Passing of Tom Fretty, Mechanical Music Collector
By Don Teach
I worked for Tom Fretty when I was starting and somewhat young in
the summer of 1975. It was a great learning experience and the
opportunity to see many different player pianos and band organs.
He was truly a wheeler-dealer horse-trader.
Tom's Country Market and Music Museum really was his love. People
would donate items to it and that always amazed me, knowing that it
was really more of a business that bought and sold antiques. His
other passion was his gun collection. They were hung on the walls
and everywhere.
The upstairs attic in the main building was full of old original
rolls and parts. I met a lot of collectors at the time and I have
great memories of the place and how hot Iowa was in the summer.
I still have two pianos from him: a Seeburg KT and a Link Style C
with pipes.
Don Teach
Shreveport, Louisiana
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(Message sent Sun 14 Jun 2015, 14:00:16 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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