The beautiful feature on the Simonton/Hardman organ brought back
many memories [ref. http://hardmanwurlitzer.com/ ].

For a good number of years, when I lived in California, I was a
Saturday night "regular" at [Simonton's] Bijou Theatre.  Typically,
there would be an organ concert by one of the artists mentioned in
the article, then a film, then refreshments.

Harold Lloyd reluctantly came to one of those events after Dick
Simonton worked with re-publicizing his famous films.  He sat in the
back row and, according to Dick, was afraid that his film, "Safety
Last", might be booed, was all set to quietly exit.  He had not been
introduced to the audience.  The film was a sensation.

Harold, in his Beverly Hills home, had an Aeolian Duo-Art pipe organ,
original installation, but somehow most rolls had disappeared.  Dick
Simonton and I went on a roll-hunting expedition following leads we
received, and gifted him with a trunk-full.

Dick was one of two people responsible for my moving to Southern
California.  In 1966 I landed in Kettering, Ohio, as a result of
selling my business to a new firm.  The arrangement did not suit me,
and I and my family (wife Mary, son Wynn age 4, son Lee age 2) decided
to move.  We settled on two choices: (1) Darien, Redding Ridge, and
that area of Connecticut, and (2) Southern California.

I had been to both places many times in the course of business and also
pursuing music boxes and coin-operated pianos (the last involving the
1966 purchase of the instruments at Sutro Baths in San Francisco).

Now, with buyer's eyes I decided to do due diligence and visit each
place for three days.  I went to Connecticut in March 1967, where it
was cold, rainy, and foggy, and then to Los Angeles, where the sky was
blue (no smog; with mountains visible; rare) and the weather warm.

I revisited Otto Carlsen, from whom I had traded various coin pianos
and orchestrions, and Dick Simonton, with whom I had exchanged
historical information, including about the Wurlitzer Company.  Both
said that each had come to California from other states (Simonton from
Washington and Carlsen from Illinois) and that I and my family would
enjoy it immensely.

We did this, and with Terry Hathaway I formed Hathaway & Bowers, which
earned a presence with its 10,000 square-foot building (recently
constructed, and available for rent). The rest is history, as they say.

As to Dick Simonton, he was one of a kind -- an entrepreneur, a
philanthropist, a family man.  At one time he bought Greene Line
Steamers, operators of the Delta Queen on the Ohio River.  Earlier, he
went to Freiburg, Germany, and met with Edwin Welte (I later appraised
Dick Simonton's collection of Welte and related material for donation
to UCLA).

As the Jack Harding article states, Dick founded the American Theatre
Organ Society.  Dick introduced me to Farny Wurlitzer, after which I
made multiple trips to visit FW in North Tonawanda, again history.

Lots of nice memories!

Dave Bowers