[ Ref. 260117 MMD, Tangley STA-58 58-whistle Calliope ]

Contrary to any Mark Twain-like rumors, or a narrative to the contrary,
I am alive and continue to enjoy mechanical music and other pursuits.
Let me provide some accurate information and clarification about my
ownership and restoration of an original STA-58 Tangley Calliaphone
in the 1980s and 1990s, a mere three to four decades ago.

There were a number of vintage photographs and other documentation
that had been known for several decades that confirmed beyond doubt
that Norman Baker's Tangley Mfg. Co. did indeed make a couple STA-58
Tangley Calliaphones, as well as various models with the more common
43 whistles. There is no viable confirmation that his firm ever actually
made any 53-whistle [fifty-three] units, as advertised, and which were
sold by his principal competition. The late Myron Duffield claimed to
have remnants seemingly from one, but whatever became of it is unknown
to me.

An opportunity for to acquire the hitherto unknown STA-58 survivor
came about in 1983. A circus history associate, John Polacsek,
thoughtfully alerted me to one coming up at auction. Owing to disbelief
at that time that one existed, I called the auctioneer and asked him
to physically count the whistles.

Hearing the correct number, the auction was attended, where those
present included Cliff and Mary Pollock, who became quick friends,
and Myron Duffield, who I'd met several years before when he had his
trailered Tangley calliope and wagon at a history event in Ohio.
I gained the high bid over a telephone bidder, later admitted to be
Dr. Grissinger, another Ohio collector.

In a stress-inducing moment, the auctioneer decided it wasn't bid
adequately high and he asked for Myron to play the calliope for a second
time, delaying the entire proceeding. There was no further bidding and
the instrument came home with me. Word leaked out about the instrument
and in a few weeks I received a call from the late Dan Slack, which
over several years led to a close personal friendship that was enjoyed
immensely until his untimely passing.

In a peculiar place, there is an original, special metal tag inside the
STA-58 that advises that it was an asset of the Tangley Mfg. Co. It is
possible, but not proven, that it may have been the unique instrument
housed within a tall wooden enclosure, with clear panels and swell
shades, and used in the indoor studio at Baker's KTNT radio station in
Muscatine, Iowa.

Fred Dahlinger
Baraboo, Wisconsin

[ Concluding Part II will appear in the next MMDigest. -- Robbie