – there’s tour. plenty of time to get from Washington to London on the Sunday. Direct flights take just over 12 hours local time: in other words, Julian Dyer leave Washington at 9am and you arrive at Heathrow at 9pm. 5 Richmond Rise Flights from America either leave early morning so they arrive Wokingham, RG41 3XH, UK. by the evening, or leave in the evening to arrive in London early [email protected] the next morning. Our hotel is right at Heathrow, just a few min - utes from the terminals, and is in the free-travel zone so just hop the public bus or the hotel shuttle. The first day of the tour is around west London, only a few miles away from Heathrow, and even if you arrive on Monday morning you can catch up with us later that day or join us the next day at breakfast before we set off out of town towards Dorset. So, MBSI then Amica isn’t a prob - lem other than jetlag. British weather? This will be late summer – indeed, the main tour is the last week of the school holidays, and our first day is the late-summer Bank Holiday. Don’t worry that it’ll be

336 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 How It All Started HOW (OR WHY) DID YOU GET INTERESTED clock shop. IN THIS “MUSIC STUFF”? We took off for Mr. Mather’s home, got caught in the pouring rain, (One of the most asked questions when we have groups through, complete with lightning and thunder behind only “Do you ever turn them all on at once? And “How and arrived at the home of the clock much would this thing cost anyway?”) man soaking wet. He generously let us come in, and low and behold, the Shirley Nix By Shirley Nix house and basement were full of antique clocks of all shapes and At the Buffalo Convention Terry suggested we do an sizes, but more importantly to us, also full of antique music article on how we got started in this hobby, and it sounded like boxes. Eureka!!!!!!!! fun, (I have a weird sense of fun I guess) so here is the start of We ended up buying 7 music boxes, and as we were our history in Automatic Music. leaving Frank noticed the Model A Mail truck, which, to make a Frank had an aunt and uncle who had a cabin in the long story short, he also bought. This was fine, but we had flown mountains around San Diego and they had a large upright Regina to Vermont, and our method of transportation locally was a tan - music box, which he fell in love with at a very tender age. They dem bike, which didn’t make a trip home seem like much fun, let him play it at will, and I’m sure it acted as a fine alarm clock especially when we found out you could not rent a trailer to take when he turned it on at six a.m. or earlier. (He was always an out of the State. It seems like the smart thing would have been to early riser) have checked this out first, but hey, we were on an adventure and When we got married he always said someday he want - you don’t see Indiana Jones inquiring about silly things like that ed to have an antique music box of his own, since his family before he makes plans do you? music box had long since been sold. I had no idea what an As we were riding up the road a truck passed us with a antique music box was, and ended up eventually buying him a car-carrying trailer. We flagged him down and Frank asked him modern music box housed in an antique case. (Not what he had where he got the trailer. He said he had made it himself, and in mind, but it was a nice box anyhow, and we still have it….it’s Frank asked him if he would be willing to sell it. The answer easier to get these things than it is to make yourself get rid of was yes, he’d sell it for xxxx dollars, which Frank readily agreed them.) to. You have to remember, we were on a tandem bike all this We watched the newspapers and finally saw an ad for a time, and the man with the trailer was giving us looks which disc box and a cylinder box in the area. We went over to see made it very clear he thought this was some kind of scam, them, and Frank decided he wouldn’t pay the asking price, so he although he couldn’t figure out quite what the scam was.. He did made a much lower offer, which was refused. He told me he’d ask what we were driving, and his look got even more perplexed wait a week or so and then come back. We had been watching when we told him so far the bike was it. for a long time, and I figured that these were really rare, so I Then of course we had to find a vehicle to pull this trail - went back and bought the disc box, keeping it for Frank’s birth - er, since I was not about to try it with the bicycle. There is a day, which was a month or so away. limit after all, even to total insanity. When Frank called and found out the disc box was gone We did find a much used truck finally, bought it, and he was really upset, and got really anxious to find another. We Frank built a large shell of particle board on the back. It started were bicycling a lot at the time, and had a trip planned with a raining while he was working, and by the time he finished it was group in Vermont, so we shipped our tandem on the plane and pouring, along with lightning and thunder again. Were the gods went off on this adventure, which probably proved to be more trying to tell us something? adventuresome than we had planned. We also bought a horse-drawn carriage Frank saw in someone’s front yard with a for sale sign. This was really getting out of hand, that’s for sure. Did I mention that on this trip he cel - ebrated his 50th birthday? We went back to pick up the treasures, and while they were loading (and I do mean loading) up the truck and trailer I went across the street to the store, where two local gentlemen were sitting on a bench out front watching the show across the street and discussing whether the crazy people would be able to drive this thing home with the truck bed packed full, the Model A packed full, and every inch of space packed full. Their consid - ered opinion was “not far, that’s fur darned sure”. I don’t know I had heard of a Christmas shop in Stowe and thought why they had such a negative attitude. We had the horse-drawn that might be a good place to look. Off we went, but they had carriage filled with music boxes in the back of the truck. The nothing in the antique line. They did suggest a fellow in Ran - Model A, also filled to the brim with music boxes, was firmly dolph who made music boxes, so we rode off to see Dwight ensconced on the car carrying trailer. Doesn’t everyone travel Porter, who suggested we go see Bill Mather, who had a huge this way? clock collection and sometimes had antique music boxes in his We had a long trip back home, with the truck breaking

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 337 down on the highway, but only a short distance from the only orchestrions, nickelodeons, fairground organs, monkey organs, mechanic for miles and miles. I guess the gods had decided since and all the other paper and book playing instruments. We fell the rain and lightning didn’t persuade us to quit they should give immediately in love with everything, and amassed the collection up and let us have a bit of good fortune. we have now, and the love affair has never ended, lasting much We got home and unloaded, and the trailer sat in our longer than a lot of marriages today. front yard for a couple of years, much to the dismay of our neigh - Our collection had made it possible for us to meet some bors. One day one of our son’s friends was in the area, saw the of the nicest people anywhere, and to have friends all over the trailer and had to have it, so it went up to Washington State with world. We enjoy every part of this hobby, the people, and the him. I should mention that the disc music box I had bought for whole family-like atmosphere of the world of automatic music. Frank before we left and which I presented to him as a late birth - We have groups in to see our collection on a fairly regular basis, day present somehow lost some of the glitter….Rather an anti and they are amazed at the quality, beauty, and music of the climax after all. instruments. They usually come expecting to see a collection of Frank had thought when he bought all these music jewelry boxes with a little plastic ballerina going round and boxes he could bring them home and sell them and make his for - round to the music of a little music box. Boy, are they in for a tune. What he hadn’t known was: (1) he would fall in love with surprise. this inventory and (2) we would find the organizations and peo - It’s been a wonderful addition to our lives, has led to ple who collected these things, which were not so rare after all. many more adventures over the years, and we are just so thankful From this auspicious beginning we bought music boxes we are fortunate enough to be involved, since it has enhanced our every chance we got, and then found reproducing pianos, lives so much. In Memoriam Ken was a long time member of AMICA and an active member of the Heart of America chapter. He was an excellent restorer of music boxes. He would pick up a load of music boxes at the Phonograph and Music Box show at Union, IL, repair them, and bring them back the following year (in good working order, of course). He also restored automobiles and mechanical musical instruments. He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Rita, his son, Frederick Ralph Powers, and grandson Noah Adam McClain. Kenneth married Nancy McClain in 2000, and they spent 10 wonderful years together. Survivors include his loving wife, Nancy, his step-daughter, Melanie McClain, step-son, Mike Kenneth Powers McClain and wife Jeannie; 5 grandchildren and 7 great-grand - children; 5 nieces and 3 nephews. Kenneth Ralph Powers, 87, of Rogers, Arkansas died He enjoyed repairing music boxes and enjoyed his new Saturday, June 19, 2010 at Legacy House Circle of Life in Ben - family, particularly the great-grandchildren. He was a kind, gen - tonville, Arkansas. He was born August 18, 1922, in Shawnee erous, loving man and he will be missed by all who knew him. Mound, Missouri to James Ralph Powers and Louise Swigert Powers. He grew up and attended public schools in Warrensburg, Missouri and received his Bachelor of Education degree in 1944. He married Rita Clair Burton on July 10, 1943. He enlisted in the Army Reserve Corps in 1942, entered active service in May, 1943, served a year overseas in the European Theater in WWII, and was discharged in March, 1946. He taught industrial educa - tion automotive subjects for 27 years in Knob Noster, Missouri, Topeka, Kansas and Park Ridge, Illinois. He received his Master of Education degree from Colorado A&M in 1950. He was employed by Sun Electric Corp, an automotive test equipment manufacturer as an instructor in 1953. He became a corporate Ken and Nancy Powers at a recent AMICA event vice-president before returning to public school teaching in 1959. The family lived in Park Ridge, Illinois for 25 years before retir - ing and moving to Rogers in 1978.

