It was very interesting to read Sam Harris' recent post about the use of
a live band organ at the Pitt County, N.C., Fair.  I was saddened to
hear that Louis May is unable to be active with his instrument at the
fair due to health reasons.  When I was doing Wurlitzer 150 roll
recutting projects, and had amassed a very large collection of 150
rolls, I was often contacted by Louis who was looking for this roll or
that.  Sometimes we were able to find what he was after.

I remember well his distinctive voice on the phone saying, "Bill, this 
is Louis May."  He needn't have spoken his name; there was no mistaking
that voice.  I certainly hope he'll be able to enjoy the fair and his
machine for many years to come.

Sam mentioned how a new fair operator saw no fiscal sense in hiring a 
real organ and operator when CDs were plentiful, sound systems were
powerful, and the volume level could be modified.  I felt nostalgic in
recognizing that this isn't just a recent attitude.  I'm sure many will
recall the Allen Herschell Merri-Org.  That was a 78-rpm automatic
phonograph/amplifier/speaker system enclosed in a rather plainly
decorated cabinet, which Herschell offered as an accessory for their
portable merry-go-rounds.

Some will also remember the series of 78-rpm records produced for this
device on the Allen Herschell label.  The recorded organ was a Wurlitzer
157.  I speculated that it could have been recorded at the Wurlitzer
factory since it, and Herschell, were in North Tonawanda, N.Y.  I also
guessed it may have been a 157 that was at Feltman's in Coney Island, or
the one at Asbury Park, N.J. (later Paul Eakins, then King's Island,
Ohio).  Perhaps someone knows the real history.

Herschell marketed the Merri-Org on the basis that real band organs were
heavy, trouble-prone, and expensive.  And this was around fifty years
ago!  Wally Baptist of Jacksonville, Ill., mentioned recently on MMD by
Mark Chester, made a similar pitch for the band organ tape recordings he
sold in his catalogs. (Does anyone remember the Jack Schott Organ Works
which was credited with furnishing the organ for these recordings?)

Anyway, the older you get, the more you see that things don't change all
that much.

Bill Luca