Larry Kern wrote to me expressing gratitude to MMD and the readers
responding and offering to loan the special "G" roll for the calliope
in the New Orleans parade next week:


>> Possibly resolved and just that quick?  The MMD is wonderful!


Mike Hanchett told me about the calliope he built, now owned by the
Krewe of Orpheus society of New Orleans.  It features 48 shiny brass
pipes, glockenspiel, bass drum with extra beaters for tympani, and
a snare drum with both single-strike and reiterating beaters, all
played by a style "G" nickelodeon roll.  The longest pipe plays C
one octave below Middle C.

A second, similar calliope is nearing completion now in Mike's
workshop.  It has all the extra instruments of his earlier calliope
plus an added reiterating xylophone, and it plays floppy diskettes
with data files of G-roll music.

The special music roll to be played in the Lundi Gras parade, G-roll
No. 2500, was compiled many years ago by Durrell Armstrong (Player
Piano Company) and sold by Dave Miner (Miner Manufacturing Company).
It plays five familiar tunes, including "Hello, Dolly!"

Excerpts from the text at http://www.kreweoforpheus.net/ :

  "Orpheus has acquired an original double-decker horse-drawn trolley
car that was used in the actual film ["Hello, Dolly!" starring Barbra
Streisand].  This is the largest horse-drawn carriage in the United
States...

  "The Orpheus parade is one of the most anticipated events of the
Carnival season.  Orpheus rolls on Lundi Gras (Fat Monday), February
7th, 2005 -- the day before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)..."

Robbie Rhodes
Etiwanda, Calif.