Gold

[walkin jack]

I'm always hearin' stories about people finding lost and forgotten items when cleaning out houses of their late parents or grandparents. My dad passed away in 2009. He lived in the house he lived in since retirement in Waco Texas. Me and my son spent several days cleaning out his house. Nothing of any great value or interest....I thought. He had a large record collection dating back to the late 50s I took them home but didn't think they'd still be playable. They have been in the barn for 5 years and in the garage for 6 years before that. To me this turned out to be GOLD.

My daughter gave me a really nice "Victrola" turntable for Christmas but I've been so preoccupied with the upcoming move and then the pandemic I just haven't spent a lot of time looking for records. I remember thinking that it was too bad that Dad's old records are no good.

Now, in the process of clearing out the barn I got to the boxes of his old records. Just for the heck of it I brought them in and started going through them. They are PERFECT. All in covers with dust Jackets. He took excellent care of them. Right now I'm playing Hank Williams greatest hits. Before that I played the sound track from Elvis Presley's King Creole.

A WIDE variety of music From Tennessee Ernie Ford To Duke Ellington. My mother LOVED Elvis. Got about 10 or12 of his. Marty Robbins, Dean Martin, Glen Miller, Kenny and Dolly, Kenny and Dottie, Just Kenny, Kenny and the First Edition. Julie London, The Platters, Nat King Cole...You get the idea.

Looks like I'll be tappin' a toe for a while now....

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

My financially impaired sister moved in with my Dad to care for him at the end. She looted his house and put it all on eBay without regard to family heirlooms or what folks wanted including a similar record collection. She was required to retrieve a number of items but most of the record collection was scattered to the four winds.

 

[walkin jack]

My financially impaired sister moved in with my Dad to care for him at the end. She looted his house and put it all on eBay without regard to family heirlooms or what folks wanted including a similar record collection. She was required to retrieve a number of items but most of the record collection was scattered to the four winds.

I am sorry to hear about that. I hope most of the more treasured items were recovered.

It's not always about the money. Sometimes it's about the memories. Along with the records I found my mothers old cook book. Feels like it weighs about 10 lbs or so. I can see a battel in the future with my daughter. She has been talking about that cook bood since Mom dies in '96. I want her to have it but I'm gonna make her work for it. HE HE HE

 

[Onomea]

Jack, what fun! I looked up what a Victrola turntable means in this day and age, and was favorably impressed by the price point and the aesthetics: Record Players & Turntables for Vinyl | Victrola.com

 

[Golddollar]

Jack,
That is so wonderful that your dad preserved so much musical history. May I suggest that to go with your new "Victrola" that you peruse ebay to find a pair of vintage Infinity speakers to go with it. I had a pair that I used for close to 40 years and the only reason I don't have them now is that I bought a bigger pair. The old ones are still set up for use at my brother's house.

 

[steveno]

when I left Colorado I had over a 100 albums and could barely give them away. Barnes & Noble now has a whole aisle of them starting at $20 and above. I had to basically give away the Dual 1219 turntable to get rid of everything

 

[H Richard]

Quite a few years ago, when CD players were new and "fantastic", I sold most all my records which I had accumulated from the 50's to the 80's. Popular, Rock & Roll, Jazz, Big Band, a little Classic, etc. All went in a garage sale for .50 apiece. I sure wish I had them now, or had gotten them transferred to CD's. You can't find these sounds today.

 

[robvious]

with music and cookbooks you can create the sounds and smells of family history... what a great opportunity to bring back memories.. enjoy

 

[walkin jack]

Jack, what fun! I looked up what a Victrola turntable means in this day and age, and was favorably impressed by the price point and the aesthetics: Record Players & Turntables for Vinyl | Victrola.com

Thanks for the link. Mine is the 7-in-1 model with all the goodies and the heavy duty sticker price. Still, it's a good price and well worth every penny in my opinion.

 

[walkin jack]

Here's mine

I know you can't tell but it's Ol' Blue Eyes croonin'