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The COTOS music library has been building over many years. It started when Roger Garrett gave his music collection to me prior to his death. My own collection was started in the early 30’s. It included my own purchases as well as additions from family members on both Ann’s and my side of the family. Also included were many selections found at the Southern Theatre and Ohio Theatre when they were each slated for demolition. Several years ago I donated about half of my collection to COTOS with the remainder to go to COTOS on my death.

Cataloguing of this collection was a formable task with many COTOS members donating their time to sort the collection in alphabetical order. Emma Soiu volunteered to key an index into a computer. This index consisted of the title, show, composer, lyricist, heritage, type music, location (Hamilton or COTOS), book title, and page number; up to 317 keystrokes per song.

With the addition of the pallet of music given by the family of Jack Montag, our current collection now houses 38,405 pieces of music. This is divided between 9,422 pieces of sheet music, 26 Fake books, 105 magazines, and 397 music books. Emma, you are to be congratulated for your endurance, dedication and hard work. Thank you.

The next step is to write several computer programs which can access this data in a number of different ways and to burn these programs and data files into a CD so the information can be made available to anyone with a computer. With these programs you can ask such questions as:

1. Give me a list of all songs whose title starts with , along with the book and page number.

2. Give me a list of all songs which have in the title

3. What songs have copyright date between and ?

4. What songs were in the show ?

5. Give me a list of songs composed by .

6. Give me a list of songs where wrote the lyrics.

7. Give me a list of songs where was the composer and the lyricist.

The program will also have the ability for a person to add their own collection to the database. These programs, while not completed, are well under construction and working. They still need refinement. Once completed, any copyright for the database and programs will be given to COTOS. I would think that COTOS should have no trouble selling this package for profit.

Working for a pipe organ company certainly has its rewards . . .

Last month Larry Rose and I traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for an install. While there, thanks to Neil Brott, we arranged a tour of the Fort Wayne Embassy Theatre and its Grande Page. Bob Goldstein was there to greet us. For nearly three hours we played one of the handful of Page Theatre Organs still in its original location, and nearly original state.

The Embassy, formerly the Emboyd, is being renovated in much the same manner as the Ohio Theatre here in Columbus. For those who have not visited the Embassy, the lobby looks like the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, France. Overlooking the lobby is a small piano balcony in which a Baby Grand lives. It is played during intermissions in much the same way lobby organs were in the larger theatres.

The Page, now at 16 ranks, is very highly unified. A trumpet rank has been added to the instrument. As I played it, my mind flashed back to the 'Theatre Organ At Midnight' concerts Buddy Nolan used to play during the 60s and 70s. Those concerts started at midnight after the last film had let out, and was required to end promptly at two AM because the guests at the attached Indiana Hotel needed their sleep. He commented during one of his concerts that he loved to play fast paced songs, however, if he moved more than two inches one way or the other while on the bench, he would have to join the dancers' union. Buddy was the moving force behind the 'Save the Embassy' committee whose efforts served to keep the wrecking ball at bay. I commented to Bob that Buddy would tape above the top keyboard note cards with the titles of the songs he planned to play. Bob laughed, saying that the sticky from that tape was most difficult to remove.

Stan Krider