[78-L] Young collectors...

[Ted Kneebone]

When I got started collecting "old time radio" recordings, I was pleased to 
find out that there were several young people interested, and collecting. 
One was 14; can't remember the others.  To help his collection, I sent him a 
few dubs of my cassettes.  In 1994, I traded cassette for cassette. 
Occasionally someone would want something from my reels.  Now, quite often 
traders want CDs.

Since this is a list about 78s, I want to do some remembering.  My first 
phonograph was a Silvertone from my grandfather.  It came complete with "Jim 
Lawson's hogs" and "Listen to the mocking bird."
When we got home from Sioux Falls, I discovered a second hand store in my 
hometown, Winner, that sold used records:  10" for 5c, 12" for 10c.  It was 
hard to find classical music, but if I looked long enough, I could usually 
find something.  "Gems from the Mikado" by Prince's Orchestra and Chorus. 
Mischa Elman playing some Brahms' Hungarian dances.  But most of my 
collection was popular music from the 1920s:  "Collegiate", and "So long 
oolong" for example.  For the real heavy stuff, I had to go to Montgomery 
Ward's and Sears, Roebuck's mail order catalogs.  First additions were 
Grieg's piano concerto, and Beethoven's symphony no. 8.  Mother took me 
shopping in Sioux Falls, and I came home with Grieg's Peer Gynt suite #1, 
Rossini's William Tell overture, and Strauss' Die Fledermaus overture.

I had over the years, a Victrola, a hybird thing someone made from a wooden 
box, and then an RCA 78 player made of plastic.  Having saved some money, as 
a senior in high school, I ordered a combination record player and disc 
recorder from Allied Radio.  The electronic gear ran off our radio's 
amplifier.  The band-choir director let me borrow the school's Wilcox-Gay 
Recordio when my Allied unit died.  I was in seventh heaven.  I recorded a 
few concerts off the air (NYPSO) and many of our choir and band concerts.

The school had bought a wire recorder, but that one never made the grade. 
After spending time trying to tie a square knot in a piece of wire the 
diameter of a human hair, I gave up.  The school then graduated to reel 
tape.

When I enrolled in college, Dad and I transported most of my 78 collection 
in orange crates to the third floor of Lincoln Hall (NSTC).  The other 
students must have thought I was crazy.  But I had to have music!  I loved 
to conduct the music.  One night I was conducting the "Poet and Peasant 
Overture", using a dowel for a baton.  Gradually, my room filled up with 
onlookers.  They probably thought I was really crazy by then.  As I was 
nearing the end of the overture, I heard a crash.  One of the boys had 
broken a window.  Our house mother was soon up to the third floor, wondering 
what had happened.  "Mr. Kneebone, you will have to pay for that broken 
window!"

Having replaced most of my 78 collection with LPs, next came tape reels, 
tape cassettes, and now CDs.  I was delightfully surprised to find out that 
some of the 78 titles that had never been dubbed to LP, were now available 
in CDs.  (Toscanini's Haydn #98, was one.)

Before giving my 78 collection to Northern State Teachers College, I dubbed 
many of them to reels.  The next step for me was dubbing most of those 
classical tunes to CD.

What's next?  I think I now have done it all.  No, I am not interested in 
downsizing my stuff to a flash drive.

Ted Kneebone. 1528 S. Grant St., Aberdeen, SD 57401. Phone: 605-226-3344.
Old Time Radio: http://abe.midco.net/tkneebone3