The recent interest in the Berry-Wood model A.O.W. now in the De Bence
collection leads me to mention that, when I was in my early 20's, this
very machine (it is a one-of-a-kind) was brought to Seabreeze Park (then
Dreamland Park) in Rochester, N.Y., as a side acquisition by the park's
owner, George W. Long, as part of his purchase (from somewhere; if I ever
knew where, I quickly forgot) of a large pressure-operated band organ,
perhaps an Artizan or a BAB conversion.

The Berry-Wood came with only the one 10-tune roll that was wound on its
roll frame.  Nobody seemed all that interested in trying to get any music
out of the machine.  The drums were missing as was the motor and round
leather belting to drive the rotary pumps.  But the piano, the violin and
flute ranks, the wood and the metal xylophones, pumps and reservoir were
all intact.

With a minimum of work, consisting of laboriously cleaning the bodies of
dead honey bees and the like out of the primary valves, lightly buffing
the surfaces of the solid rubber valve units, having a piano technician
bring the piano back into tune (or as close to the mark as he thought the
strings would tolerate), replacing essential missing or deteriorated
components, I got the A.O.W. to render acceptable music when a nickel was
dropped into its coin chute.

For the next couple of years the instrument raked in a respectable volume
of nickels from the curious public, although park personnel quickly tired
of hearing the same 10 tunes played hour after hour.  Today I remember
only that tune 10 on the roll was a cute rendition of "Barney Google."

At the end of its two-year sojourn in Rochester, the A.O.W. was sold to 
Jake De Bence.  I never saw the instrument in Franklin, Pa., and I don't 
know whether any more rolls than the one was ever found for the A.O.W..

Knowing now how rare the instrument is, I only regret that, while in the
park the A.O.W. case was butchered to the extent of cutting a hole in the
door covering the tracker bar in order to make a window there so the
public could see the machine operate.  The things we do when we don't
know any better.

Matthew Caulfield