I have a clipping from the mid-1970's that came out of the
"Restorer" magazine of the Model A Ford Club of America. The article
is headlined "Aloha Chapter Kaneohe, Hawaii". It both describes and
pictures a Wurlitzer 153 mounted on a 1930 Model AA Ford truck. The
owner was Lt. Col. Charles Russell of Schofield Barracks.
My wife and I just returned from a vacation on Oahu, and while there,
I attempted to track down Col. Russell and the organ/truck combination,
but had no luck. I was interested in this because we, also, have a
truck-mounted Wurlitzer 153.
There was a second person in the photograph. I was able to locate
him and spoke to him. He said that he had not been in touch with Col.
Russell since the late 1970s when he left Hawaii, and the last time
he saw the Wurlitzer 153 and truck, it was in a museum in Honolulu.
I attempted to locate the museum, but had no luck there either.
I finally contacted some members of the Aloha Chapter of the Antique
Automobile Club of America. Just this evening, I received an email
from one of the members. He says that the museum, which was owned by
a Dave Sell, closed years ago due to a lack of necessary traffic, and
the inventory was sold off. He and his brother had purchased several
cars from the museum, but no one he could find had any idea what
happened to the Wurlitzer and truck. His last comment was "I expect
it went to the mainland if not sold here."
Does anyone in MMD-land have any knowledge of Charles Russell, or what
became of the Wurlitzer 153?
Bruce Miller
Issaquah, Washington
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