About one week ago I was privileged to ride the Tilden Park (Berkeley,
Calif.) 1911 Herschel-Spillman carousel.  The 'good news' is that the
carousel is in fine fettle and looks great.  The 'bad news' is that
they are playing insipid CD-based carousel music at a very low level
through bad loudspeakers.

According to the operator, the boxes (both the Ruth-B.A.B. and the
North Tonawanda organs) have both been worked on and are operational,
but they are not in use because of volume levels.  They played the
Ruth organ at a Christmas party last December and the neighbors (some
a half-mile away) complained.  Apparently the volume is so loud that
some regulatory agency demanded that the operator wear ear protection.
The management has taken the path of least resistance.

I have, at least, sent the owner the CD set that I made of the Ruth box
in the 1970's to try to set things partially right.

The 1914 Herschel-Spillman carousel in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco,
is suffering the same invidious fate.

A. B. Bonds