338 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 In the News New York Times Busselton-Dunsborough Mail New York, NY Dunsborough, (near Perth), Western Australia 21 August 2010 28 July 2010 Editorial Dunsborough's musical collector Free That Tenor Sax by MICHELLE NELSON For jazz fans, nothing could be more tantalizing than the excerpts made available by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem A DUNSBOROUGH collector harks to the sound of his of newly discovered recordings from the 1930s and ’40s. Nearly master’s voice – literally. 1,000 discs containing performances by masters like Coleman Keith Hutchings shares his home with hundreds of Hawkins, Lester Young, Billie Holiday and the long-neglected gramophones and music boxes – enough to attract the attention Herschel Evans suddenly re-emerged when the son of the audio of the producers of the ABC program Collectors, but too many to engineer, William Savory, sold them to the museum. count, he reckons. The museum is doing its best to clean up and digitize the recordings. But because of the way copyright laws work, excerpts may be all that fans can hear for some time. The muse - um paid for the discs, but cannot distribute the music until it has found a way to compensate the estates of the musicians, many of which may be very difficult to track down after all these decades. Hawkins’s saxophone solo on “Body and Soul” may be reason enough for Congress to revisit this issue and free historical docu - ments from excessive legal fetters. Copyright laws are designed to ensure that authors and performers receive compensation for their labors without fear of theft and to encourage them to continue their work. The laws are not intended to provide income for generations of an author’s heirs, particularly at the cost of keeping works of art out of the public’s reach. The Savory collection, like other sound recordings made before 1972, is covered by a patchwork of state copyright and His longtime passion for the music machines of yester - piracy laws that in some cases allow copyrights to remain until year took flight when he retired, but he had nurtured a fancy for the year 2067. Congress needs to bring all these recordings under the 15 years he and his wife Patricia ran Hutchings’ Museum, the purview of federal copyright law, which generally applies next door to their home. during the lifetime of the author or musician plus 70 years. That When he closed the business, a few of the treasures time period has been criticized as too long, but is unlikely to be migrated next door, but Keith said around 90 per cent of the col - changed because it is part of a global trade treaty. lection has been accumulated since. The most significant issue for art like the jazz record - At a time when precious items could often be found ings is that they are considered “orphan works,” still under copy - tucked away on the shelves at secondhand dealers and garage right but for which the artist can no longer be located. In 2008, sales the couple took to the road, travelling extensively in Aus - the Senate passed a bill that would limit the copyrights on such tralia and New Zealand. orphaned material. Under the bill, if a good-faith but unsuccess - “Nowadays it’s all done online,” he says. ful effort is made to locate the owner, someone else can publish Keith doesn’t deal in cyberspace but he still enjoys fos - the work. An artist who later steps forward is entitled to reason - sicking for those extra special pieces. able compensation but not the heavy damages now in the law. And it’s not only gramophones that have caught his The House never passed the bill, in part because of attention. In every room of his house, both upstairs and down, objections by artists who feared a corporate takeover of their collectable glassware and fine china are displayed, set against rights. But it should be possible to re-examine the bill and tighten elaborate antique furniture and wall art, ranging from sombre the good-faith-effort provisions while still allowing orphan works portraits to flights of porcelain ducks, pelicans and parrots. to be published, especially if older recordings are added to the In a veritable kaleidoscope of colour, thimble collec - bill. (This could also allow Google and other companies to digi - tions, scent bottle collections, tiny dolls and miniature Toby tally distribute long-neglected books that are still under copy - mugs, and lamps from every era – fill every display cabinet and right.) cover every surface. Keith admits he’s sometimes surprised to Jazz Museum officials are hopeful that a blanket pay - rediscover long forgotten items. ment to the American Federation of Musicians might solve this While gramophones and music boxes are dotted around problem. That would be good news. No one should have to wait the house, the basement of the house is dedicated to them, row to hear Herschel Evans’s tenor sax. after row, dating back to the mid 1800s. Dropping a penny in to 1896 Kalliope music box, Keith http://tinyurl.com/24582op explains the saying “the penny dropped”, has its origins in the

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 339 heyday of the music box. That’s how Chuck Chadwick, business liaison for the “The gramophone came out about eight years before - Greater Moorhead Development Corp., met Johnson. hand – by the time these came out nobody wanted them so they “I was just really excited,” Chadwick said. “Who would went into clubs and bars,” he says. know that in Fargo-Moorhead we have a company like this?” A forerunner of the duke box, the music box automati - Johnson Organ Co. tunes and repairs about 140 organs cally produces notes when a set of pins placed on a revolving in an area that spans from Bismarck east to Brainerd, Minn., and cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth of a steel comb as it Grand Forks south to Marshall, Minn. Johnson said there are a revolves. Among the more unusual, is a French machine, which few other organ companies in the area, including in Wolverton sets tiny wooden racehorses in motion. and Wadena, Minn. “A different one wins each time,” Keith says. Lance’s son, Mike, goes on the service calls. Mike John - Along with the extensive line up of gramophones, son said many people are surprised to find out he’s from here. comes an equally impressive collection of music discs and cylin - “In many cases they don’t know I’m coming out of ders, manuals, and documentation, all very traditional. Fargo. They just know I’m there to work on the organ,” he said. But a quirky version of the machine in the dining room People also don’t realize how labor-intensive construct - stands out. It is the result of a project Keith began while recuper - ing or maintaining an organ is, Mike Johnson said. ating from illness some 10 years ago. He began by mounting a “A lot of people, when they see a pipe organ, they’ll see gramophone horn and turntable on the legs of a mannequin, then the console or they might see some pipes up front and they think set decorating his avant-garde creation using barge art. that is the entire organ,” he said. “They’re shocked at how much Keith has no plans to abandon any of his treasures, but more there is behind it all.” he still collect bits and pieces at auctions throughout the year to A recent project to add on to an organ took nine months, sell in his regular garage sales, the next of which will be held in Lance Johnson said. Since 1967, the company has built close to a September. hundred organs, he said. After a 2007 tornado destroyed Ebenezer Free Lutheran Church in Northwood, N.D., Johnson Organ Co. repaired its InForum organ, and this spring, installed it in the new church. Fargo-Moorhoead, ND/MN Johnson calls the Fargo Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer, 29 July 2010 which he helped restore, the “proudest achievement of my career.” Man in tune with organ business “Lance is here almost ever Saturday morning, tuning and futzing and doing things with the Wurlitzer,” said Margie By: Sherri Richards Bailly, theater director. (701) 241-5556 Johnson performs every weekend, as well as during the theater’s annual silent movie night and noon-hour holiday con - Lance Johnson’s performance skills on the organ are on certs. display every week at the Fargo Theatre. What’s not seen, at least “I can say with all sincerity that the organ is the heart - by most of the public, is his technical knowledge of the instru - beat of the theater,” Bailly said. “He and the Wurlitzer are defi - ment. nitely institutions, big time.” Lance Johnson’s performance skills on the organ are on display every week at the Fargo Theatre. What’s not seen, at least Johnson Organ Co. by most of the public, is his technical knowledge of the instru - * Ownership: Lance Johnson ment. * Where: 831 N. Highway 75 Johnson, of Dilworth, started Johnson Organ Co. in * Contact: (701) 237-0477 or [email protected] 1954 at the age of 16. The company manufactures pipe organs for * Online: www.johnsonorgan.com churches, services them and builds band organs – mechanical pipe organs that play music rolls like a player piano. Recently, Johnson, 72, moved his shop from its long - Burlington Free Press time home on Fargo’s NP Avenue to 831 N. Highway 75, Moor - Burlington, VT head. 29 July 2010 Spinning history Music box museum captures classic sound

