KnitKnacks

Give me that old time music

Today I'm going to the Porter Music Box company and museum with friends from CT. I have loved Regina Music Boxes ever since I was a little girl visiting a couple in Greenfield MA with my mother. They had a small room off their dining room that held nothing but a rocking chair and this glorious music box which they would play for me whenever we went to visit. The day they allowed me to operate it all by myself was the best visit my mother ever had with them. I had always hoped to have one one day.....

After many years of drooling over too expensive for us music boxes spied at various antique shows and shops, Greg found one for me one Christmas. Resourceful man that he is; he managed to locate one a week before Christmas through a friend of his sister's who just happened to have one as a result of an ad he placed in the paper in Washington DC. The price was fair plus a train ticket for Jake to hand carry it to VT from DC. It arrived the day after Christmas.

My cabinet was found locally...it and it's music box were of two different color woods and no matter how much I chided him, the dealer would not sell me the cabinet separately. I told him to call me when he sold the music box and was left with the cabinet...*I* knew no woman would buy mismatched furniture.

I have yet to acquire original discs for mine but the Porter Company does make replicas. I have made the concession that I can purchase new discs, but only Christmas tunes. Maybe today I can find " O Holy Night" where the holes line up exactly as mine do. I'm taking along one of my discs to compare. Stay tuned....so to speak.

~~~~~~~~~update~~~~~~~~~~

We were privileged to have Dwight Porter himself conduct our tour of the museum. He played music boxes for us that no one else is allowed to touch much less play, as well as heard stories as only he can tell them. Every music box has a story, you know.

In the you learn something everyday category: I told Dwight of my problem with newer replica discs "sticking" on my music box and he instructed me on the proper seating of the discs for play.....I never knew that! I bought O Holy Night and don't think I was home for more than 5 minutes before I had it seated properly on my music box...it is beautiful. Took me 5 minutes to get it out of his protective wrapping! Now wouldn't it be lovely if my Grand-Daughter ( or someone else) wanted to march down the aisle to Lohengrins Wedding March on my Music box...