Earl Hennager wondered about the future of organizations such as AMICA,
with aging populations and a purported lack of interest among younger
people.

As soon as the curmudgeons in these groups stop labeling anyone under
the age of thirty as being uninterested, obsessed with current tech-
nology, rude, or any of the other synonyms for "not worth caring
about," then a corner will have been turned, and I suspect we'll start
seeing more interest among younger folks.

Another thing that would be very helpful is for these organizations
to foster more interest in "entry level instruments."  It is pretty
discouraging to someone who is really enthusiastic about his newly-
acquired foot-pumped player to, every time he visits another member's
home, be told in so many words, "Yours is nice, but see how much better
my reproducing pianos, nickelodeons, etc. are," and then have it empha-
sized how unlikely it is that he can ever acquire one himself, due to
their ballooning cost, and then be further regaled with tales of how
these incredible instruments were acquired for next to nothing decades
ago.

If these experiences aren't off-putting to new collectors, I don't know
what are.  I can tell you too from my own experience that it happens
more frequently than not.

Bryan Cather