I don't get out very often with my Flora 20-note busker organ, but
Monday night I had a wonderful experience.  Last week my wife, a
kindergarten teacher, volunteered to be a part of the family night
at her school.  This is a night where the family turns off the TV and
does something together at the school.  I was informed <eh-hem> that
I would be taking the busker organ in and playing it for a couple hours
in the hallway.

Okay, this sounds like fun.  Then, I reviewed my library of music and
discovered that it was painfully light!  A quick email to Ed Gaida and
I had the most current catalog and was making my selections.  A quick
order to Ed the next morning, and Internet order to Brian Flora for
Raffin spools, and I was set.

Monday night finally arrived and I was eager to start cranking.
I briefed my wife on the organ and she enjoyed cranking it as well.
Almost immediately we drew a crowd with children smiling and parents
watching.  My wife, being the generous soul she is, asked one of the
children if they would like to crank it.  YES! was the answer, and the
children cranked away with a big smile on their faces!  (Yes, I did
gasp, and I was nervous, but the kids did fine under supervision.)

I can't tell you how many adults and children got a chance to crank,
but I can tell you it was wonderful for me to sit across from the
organ, listen to it, and watch all the smiles on the faces.

There were adults singing, "Give My Regards to Broadway", children
singing, "Chitty Chitty Bang, Bang".  The high point of the evening,
though, was when I put in the "William Tell Gallop [Overture]" and
started cranking!  The kids went nuts, running up and down the halls
as if they were riding horses!  It was just amazing.  (For those of
you with John Smith style organs, this is a "must have" in the roll
library.)

There were other work stations there for entertainment and the children
enjoyed them all.  The local newspaper was there and took a photo of a
child cranking away.  If it is published, I'll forward the article and
picture to the list.

As I packed up the rolls and organ, I reflected on the evening and the
fun time had by all.  Maybe one of the children will be the next Mozart
or maybe one child will introduce some new fantastic technology to the
mechanical music industry 25 years from now, or maybe everyone just had
fun....

How do you interest people in a hobby?  Supervised hands on involvement
seems to work for me.

Cheers,

Paul Ward
Mansfield, Ohio