Hello again from rainy upstate New York, USA.  With regard to the sale
of the Robert Morton organ in Texas, I'd like to make a suggestion and
relate a sad tale of a similar item.

About 15 years ago my neighbor, John, bought a new sound system for
his home.  To reduce the space needed he replaced his old Bozak
loudspeakers with some new, little bookshelf speakers.  The Bozaks
were about four feet tall and had 11 speakers in each beautiful walnut
cabinet.  They cost $800 each in the early 1970's.

I happened to know that another friend, Dick, from work, was looking
for some new speakers and he had the room for the Bozaks.  So a deal
was made and I helped move the speakers to their new home.  Everyone
was happy, especially John ($200 worth) and his wife (with more space)
and Dick (with a pair of vintage speakers).

Well, not me so much -- Dick lives in a the second floor walk-up.
Last year Dick decided to retire and move out of state.  He tried to
sell the speakers (for $250) at work before he left -- no takers.

I offered to help find a buyer or even take them myself.  I didn't have
much luck either but I mentioned it to John (the original owner) and he
said that he'd buy them back for $200 and give them to one of his kids
to use.  So, about a week before Dick was scheduled to leave, I called
him up to make the offer.  No answer for a couple days so I drove over
to see him in person.  He was gone.  A few weeks later, a mutual friend
said that he had helped Dick pack.

Dick insisted that if nobody would pay a fair price for those speakers,
he would see to it that nobody could use them at all.  So he spent
several hours and removed all 22 speakers and tore out the cones.  Then
he had them toss the cabinets into the dumpster.  This time everyone
lost out because of his dismal attitude.

I hope that the owners of the Robert Morton organ, who certainly should
appreciate the non-financial value of the instrument, do not fall
victim to this same approach.  If it comes down to the last couple
weeks, I suggest that they put the whole thing on e-bay where thousands
of people and organizations can see it.  Set the reserve to something
very low (like $500).

There is someone, someplace who would love to have that organ but can't
afford $7000.  Hey, a group of retired organ lovers in some small town
might like to restore it and place it in the senior center.  On the
other hand, maybe some group from the Morris Museum or the DeBence
Museum would like to buy it and install it for the public to hear.

It's amazing what a group of dedicate volunteers can do with a little
help and encouragement.  If it's owned by an individual, they could
even donate it for a tax write-off.  I have my fingers crossed.

Craig Smith