I just returned from seeing the 1902 C.W. Parker carousel in Abilene,
only 44 miles down the road.  While paying my museum admission, I
inquired about the carousel.

     "Do you just want to take pictures of it, or do you want to ride it?"

Do _I_ want to ride the carousel??!!  Yes, of course!!  I paid the
extra dollar for the ride, which I shared with a woman from Colorado
who was a carousel enthusiast.

Besides the carousel, other mechanical music or music items of interest
at the museum include:

   1890 Kimball organ
   1860's  three-octave Mason & Hamlin organ
   Concert Roller Organ
   ca. 1885 German-made accordion
   1895 Busy Bee graphophone, type O and wax cylinder recordings
   Yankee Prince phonograph
   Merrifield upright piano
   Victrola
   Also, the Museum of Independent Telephony, with a large collection of
     antique telephones, switchboards, and telephone equipment

It was a very pleasant afternoon and well worth the drive.  For more info:

   Dickinson County Heritage Center
   412 S. Campbell
   Abilene, KS  67410
   (913) 263-2681

Cheers,

Joyce Brite¶
brite@ksu.edu       http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~brite/