By Brent Hallenbeck, [email protected]

RANDOLPH, VT — The tiny Porter Music Box Muse - um has its origins, indirectly at least, at the gargantuan Shelburne Museum. Dwight Porter was 8 years old when he visited the 45- acre, 39-building complex in Shelburne and a music box on dis - play in the Variety Unit caught his eye. “Wow,” he thought to

340 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 himself, “I wonder if I’ll ever have enough money to have one.” for the ear but for the eye with a windmill and a gently rocking A few years later, in 1974, Porter decided he didn’t just sailing ship. A new hurdy-gurdy “monkey organ” creates a want a music box; he wanted a music-box company. The Regina whimsical circus-like sound when a user spins its arm, activating Music Box Co. of Rahway, N.J., was for sale when Porter was a bellows that pumps air through pipes. Another music box dri - living in a small house in Sharon with $35 in the bank. He bor - ven by a spinning arm, a Sears-Roebuck model that could be pur - rowed $25,000 from the bank and his parents and bought the chased for $5 when it was on the market a century ago, produces remains of the company, which became the Porter Music Box a slightly wobbly version of “Yankee Doodle.” Co. A double music box made by Porter and valued at Porter, 61, who specializes in music-box refurbishing, $18,500 plays “My Heart Will Go On” from the film “Titanic” said his employees now make about 70 new music boxes a year with a rich, stereo-like quality. A vertical triple music box is so as the only company in the world creating disc music boxes on a thoroughly designed the music sounds more like it’s coming large scale. They operate from a complex dominated by the from chimes than from a disc made of copper-plated steel. A museum, which is housed in a 1910 stone-and-wood building on Lucite model, similar to one the Porter Music Box Co. made for a hill off Vermont 66. The property includes a second museum, the stage show of the whimsical Icelandic singer Bjork, allows the Robert Hayes Leavitt Collection, inside an 1835 one-room viewers to look at the skeletal interior of the music box and schoolhouse that displays reams of items — antique Christmas watch as the holes meet the metal teeth to play the Johnny Mer - trees, old toys, eyeglasses through the years, political campaign cer/Henry Mancini tune “Moon River.” pins, dozens of shirt buttons — collected by a family member Porter introduced one room in the museum, featuring that ostensibly have nothing to do with music boxes yet evoke music boxes from the collection of Ruth Bornand of Pelham, the era when music boxes were in vogue. N.Y., by noting that “she was actually pretty famous in the music-box world.” The museum gives the visitor the chance to learn not only about the history of music boxes but that there is in fact a music-box world. Who inhabits that music-box world today? “It’s such a range,” Porter said. Some music-box buyers, he said, are nostal - gic older folks, while others are young people intrigued by the updated technology. Some are wealthy, according to Porter, while others take a second job just so they can put the musical curiosi - ties in their homes. [email protected] http://www.portermusicbox.com http://tinyurl.com/2bpbywk

The Daily News North Tonawanda, NY Possibly more surprising than the existence of a small 16 August 2010 music-box museum in central Vermont (it opened in 1994) is the fact that anyone is making music boxes in the 21st century. Even Teddy Bear Picnic Porter acknowledges that the music box, invented in Switzerland in the late 1700s, enjoyed its peak in popularity about a century NORTH TONAWANDA, NY — The Herschell Car - ago. rousel Factory Museum, 180 Thompson St., invites children to Music boxes were especially common in the parlors of bring their favorite teddy bear (or other stuffed animal) to the well-off Americans from about 1870 to 1910, when Thomas Edi - Teddy Bear Picnic, scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday. son’s phonograph began to take over the market. Music boxes Children will be able to take their fuzzy friend on the not only produced lovely sounds from popular music of the day carousel, play games from the past such as marbles, clothespins or classical pieces of yore, they were often beautiful pieces of in the bottle, and spoon racing. There will also be crafts and face lacquered, hardwood furniture. painting. Music boxes produce their sound either with metal The event will begin at 2 PM with a performance of rotating cylinders or revolving discs similar in size and shape to children’s stories and songs by Tiger Tom Walsh, who has been vinyl record albums. Strategically placed holes in the cylinders or performing in schools and other family venues for several years. discs activate keys in the boxes as they move, creating either an His music is lively and he encourages participation from the upper-register, trebly tone or a fuller sound depending on the audience. complexity of design. The cost is $8 for children ages 2- 12 and $2 for adults. “They were one of the first forms of automatic home Children must be accompanied by an adult. Admission includes entertainment,” according to Porter. all activities, refreshments, and carrousel rides. He led a tour of his museum on a recent Friday morning For more information or to register, contact the museum that included not just classic wooden consoles but unexpected at (716) 693-1885. models as well, some from the golden age of music boxes and The Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, operated by others created by Porter’s company. A mechanical music dome the Carousel Society of the Niagara Frontier, is a national historic made in Switzerland around 1890 provides entertainment not just site that fosters an appreciation for the unique heritage of the

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 341 carousel, band organ and amusement device industries on the for anyone to sit down and play. Niagara Frontier for people of all ages, so that it may be pre - Norm tried playing the Michigan Theater organ once but served, enjoyed and shared with future generations. remembers, “I didn’t know what I was doing.” Norm and his wife, Gena, and Bob and his wife, Bo, got involved in planning http://tinyurl.com/34uf3ob the Second Sunday concerts because they loved organ music. Although amateur organ players at home, they mostly just enjoyed the sound and fascinating mechanics of pipe organs. Ann Arbor Daily News The two couples met through the Motor City Theatre Ann Arbor, MI Organ Society, a chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society, 13 August 2010 which preserved organs at the Redford Theatre and other Detroit area theaters. The society restored the Michigan Theater organ in How an organ 1971, after it had been silent for years. saved the Michigan Theater

By Stephanie Kadel Taras

On Sunday, February 11, 1979, The Ann Arbor News published a lengthy article about the impending demise of the Michigan Theater. It was a farewell to the theater’s Barton organ, featuring interviews with local organists Newton Bates, Henry Aldridge, and Rupert Otto, who were still playing the organ at movie showings. “Aldridge has been going through what he describes as ‘terrible withdrawal symptoms’ at the thought of the theater’s closing,” wrote the reporter, Jane Myers. Otto said he had no reason to stay in Ann Arbor when he could no longer play the organ. More than 30 years later, we know their worries were unnecessary. The Michigan Theater is more beautiful today than when it was built as a movie palace in 1928. Movies and concerts thrill audiences daily. And the Barton organ gets a regular work - out by today’s local organists, who play five nights a week before the movie and accompany occasional silent films. What happened after that premature newspaper eulogy to keep the Barton organ and the Michigan Theater from disap - pearing? There’s a clue in the last sentence of the article: “This morning the Motor City Theater Organ Society will hold its By the time Norm and Bob joined the society around monthly open house at the Michigan Theatre and Donald Haller 1978, the challenge was not to maintain the fine Barton organ but will present a two-hour concert beginning at 10 a.m.” to retain it at all. The Michigan Theater’s operator, W.S. Butter - The “Second Sunday” organ concerts were a lifeline for field Inc., had decided to stop showing movies. There was talk of the Michigan Theater, and the small group of locals who converting the building into a food court and retail mall. Organ arranged those concerts are unsung heroes of today’s treasure on enthusiasts were despondent, but they hoped the Barton organ Liberty Street. could at least be removed intact and installed somewhere else. “We were a group of people who did what had to be Meanwhile, Norm and Bob connected with organists done for the theater,” says Bob Hanley, 83. Don Haller, Henry Aldridge, and Newton Bates and their wives, Norm Horning, 87, agrees. “We just did what we saw as well as organist Rupert Otto, organ repair expert Ben Levy, was needed.” and a small handful of other volunteers (including Ruth and What was needed, first and foremost, was to make sure Howard Ralston, Dave and Jo Lau, Grant and Barb Cook, Bruce the Barton Theatre Pipe Organ was still played and appreciated and Peg Amrine, and Jean Hicks) to make the best of an uncer - regularly. The organ was one of 7,000 installed in American tain situation. (Note: Norm and Bob wanted to be sure to name movie houses between 1915 and 1930, and one of only 250 made the individuals who worked with them at the Michigan, and they by Barton Organ Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is now one apologize for any names they have omitted. “After all,” says of only 40 movie house organs still in its original location. The Norm, “it’s been 30 years.”) instrument was a gem, and those who loved it wanted everyone While most were members of the Motor City Theatre else to know it. Organ Society, their work at the Michigan was not a Society- The Second Sunday concerts were free and open to the sponsored commitment. “Our group never had a name,” says public and featured a single organist at each performance, includ - Bob. They didn’t organize regular meetings or designate leaders ing local luminaries Scott Smith (who maintains the organ or develop a budget. They just started to work. today), John Lauter, Tony O’Brien, and Melissa Ambrose. The With permission to host Second Sunday organ concerts, last two were just teenagers when they performed one of their they got keys to the building and no resistance to whatever first public organ concerts at the Second Sunday program. After improvements they were inclined to make. “We would just show the featured organist’s concert, the console was made available up and do something,” Bob remembers.

