Union Memories - Tell us your stories!

[Jerry B.]

The Union show had a great run. I'd like to thank the Larry Donley, his sons Randy and Mike and their families for hosting the best talking machine shows on the planet. We have almost a year to honor the Donley family and one way is to tell our Union stories. I'll go first...

The 1982 Union was my first. I was thirty years old and I'd been collecting, in a small way, for about ten years. Even though I was a somewhat experienced collector, Union was different, it was the phono "big leagues." Luckily, I was attending with two of my mentor collector friends, Ira Dueltgen and John Davis. The show was held in the area that was recently used as the restaurant with a huge circus type tent in back and smaller tents all jammed with phono goodies. I mostly watched as the event unfolded around me. I felt like such a little fish in a huge pond. At that time Darrell Lehman drove from Seattle to Union. Darrell made it possible for me to get a Edison Standard morning glory horn and a Tulip horn back to Oregon. Thanks Darrell!

Let's hear your stories. We have almost a year to tell Union stories until "O'Hair" next year.

Jerry Blais

[edisonphonoworks]

I found out about Union when I was 11, found an ad in a magazine I should not have been reading at that age. I then contacted the museum and Larry told me about the show, which was in October, 1987-1988. Leo Hirtz played Uncle Josh Buys an Automobile on an Edison Opera, I was hooked. I also remember Dennis Valente demonstrating a video on Electrophone cylinders. I purchased a Dictaphone and a few dictation machine cylinders. I was first introduced to the Edison phonograph about the age of 5 or so when I went to the Bureau County Historical Society, and we had a 1970's reprint of the Sears 1900 catalog, I loved the Graphophone cuts in the catalog. I used to write Larry Donley letters about phonographs.

[audiophile102]

Every year that I attended was memorable for the number and and the high quality of phonographs on display. I enjoyed meeting friends at the show however briefly we spoke. There was just too much to see and enjoy. So many items I wanted to buy, but I ended up mostly buying needles, advertising and records. Both lateral and Edison records were in abundance at every show. I'm hopeful that the APS show next year will come close to the great show that the Donley's were able to put together. 2020 has been terrible for everyone. Lets hope for a better future.

[tim w]

In regards to the posts in the midwest show announcement, there seem to be some worried dealers wondering about their deposits. It seems these days people are quick to anger, and money is a hot topic as well. Hopefully with patience and persistence problems can be ironed out. Maybe they can arrange to apply the deposits to next year’s show. I hate to see the Donleys draw hostility after all the wonderful things they’ve done for us through the years. Everyone is going through some transition now.

When I was a pre teen I finally got to visit their museum. I was awed & overwhelmed by the magnitude of the display of these beautiful music machines. I wanted to play every single one of them & hear every rare record that I couldn’t otherwise. Not to mention the grounds contained many more things to be fascinated by.

I’ve been able to attend every show from 1988 until the last one. It was a unique setting that seemed to fit perfectly with the subject of the show. All the sounds & smells wafting from within & without. I got to see or handle things you normally would only see in a book. In addition there were music boxes, band organs, orchestrions, movie projectors,& whatever else happened to pass through that year.
Then there’s the personal contact & all the dealers that aren’t with us anymore. Say like Larry Mason or Leo Hertz. There are others too. And I always wondered about guys like Jerry Madsen. Was it just me, or was he kind of a little cranky ?

People now always talk about all virtual internet this & that. Ahh, whatever. There is no substitute for the real thing.