June 2001

Gooding Amusements Adventure

The Gooding Company had a little 103 Wurlitzer organ, which they used, on a small carousel and sometimes for a replacement when another organ was undergoing repair. One bright morning, Chuck Clymer called and told me he needed the organ, and it would not play. I told him to send it in, and about two hours later Oscar came in with the familiar Gooding truck and unloaded the organ.

The organ had patches on top of patches to keep it working. I asked Chuck if we could take the time to recover both bellows and anything else needing repairs. After talking to management in charge at that time, they decided to go for a full overhaul and do it right. It was a very nice little organ worth the time to do the lasting repairs, and it was here in the shop for a length of time while both bellows were rebuilt and recovered, along with new pneumatics and pallet valves.

When they were told the repairs were complete, I once again watched Oscar drive in with his Gooding truck and we loaded the organ for what was to be the final ride. Later, I had some business in Columbus, and stopped by the Gooding complex, turned in the bill for repairs, and went on my way. A few days later my check was received, and shortly after that the organ was loaded on a truck with the carousel and headed out for the first performance. Somewhere along the route, in rough country, the truck was wrecked, and I am told a saddle fuel tank was ruptured causing a fire that destroyed the carousel and the organ.

The next time Oscar came in with an organ, he had a special package from Chuck, which he was instructed to give to me. It was the Crankshaft and the melted down pulley wheel which was all that remained of the nice little organ. I still have it somewhere in the shop as a souvenir from the old Gooding Company.

And so it was in the old organ shop.