342 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 As a mechanical refrigeration expert at the University of can Theatre Organ Society include the Michigan Theater in its Michigan, Bob couldn’t help but undertake repairs in the long- plans when the annual convention was held in Detroit 20 years neglected facility. “The theater stunk of stale popcorn and old ago. About 900 people came to Ann Arbor to hear the Barton grease,” he remembers. He tore out the vent from the popcorn organ played in its original location. The theater renovations machine and found it was a “black blob of grease,” so he bought were well under way, and, says Bob, “the organ sounded great!” and installed a new vent and motor. After the concert, the visitors ate box lunches outside while the Then he tackled the central vacuum system. The old the - U-M bell tower carillon serenaded them. ater had a vacuum unit in the basement that connected to pipes in Gena passed away a few months ago, but Norm still the walls. A vacuum hose could be hooked to the pipes at various goes to the theater for the silent films with organ accompaniment. locations in order to reach under all the theater seats. But no one He thinks we have the organ to thank for saving the theater. “The knew the last time the vacuum bags had been emptied. When organ is the main reason the Michigan Theater is still there,” he Bob opened the bale of bags in the basement, debris flew all over says. “It’s a good organ and was well worth saving.” the room. “There must have been twenty years of peanuts and And it was those who cared about the organ who made popcorn down there,” he laughs. the community care about the theater. Says Bob, “I don’t think Norm was concerned about the pad that covered the the Michigan Theater would be there if not for us.” organ when it wasn’t in use. The theater still hosted occasional Stephanie Kadel Taras is a professional writer in Ann live shows for which the organ was lowered below the stage and Arbor who writes people's life stories through her company covered. Performers could dance and stomp right over the organ. TimePieces Personal Biographies. So Norm and Bob built a plywood cover to provide extra protec - tion. They also scraped and painted the dressing rooms behind the stage and cleaned the ticket booth and concession stand. Oak Park Journal Of course, no amount of cleaning could restore the Oak Park, IL Michigan Theater to its former glory. Norm, who was 5 years old 17 August 2010 when the theater first opened, remembered going there with his parents, walking through the grand foyer with its gold leaf and Mills' marvel puts on chandeliers, and hearing the organ played during a silent movie. But in the 1950s, the ornate décor was covered over with a drab virtuoso performance modern façade and drop ceilings. “It wasn’t a palace anymore,” Bob remembers. He grew By KEN TRAINOR up in Detroit in the 1930s and went to the Fox Theatre as a child. Staff Writer “Those movie palaces meant something in the Depression,” he says. “A guy who was beating his brains out just to get enough to OAK PARK, IL - It has 123 separate functions, roughly eat could walk into that theater for a dime and walk into another 1,500 individual parts and 27 miles of wire (each the thickness of world.” a human hair), and it's all crammed into a mahogany and glass Recreating the movie palace experience was beyond the cabinet - along with a violin, a piano harp and hammers, two means of Norm and Bob and their friends, but little did they rollers and a 110-volt DC motor. know their work was laying the foundation for doing just that. After several months of Second Sunday organ concerts, they began to host Monday night classic movies. They arranged to show the same movie that the Redford Theatre had rented over the weekend. Bo drove to Detroit’s Eastern Market for bags of cheap popcorn and ran the concession stand with Gena. Norm sold tickets. They promoted their events with a sandwich board on the sidewalk and a monthly newsletter, “Notes from the Michi - gan,” that Bo produced and sent to a modest but growing mailing list. As word spread about the organ concerts, Second Sundays brought in more than 100 people each month. After about a year, the small group got the attention of the mayor of Ann Arbor, Louis Belcher. He sat with them in the theater seats by the organ and told them, “We have got to save this theater.” When the City Council took it up, Bo made an impas - sioned presentation on behalf of the group. Her speech helped And this contraption played Bach's "Air on a G String" - sway the City Council to purchase the theater, which led to a beautifully - for a delighted and intrigued audience a week ago voter-approved millage to pay the mortgage. Tuesday at Pleasant Home, the once-upon-a-time residence of When a nonprofit board was established to govern the Herbert S. Mills, whose company manufactured this curious future of the Michigan Theater, Norm and Bob and their wives mechanical music device known as the Violano Virtuoso. bowed out. “We didn’t want to be on the board,” says Bob. The occasion was the annual meeting of the Pleasant “We’re not politicians. We were the kind of people who get their Home Foundation, dedicated to the restoration of the George hands dirty, who do a job just for the satisfaction of doing it.” Maher-designed mansion located at the corners of Pleasant Street The group was particularly satisfied to have the Ameri - and Home Avenue.

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 343 The foundation used its annual meeting as a "coming "Slot machines were the bread and butter of the compa - out" party for the Violano (a hybrid term combining, like the ny," said Brown, but Mills was always in conflict with the gov - instrument itself, a violin and a piano). The instrument donated ernment, which wanted to limit access to gambling devices. To by Evon's Nuts magnate Jasper Sanfilippo, of Barrington Hills, make them look more family friendly, Mills reportedly invented who owns more of these mechanical marvels than anyone. the fruit symbols that still adorn slot machines to this day. Laura Thompson, executive director of the foundation, Endlessly inventive and resourceful, it was said that he was on the job one week when she and her husband attended a could walk in on Monday with an idea and by Thursday, his wiz - fundraising event at Sanfilippo's mansion back in 2004. She men - ards would produce a part to make it happen. Sixty percent of the tioned Mills' Oak Park connection, and Sanfilippo offered to patents Mills owned were never produced. donate one of his 52 machines to Pleasant Home. All the founda - "They were extremely inventive people," said Brown, tion had to do was pay to have it restored, a multi-thousand-dol - noting that at the height of the operation in the 1920s, Mills Nov - lar proposition in its own right. elty employed more mechanical engineers than General Motors. The Violano finally arrived at Pleasant Home in 2009, They also produced the first refrigerated coin-operated vending but needed some tinkering and tuning before it was ready for machine for Coca-Cola. public appreciation. The foundation still needed to raise $8,000 The inventions didn't always go over so well. An early as of a week ago Tuesday when a donor called and offered video machine that showed a "girlie" film (tame by today's stan - $4,000. Thompson is hoping someone will match that gift. dard, Brown said, but lurid for that era) landed Mills in jail for To several months. The county was lenient, allowing him to go mark the home on the weekends, but while he was there, he endeared him - formal self to many of his fellow convicts by generously handing out unveiling, money, and he paid to have the drab facility painted. the foun - When he got out, he threw a big party. Mills had lots of dation parties, his descendents attested, and they confirmed the long - invited standing rumor that he had the dining room table at Pleasant Terry Home wired so that, with the push of a button, he could deliver a Haugha - small electric shock to his guests when they touched their silver - wout, the ware. man who "It livened up the parties," said one of his granddaugh - painstak - ters, who now lives in Mills Tower, overlooking the mansion. ingly In addition to shocking silverware, Mills also had a restored Violano Virtuoso in the family living room. The person who this and owns that machine now, in fact, visited Pleasant Home the after - over 700 noon before the annual meeting. The Violano currently in the other home was built in 1929. Violano In 1904, Henry Sandell approached Mills about manu - Virtuosos facturing his new invention and by 1909, the U.S. Patent Office over the ranked it as one of the "Eight Greatest Inventions" of the 20th last 35 century's first decade. Mills Novelty morphed that distinction years, and into the marketing slogan, "Eighth Wonder of the World," to Bob describe their marvelous mechanism. Brown, Mills also manufactured a Double Violano, as well as a who holds Viol-Cello and a Viol-Xylophone. The machines ran entirely by the rights electricity, which had only been in homes for a decade by the to the time they started rolling off the assembly line. Nowadays, a Mills Novelty name (millnovelty.com) and the inventor of a com - restored Violano would probably cost $50,000 with the computer puter interface that allows the machine to play over 7,000 tunes interface. Sanfilippo owns so many because "if you pay too via a wireless computer hookup. much, they find you," said Haughawout. In addition to Bach, listeners that night were treated to They originally cost $2,000, which was a lot of money Violano versions of "Rocky Top" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." back then, but the merchants who put Violanos in their cafes and Brown and Haughawout talked not only about the ice cream parlors reportedly could recoup that amount in one machine but its history, checking periodically with three of Her - year, one nickel at a time. bert Mills' descendents in attendance - two granddaughters, This was the era before radio and jukeboxes (which Corinne O'Brien James and Judy O'Brien Nordstrom, and great- Mills Novelty also specialized in). So having a device like this in granddaughter Julie James O'Brien - for verification. your house was a big deal. Herbert Mills, it seems, was every bit as intriguing as "People were tickled to death to hear anything," said his machines. The youngest son of Mortimer Mills, who started Haughawout. the business back in 1891, Herbert bought the company in 1895 Peering into the cabinetry, watching the hammers strike and changed the name to Mills Novelty Co. By the 1920s, the the piano harp on the back wall and the wheels spinning against 375,000-square-foot facility at 4100 W. Fullerton was among the the violin strings, it was obvious that people are still tickled by largest employers in Chicago, churning out over 600,000 the Violano Virtuoso. "arcade" machines (slots, jukeboxes and mechanical music devices). http://tinyurl.com/35ocw6k

