Thank you, Robbie, for letting us know.  I have fond memories of
visiting Tom Fretty about 15 years ago at his home in Kensett, Iowa,
and getting to see some of the pieces he still was holding onto.
Included in these items was a Wurlitzer once owned by one of his close
friends which I bought on my trip up there.  Tom even threw in a scale
model of that organ, built by the previous owner, which I still own to
this day.

I never did visit [the museum in] Manly, Iowa, in its hay day, as
during that time period I was off in service to our country and had
not yet gotten back into mechanical musical instruments.  I remember
both he and his wife as friendly fun people to be around.  Tom also had
a treasure of many organ and unusual piano rolls he still owned and he
included some in the organ purchase.  He was also one of the key
motivators in my dive back into band organs and pianos.

I had not kept up with him in recent years, and the retraction of the
first [erroneous] reports of his death some months ago were met with
much relief.  I am one man most thankful for the experience of meeting
the gentlemen and hearing the stories of his life of acquiring
mechanical musical instruments.

Dave Haibach - In Them Thar Hills Of Kentucky!