Robbie,  We had discussed letters and information I have received on
Dr. Clarence Hickman concerning he and Mr. Charles F. Stoddard.  The
information that I have concerning these two gentlemen is not so much
technical aspects of the Ampico player unit, but rather an insight into
their personalities.  With all my correspondence with Dr. Hickman I
never wanted to dwell on technical issues but I wanted to know him, his
personality, his outlook on life, and to know him as a person, and the
same holds true for Mr. Stoddard.

It would very difficult to write about the personality of these two
gentlemen and have a good understanding of what they were like.  I would
like to suggest that we occasionally put in a letter written by Dr.
Hickman concerning him and Mr. Stoddard.  I found Dr. Hickman to be a
very modest person with a keen sense of humor, brilliant in all of his
accomplishments, very unassuming, honest and emphatic, and this is what
I would like to show in the letters that I send you.

Dr. Hickman was born and raised in Jamestown, Indiana, and I have met
some of his family and he sent me much information concerning himself
and his accomplishments, and also a lot of information and humorous
anecdotes as well as the accomplishments of Mr. Stoddard.

May I suggest, in order to get a real deep insight into both of these
gentlemen, that we occasionally print a letter in the MMD from Dr.
Hickman.  Please let me know if you think this is a good idea.

If you like the idea I am sending the first letter that was written to
his great niece, Judy, here in Indianapolis.  I eventually obtained a
model B Knabe and restored it for Judy and her daughter.  This letter
was written in June, 1978.  We have piano craftsman here in Indianapolis
who is without doubt one of the top piano technicians in the country.

Sincerely

Jim Brady

 [ It's a fine idea, Jim, and I welcome the old letters.  They will
 [ be published as a series of short articles.  The first article,
 [ about his experiences on the family farm, appears elsewhere in
 [ this Digest.  Thanks to you and Dr. Hickman's family for
 [ sharing the old letters with us.  -- Robbie