344 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 Metro Calgary Akron Beacon Journal Calgary, Alberta, Canada Akron, OH 3 August 2010 2 August 2010 Horse headlines Heritage Day Round and round by BRETTE EHALT Whirl of memories is all that remains Heritage Day was one of celebration of carousel that spun at Akron park at Fort Calgary. By Mark J. Price Beacon Journal staff writer Along with face painting, a treasure hunt, and the birth - day party of a 100-year-old windmill, families took in the unveil - Summit Beach Park's merry-go-round was a blur of ing of a handcrafted carousel RCMP horse yesterday afternoon. sights and sounds. Cheerful music blared as grinning animals The young male horse was carved by RCMP veteran of paraded in a merry circle, a garish menagerie of painted wood 27 years and Fort Calgary volunteer Dal Langenberger, 76. beneath the soft glow of neon lights.

Summit Beach Park's merry-go-round opened when the Akron resort premiered on Independence Day 1917 and closed when Dal Langenberger stands with his carousel horse at its debut the park folded on Labor Day 1958. The carousel was built by inside Fort Calgary on Heritage Day. William H. Dentzel of Germantown, Pa., near Philadelphia. “I wanted a horse with zip, that looked alive and ambi - The carousel was the first ride built at the Akron amuse - tious,” said Langenberger, who used planks of eastern poplar and ment park, which operated from 1917 to 1958 on the eastern a gallon of glue to create the representation. “The ears, eyes, and shore of Summit Lake. Although it lacked the adrenaline rush of location of the head have a lot to do with that.” attractions such as the Sky Ride, the Bug, the Whip, the Flying Between last fall and March, Langenberger estimates he Scooter and the Strat-O-Ship, the merry-go-round remained pop - spent at least 600 hours carving, coating, and sanding the approx - ular until the park's demise. imately 250 pound horse. Fort Calgary is asking the public to suggest names for the horse, and items that should be included in its time capsule, which will be opened on the 200th Anniversary of Fort Calgary in 2075, according to Sara-Jane Gruetzner of Fort Calgary. Fort Calgary is open year-round, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. http://tinyurl.com/2um4tqp

Kenmore resident Mildred Cooley, 4, rides a lion at Summit Beach Park's merry-go-round in 1942. The carousel had 46 animals

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 345 Original concessionaire Eugene Sheck and his son, There was another option for parkgoers who didn't crave Edward, brought the carousel to the new and improved resort, too much excitement. which traced its roots to 1887 as Lakeside Park. The Shecks ''I remember there was one or two benches for people commissioned the Dentzel Carousel Co. in Philadelphia to build who didn't want to get on the horses,'' she said. ''They could just the 1917 ride for $25,000 (more than $490,000 today). sit on the bench and ride.'' From blocks of Smithville resident John Keim, 68, who attended Mar - wood, William H. garet Park Elementary across the lake from Summit Beach, had Dentzel hand-carved some formative experiences at the merry-go-round. 46 animals, including A retired electronic engineer, Keim vividly recalls being horses, lions, pigs, fascinated by the lighting system above the carousel animals. deer, mules and tigers. Glass tubes glowed in rows on the ceiling. He believes they were The painted, gilded filled with neon, argon and helium, and some had special coat - creatures revolved in ings to create unusual hues. three rows around a ''They were all different colors all the way around,'' he Wurlitzer band organ said. ''Of course, you had more than one red, but there was blue, under a round, arched white, yellow and green. I think there was a pink in there . . . It pavilion at ''Akron's was very pretty.'' Fairyland of Plea - During the ride, Keim liked to look at the center of the sure.'' carousel, where the operator controlled the speed with a rheostat ''Akron's beautiful and worked a large, wooden brake. red and white city, in Among the mirrored which none resides, panels were open but where there are doors where the boy thousands every day, could see how the Akron resident Ronald Zimmerman sits on was crowded Sunday,'' mechanism worked. a wooden pig while his little friend Paul the Akron Press Motors sat on the floor Luther Jackson watches Summit Beach Park worker Max Heller repair the merry- reported after the and drove pulleys with go-round organ in 1943. park's opening on the belts. Fourth of July. '' . . . ''You could see the People go there in pursuit of thrills and pleasure. They find both.'' sparks of the motor in New rides opened almost every year, but the carousel there,'' he said. remained a Summit Beach fixture. Keim also loved the Kenmore native Earl Gessman, 79, of Coventry Town - joyful sound of the ship, has fond memories of visiting the park from the 1930s to band organ, which had 1950s. Instead of taking a streetcar, he and his childhood buddies a bass drum and cym - trekked from their Highland Park homes through woods to Wil - bal. beth Road and Kenmore Boulevard. ''As we'd go around ''We always walked down to save a nickel so we could the merry-go-round, spend it in the park,'' he said. Kenmore residents Sandra Edwards and I'd go up and look at Admission to Summit Beach was free, but kids had to Ronnie Brown share a wooden horse at this thing,'' he said. fish out nickels and dimes to buy tickets for rides. When Gess - Summit Beach Park's carousel in 1943. It's no coincidence man rode the merry-go-round, he usually selected a horse instead that he belongs to the Music Box Society International, which is of one of the more exotic animals. devoted to mechanical music of all kinds, especially carousel ''I remember having a hard time getting up on it because organs. I'm small to begin with,'' he said. All good rides must come to an end. After 40 years, the One of the fun things about the carousel was reaching merry-go-round's last circuit in Akron was on Labor Day 1958. for the brass ring. If children could grab the prized trinket as they Nobody knew it was the final summer. Summit Beach's operators hurtled past, they won a free ride. unexpectedly announced the following spring that the park would ''They had it on a post,'' Gessman said. ''You could only not reopen. get it from the outside row of the merry-go-round. It was kind of Manager Ed W. Palmer told the Beacon Journal in 1959: shoulder high when you were up on top of the animals. It was big ''We made money for a while and we put everything back into the enough that you could grab it . . . I always remembered to try and park. Then something happened. Call it changing times or what get it.'' have you. The public just lost interest.'' Gessman's wife, Janis, recalls having to wait in line Earl Gessman was really mad when the park closed. He sometimes to get a horse that she wanted. and his pals climbed through a hole in the fence to explore the ''When I rode the merry-go-round, I never wanted to get abandoned resort. He found ride tickets strewn all over and kept on the outside horses near the edge because they didn't go up and some as mementos. down. They were stationary,'' she said. ''The two middle rows After Summit Beach's owners sold off the rides, the were up and down and that was a lot more fun, of course . . . So empty buildings fell prey to vandals. A demolition crew tore we would wait for the one that gave us some action.'' down the derelict park in 1960.

