It's always nice to have an insider, not only show us the town, but also introduce us to his friend with a story of his own. Fortunately, we had Ted's cousin, Bob Heatherly do just that. One of his friends, Ruble Sanderson, pictured below, was kind enough to show us through his private museum. It was quite an unexpected treat.
Ruble and his wife, Brenda, are co-owners of Legends Corner, The Stage on Broadway, Second Fiddle, and Crossroads on the Broadway strip in Nashville, and The Stage on Sixth in Austin, Texas. The collection he showed us was fabulous. Just look at the juke boxes along the wall behind him. Here, he's pointing to a late 19th century fan that is operated by convection currents created by a flame in the base.
Here, Ruble reads from an 1783 edition of the Derby Mercury in which King George III recognized American Independence and cited the work of the American Delegation. Both of us had recently finished reading a biography of Benjamin Franklin, one of the negotiators, so it was even more fascinating to actually see this piece of history.
Just beyond the paper was this fully functional early Edison phonograph complete with a wax cylinder record.
One of the pieces of which Ruble was justifiably proud was this multiplayer; early jukebox. Put in your coin, turn the crank, and you could select which wax cylinder recording you wanted to hear.
In addition to being a beautiful piece of furniture, it was had a fascinating mechanism. We had no idea such a thing even existed. Each cylinder was good for about one hundred plays.
In addition to several drawers filled with Edison Cylinders, this cabinet displayed even more. Have you ever seen so many of them? Most are still in their original paper containers.
One of the highlights was a recording that Ruble played for us on this phonograph. It was a recording of a Teddy Roosevelt stump speech!! To actually hear the great man's voice was an experience we had never expected to have. We felt honored that Ruble had elected to use one of the limited number of plays these cylinders were capable of for us.
Of course, there were lots of other phonographs and rare discs.
This piece caught our eyes: a colorful lamp on top and a vinyl disc phonograph underneath.
In a separate room was this instrument collection. Each of these instruments had belonged to a music legend. Behind Willie's bust (with the hat and braids hanging down) is a guitar signed by the Carter Family.
On a high shelf, was this collection of microphones. Note the one to the right with the station call letters. WSM first went on the air in 1925. It is one of the oldest continuously broadcasting stations in the United States, and the first commercial FM station. It has a long and colorful history that can be accessed here . Perhaps the thing that it will be most remembered for began as a program known as the WSM Saturday Night Barn Dance. A few years later, it was renamed the Grand Old Opry. It's hard to look at these microphones without imagining Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, or Minnie Pearl behind them.
We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and appreciated the time Ruble took to show his collection.
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