[ Ref. "Music Rolls About Flying Machines"
Ken Smith arranged and hand cut the book music of "Those Magnificent
Men In Their Flying Machines" for one of his magnificent hand built
band organs. It is a great arrangement and I especially enjoyed
hearing it when he would play along with the organ with a brass band
instrument picked off the music room wall, usually his old Sousaphone.
It was always a great experience for me as Ken was a good musician and
played many instruments.
"Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" was one of Ken's
favorite movies. He owned a theatre print (either 35 mm or 70 mm)
copy of the movie and enjoyed screening it in his home theatre --
not the trendy type of home theatre consisting of a TV room and a
sound system that you see in many homes today, but a real mini theatre
complete with a full size set of carbon arc projectors usually found
only in commercial movie theatres.
Ken built, restored, operated, and collected many things beyond music
and band organs. One room of his home housed a collection of eight to
ten very large commercial movie projectors. He was a guy who actually
did what many of us only talk about doing. One time I asked him how he
accomplished so much, his answer: "I do not watch television!"
And I didn't even mention the live steam railroad he built and operated
in his backyard!
Ken Vaughn
Columbus, Ohio
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