346 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 So what became of the carousel? Good question. Park Babies all the way up to great-grandparents rode the historians Diane DeMali Francis and David W. Francis said the new carousel Thursday in what many agreed was perfect weather ride was sold to ''an undisclosed new owner'' 50 years ago. for the event. Gessman recalls hearing that it went to a park in south - ern Ohio. Keim heard it might have gone to a park in a western state. Maybe a private citizen bought it for his own amuse - ment. Or maybe the ornate, carved animals were sold piecemeal to collectors. If the ride still exists, here's hoping that someone is enjoying every moment of it. A lot of Akron residents would give it another whirl if they could.

http://tinyurl.com/2cg9b8c

Akron Beacon Journal Akron, OH 30 July 2010

Akron Zoo's $500,000 Conservation A young boy waves to family and friends as he rides a giraffe on Carousel opens to public Saturday the new Conservation Carousel at the Akron Zoo during a recep - tion for the friends and patrons who helped make the new ride possible on Thursday in Akron. By Linda Golz [email protected] ''I loved it, because I was on the zebra my grandma [Sandra Delaria] bought,'' said Rachael Delaria, 16, of Barberton, Michael Roberts of Hudson scampered from the new as she exited the carousel. ''I used to go on them when I was a lit - Conservation Carousel at the Akron Zoo with a sentiment several tle kid. It made me feel young again.'' others would express. Gerry Kiefer, 59, formerly of Akron and now from Win - ''Oh, that was awesome!'' said Michael, 8, as he and his chester, Va., said she thoroughly enjoyed riding the rhinoceros family attended a special preview event Thursday night for the her mother had sponsored. carousel. Kiefer's mother, Virginia Wojno-Forney, 80, of Akron, The ride opens to the public Saturday. explained why she chose the rhinoceros. Michael said he rode the giraffe ''because it's my ''Because that was the only [animal] left; so I took it. favorite animal.'' They really went fast,'' she said of the promotion the zoo held to David Barnhardt, director of marketing and guest ser - help pay for the project. vices for the Akron Zoo, said about 300 friends of the zoo and ''We've been coming here since there were just bears,'' people who sponsored the wooden carousel animals were on said Wojno-Forney, a zoo board member. hand ''to be the first to ride it.'' Another board member, Chuck Victor, 54, rode the The carousel, designed and built by Carousel Works in okapi, which is similar to a giraffe but smaller, with a shorter Mansfield, cost $500,000. Barnhardt said $400,000 was donated. neck. ''I feel like a kid again. I like it. It's got an old-time flavor The area, near the Komodo Kingdom, also has a pavil - to it.'' ion, ticket booth, picnic area, rocking chairs and benches. Infor - Alexa Blakley, 7, of Mansfield, was busy trying to mational panels and a large world map showing where each of decide which animal to ride next. She already rode it four times. the 33 carousel animals comes from surround the ride. ''I like it. It's fun,'' she said. ''We call it 'funcation.' You know, it's fun and they're She was there with her mother, Kate Blakley, and her learning at the same time,'' Barnhardt said. father, Don Blakley, one of the woodcarvers who crafted the ani - Besides the 33 animals, there is a handicapped-accessi - mals. ble peacock chariot. The Blakleys and Al Parkinson, who carved 19 of the Barnhardt said he already has ridden the carousel sever - animals, came to see the finished product. al times. ''It's nice to see the kids on it and it spinning,'' Barnhardt ''Actually, the first thing I rode was the lady bug,'' he said. ''It kind of came alive.'' said with a wide grin. The Conservation Carousel will operate during regular The carousel has 350 LED lights, which last longer than zoo hours — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — through the Boo at the Zoo compact fluorescent bulbs and incandescent bulbs and are about event in October, then will close for the winter. Tickets for 80 percent more energy efficient. Recycled materials, trees and carousel rides are $2. plants from the zoo also were used to help create the new site. The cost for the entire project was $1.2 million. http://tinyurl.com/3xmp44c

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 347 Nashua Telegraph Nashua, NH From military to merry by Teresa Santoski

Depending on the circumstances, going around in cir - cles can be a pleasant experience. Today on Carousel Day, we celebrate one of the world’s oldest fairground amusements. Carousels originated in the Middle East, where they were initially used for cavalry training. The earliest recorded carousel appears in a Byzantine bas-relief from approximately 500 AD. Instead of riding on carved horses or other animals set on a rotating platform, riders on this carousel sat in baskets that hung from a central pole and spun in a circle when the pole was rotated. European soldiers brought the carousel concept home with them from the Crusades and used it to improve their joust - ing skills. Similar in style to the previously mentioned Byzantine Means says what used to be a common attraction has carousel, these early European carousels featured wooden horses dwindled from 10,000 Grand Carousels in the Country, to less instead of baskets. Rings would be positioned around the circum - than 150 today. ference of the carousel and riders would attempt to spear the Now, more than half way done on his 38-animal rings on their lances while the carousel rotated. carousel, Means says he hopes to have it complete within the As time passed, carousels were introduced to the civil - next four years. ian public. They became increasingly elaborate, incorporating "It's a labor of love, looking forward to finishing the more unusual animals and platforms that allowed for multiple product and carrying on with the classes. They're down there, levels, as well as artwork, lights, and music. Many paid homage they're learning, they're going to pass it on." to their equestrian origins by encouraging riders to grab metal rings as the carousel rotated past a special dispenser. Whoever http://tinyurl.com/2543afv managed to snatch the brass ring received a prize. Carousels reached the peak of their popularity in the Indiana Gazette early 20th century, but they remain a staple attraction at amuse - Indiana, PA ment parks and fairs all over the world. We encourage you to 2 September 2010 indulge in a carousel ride today in celebration of this military exercise turned crowd-pleasing pastime. INDIANA COUNTY FAIR http://tinyurl.com/2fdeblq Band organ adds to atmosphere

By SAM KUSIC KCBY TV 11 [email protected] Myrtle Point, OR 20 July 2010 Walk down the Indiana County Fair's midway. Listen. Hear that music off in the distance? Keeping the carousel carving alive Keep going, past the pie shop stand and the buffalo By Erica Rush, burger booth. Just a little farther now to the grandstand. KCBY News And finally you find the source: this big, white oddity of a box trailer. The front is open, and inside is this large ... thing. MYRTLE POINT, Ore. -Much like the circular motion It has a pipe organ, drums, cymbals and horns. And of a carousel, one local artist is hoping to keep his craft going moving figurines. around long after he's gone, by hosting a carousel carving class Even if you're not a fan of the tinkling, merry-go-round each Summer in Myrtle Point. tunes coming from it, it's hard not to stop. And look. Giraffes, frogs, wolves and rabbits are just a handful of Marianne Pumford, of Indiana, had seen it first on Mon - animals that will eventually go on Ken Mean's 60 foot carousel. day. And she was back with her three sons, James, Joseph and An idea that came about 14 years ago, as did his carving class. Dominic, on Wednesday, transfixed by the drumming cherubs With various skill levels coming into his class each year, and the gowned, bell-ringing ladies. Means says it's important to him that everyone grasps the tech - ``I've never seen anything like it before,'' Pumford said. nique and continues to grow with it. And this is what it is: A traveling, Wurlitzer-replica band "My thought was, it would be a sin or a crime to go to organ. A veritable band in a wood box, custom-built by an Ohio your grave and not pass some of this knowledge on," said Means. company that makes such things. It's called The Ambassador, and

