Hello, Walter --  My name is Tom Detweiler, an MMD member for about a
year now.  I understand from your post that you have one of the Mortier
band organs, and when you mentioned G.W. McKinnon I got very interested.
Do you by any chance own the huge Mortier that the McKinnon people used
to call the "Taj Mahal"?

Back when I was much younger and in the Navy stationed in Long Beach
about 1970-71 or so, my wife and I drove from Long Beach through the
mountains to Santa Fe, California, where McKinnon was located, to buy
a disk for our 27" Regina music box.  It was by appointment only, but
they gladly opened up for us on a Saturday.

His old building was located in Santa Fe, I remember pretty much
right on the highway, and in an old but large building of indeterminate
origin.  I think I met G.W. himself, and some other people there, and
bought one disk from them.  He had a barn full of stuff in there:
gramophones, disk and cylinder boxes, large and small, player pianos,
and other non-music antiques.

I still have their old business card from that time: "G.W. McKinnon --
Automated Musical Instruments-- Location, Restoration and Service".
Everyone there were so nice to us both, and although we only bought a
disk from them they had some other drop-in customers too, so we stayed
a couple hours.

I think they were impressed that someone as young as we were (early
20's) would drive all the way over from Long Beach to visit, and that
we had any interest in music boxes at all.  I guess it was strange,
for the 60's, but I come from a long line of history and antique-loving
folks and learned to appreciate them from grandparents, parents and
other relatives.  I remember being impressed by G.W., who I think was
wearing a natty three-piece suit.

(Interestingly enough, we also found copies of both "Curious Lore
of Music Boxes" by Mosoriak, and another of "Encyclopedia of Automated
Musical Instruments", both on sale at the Long Beach library old book
sale that year, for a couple bucks each, the best investment I ever
made.  I think they sell for about $80 used now.  It must have been
destiny!)

Anyway, as we wandered around and looked someone played a restored
Regina for us, and several of the other instruments as well.  But the
highlight of our visit, and the one we both remembered the most, was
when they took us in the back work area and showed us the Taj Mahal,
which I believe he was restoring -- a huge Mortier dance hall organ,
which I think he said he had gotten in Belgium (?).

I remember it was being repainted to match its original colors, if
I remember were white, with light blue/blue-green trim, gold accents
etc.; it had life-sized carved angels or cherubs with trumpets on it,
and the facade and proscenium were huge, must have towered up 12-15
feet, (or so it seemed at the time), with the big "MORTIER" painted at
the top, and it played Jacquard-style folding books from a bin, rather
than rolls.  G.W. had been working on its innards first rather than the
appearance, and they gave us the treat of a lifetime when they powered
it up and demonstrated it.

We didn't believe the instruments it had, the main organ, cymbals,
gongs, bells, some sort of trumpets or horns, a virtual orchestra in
there! Anyway, they played a march, some sort of oompah-sounding slow
march, and it was so loud it was almost deafening, at least in the
building we were all in.  We were very impressed and talked them into
playing another selection, a waltz, which we delighted our benefactors
by waltzing to!

Neither of us had ever seen anything quite like the Taj Mahal, and it
was the experience of a lifetime to see, hear, and even dance to it.
Probably the closest thing would be the band organs that were found in
antique carrousels.

So now I'm wondering if it is the same Mortier band organ you and your
co-investor own now?

I have a newspaper clipping of the time from the LA Times or Long
Beach paper about McKinnon and his hobby, with a picture of the Taj
Mahal; I will see if I can get a good scan of that, and post it to
Robbie for sharing with the members.  While there I took lots of
pictures too (would have been 126/Instamatic, remember those?) and will
look for them as well.  I did have photos of the Taj Mahal as it was
set up then, but that was 30 years, many moves and two divorces ago,
so they may be lost.  Hard for me to believe it's been 30 years ago,
but I still remember not only hearing, but feeling that deep bass
oompah in the pit of my stomach as it played.

Hope this gives you an interesting anecdote for your instrument's
history book.  Whatever feedback you can offer would be most
appreciated.

Tom Detweiler, Grass Valley CA