Caught an ad on Craigslist for an RCA Victor Stereo Orthophonic console record player yesterday on a whim of a search. Price was $40, and I called the seller, asking him to please hold it, as it was similar to the one my parents had growing up.
Called him back today, and on a nasty bitter cold evening, I went and picked it up tonight. Apparently there was another cash offer on the table if I didn't want it.....that person wanted only the tubes and owners booklets. While it turned out that this one was a bit newer than I'd wanted, it was in beautiful shape, and I simply couldn't see it going to the trash. Besides, I need a better record player
.
The seller grew up in the neighborhood, and was selling off a few unwanted possessions of the deceased couple that had lived there. He told me that they were both in their 90s, and were the nicest, most generous people you'd ever want to meet. I handed the seller the $40, and we loaded it in the back of my old van.
Got home, and only some odd sounds coming from the unit, almost a bass line but nothing else. A long story short, there were two speaker plugs on the back of the 6BQ5 stereo amp that were missing, presumably the owner had wired the console into some type of in-wall speaker system or such. With two jumper wires, the unit came to life, sounding crisp and beautiful. The low notes I found were coming from a third reverb amp, which was all that was driving the speakers in absence of the plugs.
Hearing the guy, presumably in his late 20s, speak so fondly of the couple, I decided to look up the obituary, to see who they were. This is what I found, I omitted the names to escape the Google bots to give the family privacy:
May 1, 1917—August 3, 2011
***********, a World War II Army Air Forces veteran who retired as an electrician, died Wednesday in Veterans Affairs Medical Center after a long illness. He was 94.
Mr. ****** served as a flight engineer and turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator. He was shot down over Germany in 1944 and became a prisoner of war and sent to Stalag Luft 4. He was forced to work in the kitchen and spent more than a year as a POW before being liberated in 1945. He was the recipient of the Air Medal.
After returning home, he began his career as an electrician and worked in the copper mill for more than 28 years. He retired in 1976.
Mr. ****** spent many years after his retirement volunteering at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Buffalo.
He and his family traveled to Washington, D. C., to visit the World War II Memorial shortly after it was built.
Survivors include his wife of 65 years, the former ****** *******, and two sons.
Wow. One of the greatest of the Greatest Generation. And the information would have been lost were it not for some simple searching.
I slid a copy of the obit in an envelope, and fastened it to the inside of the cabinet. If I have this unit for 40 days or 40 years, the information from whence it came will live on, and perhaps the memory of the man who owned it, to someone in the distant future.....not unlike a letter in a bottle.
Next phase is to completely tear it apart, clean it, reassemble it, and use it. God bless you, sir.....your stereo is in good hands