348 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 it's the pride and joy of owner-operator Larry Kern, who is here He's had The Ambassador since 1991. It's a replica of all the way from El Paso, Texas. Wurlitzer band organ no longer in existence. He commissioned its construction. He said it was an expensive build, though he didn't volunteer how much. But he said the cost included much sacrifice and effort. ``I almost got divorced,'' he said. In his working days, Kern was the civilian fire chief at Fort Bliss, Texas. It was a nearly 40-year career that began when he enlisted in the Air Force and took up aircraft crash rescue. Following his discharge, he bought his first band organ. It was a real junker, he said, but he got it working again. And he's tinkered with them ever since. In his retirement, he finds himself a widower. And his sons are grown. So one day some years ago, he decided to hit the road. He has four more back home. But this is his biggest, he After all, he said, ``It would be a shame to have this organ and said. Not only that, it's the biggest traveling band organ in Ameri - have it in my barn in Texas.'' ca, he said. Well, among those playing paper rolls, just like in a For company, he has his three executives. Gizmo, Gad - player piano. get and Pee Jay - Yorkshire terriers. The thing runs on electricity, but the sound is all And, he said, he has the people he meets along the way. mechanical. Air runs through the pipes and horns. And mallets So lonely? No, he said. are really striking the cymbals. There are no speakers or ampli - But sometimes bored, mostly at night, when the midway fiers. lights go off and the people have gone home. Even then, there are None are needed because it's just plain loud. still fair volunteers and night security guards around. And some - This is how Kern spends his retirement. Driving from times The Ambassador needs some attention, so that helps pass fair to festival to carnival, towing the organ behind his truck. the time, too. He said he's gone from April to November, logging Sometimes people ask why he even bothers. And Kern around 30,000 miles in that time, burning his appearance fees on said maybe the answer is to be had in a picture hanging inside the diesel fuel and hotel rooms. trailer housing the organ. The picture is a photo of a boy standing ``It's not about the money,'' he said. ``It's a dream come on tiptoe, looking at the organ. true for me. I'm able to share something special with nice folk.'' ``I see me there at about that same age,'' he said. And these instruments, he said, are special, a bit of Ed Note: This news article may be seen at: Americana he's helping to preserve. Back in the day, band organs provided the musical http://tinyurl.com/26rfvhk entertainment at amusement parks and fairgrounds and festivals. and within this article, an excellent video of And, often, they were designed to be an attraction in and of Larry’s large Stinson Fairground Organ may be themselves. downloaded: Kern has had a fascination with band organs since his childhood. 100902.county.fair.organ.wmv Web Sites Of Interest

Bob Taylor has done it again! Another very fine video recording, Drehobl Art Glass Co ., makers of Seeburg and Coinola art glass pan - this time of Jim Krughoff's Italian Rennaissance Mason & Hamlin els, still in business. (contributed by John Motto-Ros) Ampico A, performing Ampico roll # 68013, Etude in D Minor, by Liszt, as played by Mischa Levitsky.. http://www.drehoblartglass.com/history.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yVtWGwcgsY 3D Scanner for making replica parts. (contributed by Steve Cobb) Cantos Music Museum , Calgary, Alberta http://tinyurl.com/chxjkg http://tinyurl.com/2a7r7pk

Introducing The Pleyel Double Grand Piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxUiy4TmjU8

Abram Chasins arrangement of the Paraphrase on The Blue Danube Waltz, as played by Attila Pertis and Monika Egri on an exceedingly rare Pleyel Double Grand Piano . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjYfdB0CvSg

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 349 Late Breaking News - Major Auction Bonhams Mechanical Music Auction wishing to receive reports before the viewing starts may like to 7 October 2010 contact my friend and colleague, Jonathan Snellenburg, at the New York office on Magnificent Mechanical Musical Instruments [email protected] and Automata Bonhams are very grateful for the consultant services of at Bonhams, New York, October 7 2010 Q. David Bowers, Ken Goldman and Art Reblitz for their out - standing submissions for the production of the catalog. With great pleasure, I announce the forthcoming sale Whether you attend this view and auction to look or to which will be held at Bonhams, 580 Madison Avenue, New York, buy, we look very much forward to welcoming you at Bonhams, on October 7th, 2010. This auction is set to be an exceptional New York. See you there on October 7th for this once in a life- event, showcasing a vast number of pieces which have never time event. For further information about this sale, please con - come onto the market before, and no doubt will not do so again. tact me directly by telephone in UK at As this sale is being held after the MBSI and auction, those wish - +44 20 7393 3984 or by email ing to extend their stay in this part of the country now have the [email protected] perfect excuse to book a stay in New York and enjoy this sale. This sale contains just 41 lots, but each and every one of Laurence Fisher - Senior Specialist, Mechanical Music and Tech - those 41 pieces are the very best this field has to offer. The vet - nical, Apparatus, Bonham's ting procedure was very strict and so everybody can be safe in http://www.bonhams.com/ the knowledge that this sale will be the best for years to come. Presented in two sections, the first offers select pieces Some examples: from around the world, from a number of different private ven - dors. From the tiny musical wonders of top-grade gold cased Vertu to the glorious interchangeable boxes featuring butterfly- cut veneers of the rarest woods, the pieces here stretch from the very early 1800s through to the introduction of the phonograph. But the section which all of us look forward to seeing, Hupfeld and hearing most of all, is the second section -- property from the Helios collection of Mark Yaffe. III/39 Orchestrions come up rarely, even in the best sales of mechanical music, but here is offered a selection totalling no fewer than 10 examples, some of which unique, all of which famous. Highlights include the only Helios III/39 in the classical case known, the Seeburg J with Capitol art glass front and of course, the one and only Hupfeld Phonoliszt Model B, made for the 1911 Turin Exhibition. There is simply too much to mention here on this post, and whilst I would like to list and mention everything, it is probably best to take a look at the online catalog of the sale, which is available to view right now.

To get to the online catalog, please use this link: Phonolist Violina http://tinyurl.com/3yohtwc Model B

We have also produced a short video introducing the sale, which is currently running on-loop on television screens in our salerooms around the world. The link for this video is:

http://tinyurl.com/2czt7vj

But the paperback catalog is the main guide to this sale and one which should be obtained by all. The 41 lots are pre - sented within a book totalling 112 pages, fully illustrated by our top photographer. Those who wish to obtain this pre-reference edition paperback catalog may buy a copy on the day (at the very reasonable fee of just $35), or you can order one by quoting sale number 18556 and contacting us on: Seeburg J Orchestrion 800- 223-2854, ext. 3550 (US and Canadian clients) +44 (0) 1666 502 200 (UK and remaining worldwide clients) Condition report requests are available, however until I get over to New York from London on the 3rd October, those

