-- forwarded message, please reply to sender and MMD --

In 1971 I sat on a bench at a small fairground on the edge of Beverly
Hills; "Kiddy Land" was its name.  There was a merry-go-round (a Parker
Davis, I believe) and it had Wurlitzer 104 and 153 organs playing.

A friend working at the fairground made cotton candy and ran the Ferris
wheel.  As I waited for him to get off work I was touched by the magic
of the moment.  That lead me to a 5-year journey to your neck of the
woods, for I was a grad student taking courses in wood fabrication
technology and was in need of a graduate project -- why not build
a band organ!

To make the story short, Ray Thomas lived in El Cajon, CA, and I had
a sister living nearby in San Diego.  Ray was the son-in-law of Herbert
Vincent, who maintained all the major band organs in California and
many in other states.  I made arrangements to meet Ray and told him
of my wish to build a Wurlitzer 125 from scratch.  It was quite an
adventure.  I still have the organ, though it needs a complete rebuild.

Since I will be retiring in a few years, I took some time to search the
web for band organs and I found your web site.  It makes me feel really
good to learn that a passion I experienced so many years ago is still
alive.  Some day soon I will once again be building a band organ --
music to my ears.

Les Higger
La Canada, California (near Pasadena)