I owe a great debt to Arno van der Heijden and thought I should share
my story with those who know him.

I lived in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina.  My Weber
Unika and 80 rolls were a total loss.  The 50 cm Polyphon sat under
water for weeks, pinned down by a dresser against an oriental rug
soaked in salt water and mold.  My Mikado had water halfway up the
combs.  The motors were so rusty that any hope of restoration seemed
futile.  The cabinets were equally a mess -- you can't imagine the
mold that occurs over six weeks in salty flood water, temperatures
of 95 degrees Fahrenheit and 100% relative humidity.

I connected with Arno via eBay, selling him the gallery off the Mikado
(about the only thing that seemed recoverable).  He inquired why I was
selling and I explained the above.  He said he had restored music boxes
damaged in a river flood in Germany, and urged me to send him the
motors and combs.

Arno not only successfully restored them, he also repaired a break to
the 50 cm motor casting caused in shipment by UPS.  He arranged for the
Mikado motor to be re-chromed and for an exact reproduction governor to
be machined by a craftsman in Germany using an original he had in his
shop.  Then, he drove to a music box fair in Germany, picked up an
original Mikado cabinet for me (which I found via MMD - thank you!),
brought it back to Amsterdam and installed the mechanism, and assisted
in air shipment back to the U. S.  The result is that I still have two
Polyphon upright machines in beautiful playing condition rather than
a box full of rusted and useless junk.

Over and above the technical skills, Arno was a good friend from afar.
We continued to exchange emails and photos.  I always looked forward to
hearing from him.  A very pleasant person indeed.

I am very saddened to hear of his passing.  I hope my story brings some
comfort to his family and friends.

Stuart Smolkin
tel.: 1-504-256-5796