Most mechanical music instruments that saw use in a public place were
subject to considerable abuse.  My memory fades but I think I read
someplace that trumpet organs in the center of a merry-go-round were
used for target practice by youngsters of the day.  The idea was to
see if you could toss some item into a horn!  As well as thrown
objects, these horns also attracted June bugs, bees, moths, et cetera,
that were attracted by the flashing colored lights.

When I restored my Wurlitzer 125 I removed the trumpets from the boots
and, using considerable force, removed the large wads of crud that was
a mixture of dead bugs, marbles, pieces of coal, small stones and even
a bit of broken glass.

A good number of original green paper music rolls came with this organ.
I spent hours rolling this paper out and, with a razor blade, scraping
off all the dead bugs that had become trapped and pressed onto the
paper that would indicate to me that this organ saw service in the
great out-doors.

There is a great picture of this organ on it's first public performance
in the MMD Archives.

Ken Vinen

 [ See http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/Pictures/vinen1.html  -- Robbie