It has been two weeks since the end of the season for the beautiful
carousel at Glen Echo Park and its marvelous Wurlitzer 165 organ.
Various parts of the organ are out for repairs, and I've moved all our
rolls out of the organ house, so that I can do a thorough cleaning and
install some sturdier shelves.  I took the opportunity to inventory
all our rolls, and I was very pleased about what I discovered.

Our organ was converted to play Caliola rolls around WW II while the
amusement park still operated, and was restored to its original scale
in 1978 after the park came under the management of the National Park
Service.  All the 165 rolls had been discarded by the amusement park;
so the organ's collection of rolls had to be restarted from scratch.
Fortunately, a few past and present members of the carousel staff have
purchased recuts as they became available from Play-Rite and generously
donated them to the park.  [The late Richard Creamer, a fan of the Glen
Echo carousel and organ, donated a substantial number of the rolls you
have.  --Relief Editor.]

The results of my inventory are that we own all but six of the rolls
produced by Wurlitzer which are known to survive, and all but three of
the 12-tune composites of T.R.T. rolls.  I knew we had a great many
rolls, but I didn't know our collection was so close to completion on
those fronts!  I would really love to plug those few holes in time for
next season, when the carousel will be 90 years old and the organ 85.

The rolls from Wurlitzer and T.R.T. we are missing are: 6521, 6557,
6629, 6644, 6645, 6662, 6686-87, 6700-01, and 6705-06.  We also are
looking for some B.A.B. transcriptions we don't have and for all the
rolls by David Stumpf and Bob Stuhmer, of which we have only one.

If anyone has a copy of any of these rolls they would like to sell,
please send me an email.  I truly believe that ours is one of the most
exceptional organs on public display anywhere in this country and is
immensely valued by the community.  The citizens of Montgomery County
raised $80,000 in 1969 to keep the organ and carousel at the park after
the closure of the amusement park, and today they are the center of a
vibrant community park.  The organ provides beautiful music not only
for the carousel but also for the picnic grove and for the artists
throughout the park.  So if you're able to part with any of the rolls
we are missing, you can really trust that they will be going to a good
home where they will be played and appreciated.

TJ Fisher
Washington, DC