[ Ref. Art Reblitz in 151114 MMDigest ]

The promise of a new site devoted to the history of the calliope
instantly drew my full attention and jogged my memory back to my first
experience seeing and hearing a genuine steam calliope.

It was the late 1950s or early '60s that the Cristiani Brothers came
to Los Angeles with the intent and equipment to parade with all of the
elements needed, such as menagerie wagons, floats, etc. with a steam
calliope ("Kali op" to some) following up at the end.  The city of Los
Angeles would not grant them a parade permit so they were unable to use
the calliope anywhere other than the performance site where they had
their big top.

During their stay, which I vaguely remember as being at or near the
Pan Pacific auditorium, they used the calliope to attract the crowds
and the man that played it was a true example of the "theory of
evolution" at work.  I remember him as "Frank" hailing from Garber,
Oklahoma, and he had the most unbelievable forest and copious quantities
of hair poring from his ears and his fingers had become mere stubs with
no recognizable joints.

Frank played the instrument beautifully and I remember begging him not
to stop.  I still remember the sound of that calliope as the best and
most in-tune calliope that I have ever heard.

Cecil Dover
Los Angeles