The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I am glad to have just donated. Bump.

John

Good man, John. I continue to be amazed at the number of people who benefited from Don’s exuberant embracement of this hobby, helping thousands of collectors over the years, yet can’t be bothered to even donate five or ten bucks.

Raphael

Just donated! Encourage others to do so if you can. Only met Don a few times and did some small transactions. It was easy to see what a great guy he was. Hope this is successful!
Best, Lee

Lee, thank you for your contribution. Unfortunately, we have reached barely 3% of the goal, so there’s lots more to go.

Raphael

The website tomedison.org has added a graph showing contributions to the Don Gfell fund. They are at about $10,000 out of the $100,000 goal. It also has a comment that mail-in contributions are $7.000. Then if you click on the donation link, Square's website shows donations are $3,290.

Jim Nichol

For years I have placed a full-page ad in the APS magazine, mainly as a means of supporting the hobby. It's very disappointing to me that APS have not done much of anything to help out with this fundraiser, which needs no further justification here. Current total contributions are about $10,000 from a society that numbers many thousands of members.

I have ceased running my ads and in lieu will donate the usual costs to the fund.

To those of you who have donated, my sincere thanks. To those of you who haven't, I suggest the next time you buy a beer or have a Starbucks coffee, think how the fund would swell over if everybody donated the cost of that one little extravagance. Don would have certainly done it, even for a stranger.

Raphael

Raphael wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 9:17 am For years I have placed a full-page ad in the APS magazine, mainly as a means of supporting the hobby. It's very disappointing to me that APS have not done much of anything to help out with this fundraiser, which needs no further justification here. Current total contributions are about $10,000 from a society that numbers many thousands of members.

I have ceased running my ads and in lieu will donate the usual costs to the fund.

Raphael,

While I share your disappointment in the amount donated so far in Don's honor to the Don Gfell Educational Center, I don't think it's fair to blame this on the APS. The announcement of the fundraiser was made in mid-August: after the deadline for the September issue of the APS magazine. There will, however, be an announcement in the December issue. A link to the Edison Birthplace Museum was added to the APS website (#17), and announcements were posted on the APS Facebook Group, the APS Facebook Page, and the APS Forum. I don't know what else the organization could be expected to do.

By the way, the APS currently numbers approximately 1060 members. You may have been thinking of the APS Facebook Group, which currently numbers about 10,100 members. It's frustrating to think that if only 20% of the Facebook Group chose to join the APS, its membership would be doubled. Currently, APS membership dues cover about one-half of its operating costs, so this increased participation would be most welcome. But clearly, not everyone values education as much as you and I do.

Like many other APS members, I donated to the Don Gfell Educational Center back when the announcement was made. Like you, I encourage others to do the same. (However, I won't be decreasing my annual donation to the APS to cover it.)

George P.

George,

I fully understand and am shocked that there are only 1060 APS members, and apologize for the mistake, somebody just recently told me it was about 3500. I was conflating APS and it's members as well. Nonetheless, there are also many thousands of members of the Talking Machine Forum, and if everybody here made a very minimal contribution, it would go a long way towards bolstering the fund.

I guess I am very passionate about this, because I met Don when I started selling music boxes in the late 1990's, he guided and assisted me every step of the way into the world of phonographs. When I finally was able to visit him in Milan about 8 years ago, he was as excited as a little kid that I and my son were coming. He spent the entire day with showing us his private "museum" and we felt very honored to have been his guests. But I know we were among many, many people who had this privilege; Don was so enthusiastic about Edison (and this hobby) that he shared it with anybody and everybody.

Raphael

Raphael wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 9:17 am For years I have placed a full-page ad in the APS magazine, mainly as a means of supporting the hobby. It's very disappointing to me that APS have not done much of anything to help out with this fundraiser, which needs no further justification here. Current total contributions are about $10,000 from a society that numbers many thousands of members.

I have ceased running my ads and in lieu will donate the usual costs to the fund.

To those of you who have donated, my sincere thanks. To those of you who haven't, I suggest the next time you buy a beer or have a Starbucks coffee, think how the fund would swell over if everybody donated the cost of that one little extravagance. Don would have certainly done it, even for a stranger.

Raphael

Thanks Raphael. I wish only the best for this cause. Your enthusiasm for the cause, and for the memory of Don is admirable. As many others assuredly do as well, I have causes that I regularly contribute to. So, the next time I buy a beer, or have a Starbucks coffee, my conscience will remain clear that I've done my small part in supporting them. If I choose not to support this particular cause with anything past my "well wishes", I hope you'll not look too harshly upon me.

It’s not a matter of looking harshly upon you, I am just urging everybody to do the math. Let’s not make this into more than it is, which is an opportunity to support a worthwhile cause right in our wheelhouse, not some request for donation to an obscure charity.

Raphael