350 AMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 ADVERTISING FOR SALE

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ALL ADVERTISING IN ThE GOLDEN AGE of AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS . ThE AMICA BULLETIN Art Reblitz ' award-winning reference that brings history, musi - cal and technical information to life with hundreds of spectacular All advertising should be directed to: color photos. 448 oversize pages. We guarantee you'll find this to Terry Smythe 55 Rowand Avenue be one of the most interesting, inspiring, informative books you Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3J2N6 have in your library--or your money back. Everyone has been Phone: (204) 832-3982 (email preferred) delighted, and some readers have ordered several copies. Get e-mail:: [email protected] your copy today! $120 plus $5 S/H (single copy USA ground shipment). MEChANICAL MUSIC PRESS-W , 70 Wild Ad copy must contain text directly related to the product/service being Ammonoosuc Rd., Woodsville, NH 03785. 603-747-2636. offered. Extraneous text will be deleted at the Editor's discretion. Adver - tisers will be invoiced, with payment to AMICA Treasurer. Telephone http://www.mechanicalmusicpress.com ads will not be accepted due to high risk of errors. AMICA reserves the Ampico Symphonique B 5' grand piano . All restoration work right to edit or to reject any ad deemed inappropriate or not in keeping with AMICA'sgoals and objectives done by professional Don Dusenbury & Son - new finish, plate . and sound board, new pin block and pins, new strings, new key The BULLETIN accepts advertising without endorsement, implied or tops, new hammer shanks and butts. I have over $10,000 in the otherwise, of the products or services being offered. Publication of busi - piano. Will sell for $5,500.00. Photos on request. Contact ness advertising in no way implies AMICA's endorsement of any com - Carl DeNunzio, Jr., 789 Lake Rd., Conneaut, OH 44030, (440) mercial operation. 593-2155, < [email protected] > 6-10 AMICA PUBLICATIONS RESERVES ThE RIGhT TO ACCEPT, REJECT, OR EDIT ANY AND ALL SUBMITTED ARTICLES 1921 WATERS/AUTOLO Upright Player Piano . Fully rebuilt AND ADVERTISING. in 1999, including white keytops. Mahogany veneer in excellent condition. 68 QRS piano rolls. Buyer responsible for moving. All items for publication must be submitted directly to the $950. Laura Ellis, 14401 West Futura Drive, Sun City West, Editor/Publisher for consideration. AZ, 85375, 623-556-4110, [email protected] for CLASSIFIED AD RATES FOR AMICA MEMBERS: more info and photos. 1-50 Words $10.00 51-100 Words $20.00 Aeolian Orchestrelle, Model V, 58 note, ribbon grain 101-150 Words $30.00 mahogany, Corinthian case, classical style, 1989 restoration, Non-member rates are double for all advertising. responsive player, 50+ good rolls included, $15,000. Contact DISPLAY ADVERTISING Ron Burchard , 954 E. Foothill Blvd., Glendora, CA 91741- Full Page – 7 ½” x 10" $150.00 3624, 626-335-3980 Half Page – 7 ½” x 4 3/4" $ 80.00 Quarter Page -3 5/8" x 4 3/4" $ 45.00 Memoirs (1917), The Flying Piano Roll Business Card – 3 1/2" x 2" $ 30.00 Man, Played by hi Babit . This book may be acquired from Hi Babit, 2001 Granada Special 6 for 5 Ad Offer - Place any ad, for a full year (6 issues), and Drive, Apt J-1, Coconut Creek, FL, 33066- pay for only 5 issues. Payable in advance. Photographs or halftones 1162, 954-984-0033 $15.00 each. Loose Sheet or Insert Advertising: Inquire [email protected] We recommend that display advertisers supply camera-ready copy. Copy that is oversized or undersized will be changed to correct size at your cost. We ordinarily do not prepare advertisements from suggested layout. The Musician October 1904 PAYMENT: Advertisers will be invoiced. Make check payable to IVORY OF THE PIANO KEYS AMICA INTERNATIONAL. Typesetting and layout size alterations If you observe closely, you will notice a little seam on the ivory key of the charges will be billed if required by professional services. piano. It is significant when one learns that every key of the scale must be formed from one and the same ivory tusk. There are distinct shades in tusks; DEADLINES: Submissions must be received no later than the first of some are of a bluish white, others of a yellowish white, etc. The workman, the odd months (January, March, May, July, September, November). therefore, who desires to turn out a perfect piece of work must select his pieces of ivory carefully. The "head and tail" pieces (so-called) match in The Bulletin will be mailed not later than the first week of the even color. He will be eager to select these before the pieces in general have been months. mixed up, as it is then a hopeless task. At the New York factory of Strauch Bros., were you to call there on a tour of inspection, you would see the loss they experience now and then in buying ivory. On the proprietor's desk there is an interesting specimen. It was apparently a fine tusk, but when the work - man attempted to polish it the tusk fell apart, revealing in the center a bullet. Volunteers don't get paid, not because they The elephant had been shot through the tusk and the bullet had lodged there. Tusks weigh from 3 pounds up to 125, and more. From the ivory left over are worthless, but because they are priceless! after piano keys are made, such articles as tiny dice, paper cutters, and the (Contributed by Liz Barnhart) Anonymous like, are manufactured.

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 351 AMICA CD/DVD’s for sale:

* AMICA Bulletins to date * AMICA On-Line Library to date * AMICA Technicalities * Obenchain Ampico catalog * Purple Welte Book * Billings Rollography * William B. White’s 2 books * John McTammany’s 2 books

Most of this is already on our website, freely available to all members. For most, these discs will be more of a convenience for those not inclined to spend many hours of downloading time. And of course, for those with dial-up or no internet access at all. And even if they do not have a computer, there is always a friendly neighborhood Office Depot type service center than can print PDF files off the discs.

Each of these discs are priced at $25 (US), postage included. Purchasers will be invoiced. Proceeds to AMICA

Contact: Terry Smythe 55 Rowand Avenue Winnipeg, MB Canada R3J2N6 email preferred: [email protected]

WANTED AMICA Advertising Manager

To contact businesses or individuals who would benefit by advertising in the AMICA Bulletin. This position will receive a percentage payment of advertisements sold. The AMICA Executive Committee of the Board of Directors will set the per - centage to be paid.

Please contact:

Past-President John Motto-Ros, [email protected] 209-267-9252

352 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 353 For Sale 1933 Stroud Duo-Art In 2005, long time AMICAn Sandy Lipman passed away after a long illness. He bequeathed to AMICA this piano. As AMICA is unable to accept instruments as a gift, AMICAn Dorothy Bromage graciously bought it in 2006. Time has come for its disposal in same condition as acquired. Described as: 1933 Stroud Duo-Art reproducing baby grand piano with bench. Unrestored. Serial number 104176. Case is mahogany in original condition with nice detailing and minor checking. Roll motor is a wind motor. Pneumatic tubing goes around the keybed. Asking $1585.00 Contact: D. Bromage 978-670-1269 [email protected]

354 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 PLEASE VISIT THESE SUPPLIERS OF ROLLS

Brian Stahl: Piano Ticklers Music Rolls David Saul: Precision Music Rolls P.O. Box 220, Elizabethville, PA 17023 1043 Eastside Road, El Cajon, CA 92020-1414 [email protected] [email protected] www.pianoticklers.com Phone: (717) 599-1369 Joyce Brite: Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange Rob Deland: Blues Tone Rolls http://www.mmdigest.com/Exchange/ www.bluesrolls.com http://www.mmdigest.com/Exchange/rollpage.htm [email protected] [email protected] Phone: (847) 548-6416 Dick Hack: Hack Mechanical Music Bob & Ginny Billings: Sierra Music Rolls 2051 Chesapeake Road, Annapolis, MD 21409 14010 Rim Rock Drive, Reno, NV 89521 [email protected] [email protected] (410) 279-5859 Cell Days Phone: (775) 853-4659 (410) 757-2164 Home Evenings

Leedy Brothers Music Rolls Frank L. Himpsl: 4660 Hagar Shore Road, Coloma, MI 49038 Valley Forge Music Roll Company www.leedyrolls.com 604 Linnet Road, Audubon, PA 19403 Phone: (269) 468-5986 - Fax: (269) 468-0019 (484)-250-7046 roll shop (610)-291-1841 my cell Larry Norman: Rollertunes http://www.valleyforgemusicroll.com www.home.earthlink.net/~rollertunes [email protected] Kukral Collection: Phone: (540) 721-7188 Welte-Mignon and 88-Note Rolls 216 Madison Blvd., Terre Haute, IN 47803 Don Teach: Shreveport Music Co. Phone: (812) 238-9656 1815 E. 70th Street, Shreveport, LA 71105 [email protected] [email protected] Phone: (318) 798-6000 - Fax: (318) 797-4572 Julian Dyer 5 Richmond Rise, Wokingham RG41 3XH, Robin Pratt: Artists' Choice Music Rolls United Kingdom [email protected] www.pianorolls.co.uk Phone: (419) 626-1903 [email protected] 516 Pierce Street, Sandusky, OH 44870-4725 John Motto-Ros Steve Bentley, SB-"O" Rolls series. “Nickelodeon Rolls” Play-Rite Music Rolls “A” “G” “O” Rolls & Boxes 1536 N. Palm St., 110 Allen Ranch Road, Sutter Creek, CA 95685 Turlock. CA 95380. U.S.A. 209-267-9252 Phone. (209) 632-5784. www.johnnysmusicrolls.com Fax. 209) 667-8241. e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Keystone Music Rolls QRS Music Technologies, Inc. P.O. Box 650, Bethlehem, PA 18016 1026 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14213 Phone: 1-800-247-6557 - Fax: 1-716-885-7510 Gnaw-Vol-ty Rolls www.qrsmusic.com Stephen Kent Goodman www.gnaw-vol-ty.com Magic Melodies 360 Lawless Road, Jamestown, KY 42629 Phone: (270) 343-2061

AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 355 AAMICAMICA Bulletin › Sep/Oct 2010 356 Contributed by Anthony Engles