August 13, 2003

Buyers appreciate music sale

Music House Museum holds annual Barn Sale last weekend

By Gretchen Murray
Special to the Herald

      It didn't take a course in music appreciation to appreciate the bargains at the Music House Museum's Barn Sale in Acme last weekend.
      The annual sale hit a high note with shoppers and collectors according to Dee Smith, marketing consultant for the museum and organizer of this year's event.
      The sale offered antique radios, phonographs, player pianos and reed organs, as well as enough household goods, furniture, records, books, and odds and ends to make even the shrewdest bargain hunter happy.
      "The event started four years ago as a fund-raiser as well as a means of clearing out the museum's large inventory of unneeded items," Smith said.
      The museum, which has been in operation for 20 years, continually accepts donations of old musical instruments with the idea they will be used to complete a series or edition, noted Smith. The process has provided the museum all types of automated musical instruments, some of which are put on display, while some are used for extra parts. Some are sold at the barn sales to clear space for other pieces.
      Several vintage pianos and organs were quickly grabbed up in this year's sale along with a few other "finds."
      Museum curator Andy Struble noted that a room in the attic behind the barn hadn't been opened in 25 years. The room yielded a Victorian iron bed along with a pair of Victorian doors and rolls of wallpaper dating back to the 1800s. The vintage items found in the attic were included in the sale.
      The non profit museum, which relies almost entirely on donations, already is accepting anything in relatively good condition for next year's sale. They even offer to pick up large-sized donations. Proceeds from the sale are used to fund the various educational programs the museum sponsors as well as the general upkeep of the building.
      Coordinators also are considering earmarking some of the funds for a Silent Movie Room. The idea is to offer a series of silent movies in the museum's Lyric Theater in the near future.
      "We already have the right piano," Smith said. "We just need someone to play it."
      The Music House Museum is located at 7377 US 31 North in Acme. For more information or to donate items to the Barn Sale, call 938-9300.