December 30, 1922.
PRESTO
GREAT DEVELOPMENTS BY
WESSELL, NICKEL & GROSS
Wisdom of Progressive Piano Action Manufacturers Seen in Series of
Acquisitions in Famous Hardwood Lumber Section of Vermont
The entire piano indu-
stry and trade are inter-
ested in the extensive de-
velopment and expansion
in the great plant of Wes-
sell, Nickel & Gross, the
prominent New York pi-
ano action makers, at Par-
ton, Orleans County, Ver-
mont. The location is
one of the most desirable
for the purposes of the
company. In December,
1919, after personal exam-
ination and inspection by
the directors of many
sites offered, W e s s e 1 1,
Nickel & Gross decided to
locate at Barton, which is
situated some 16 miles
from the Canadian bor-
der, in the northeastern
section of Vermont, which
is the hard maple region
of the state. Barton is on
the main line of the Bos-
EVIDENCES OF WESSELL, NICKEL & GROSS ACTIVITY AT BARTON.
ton & Maine Railroad; it lies about 32 miles north of
St. Johnsbury and about 16 miles south of Newport. or into by-products or to be shipped in the rough
lumber, whatever the case may be.
With the acquisition of the Barton site, Wessell,
Great Lumber Interests.
Nickel & Gross formulated plans to manufacture the
Thus Wessell, Nickel & Gross has branched out
mouldings for piano actions there and ship the fin-
ished mouldings to New York instead of the rough into a lumber proposition and has not only safe-
lumber. The economies thus possible effected not guarded the supply of rock maple for several genera-
only a great saving on prevailing high freight r.ites, tions, but has a very extensive amount of lumber to
but eliminated high-priced lumber storage yards in market not used in its own manufacturing opera-
tions. The company cuts up eleven different varie-
New York, as well as distinct saving in the cost of
power and fuel, etc., are clearly apparent. The New ties of logs: Birch, beech, maple, white ash, brown
York yards are now in the market for sale. With ash, basswood, spruce, fir, hemlock, white cedar and
the Barton site, Wessell, Nickel & Gross acquired a butternut. The company manufactures the cedar
into shingles, spruce into sounding board stock, r.lap-
large two-story frame building in which is located
a board sawmill and box shook department operated boards, spruce dimension stock, matched siding and
box shooks; hardwoods into dowels and dimension
by a splendid water power.
stock, and it sells its high-grade lumber on grade.
The Development Series.
Evidences of Wisdom.
Shortly after the purchase of the Barton site in
January, 1920, Wessell, Nickel & Gross acquired a
The
developments
in Vermont are plain evidences
second saw mill located at West Glover, about A l / 2
of the foresightedness of F. A. and A. L. Wessell,
miles in a northwesterly direction from Barton, with and the business which they so ably direct is now
the water rights to Parker Pond, which in reality showing the results of the//-great advantages of
is a good-sized lake, together with extensive standing selection and development in ;a region where the
timber rights.
company has control of the lumber from the stump
In the summer of 1921 they purchased their third to the finished product, where excellent power and
saw mill, located at Glover, Vt., near the Greensboro labor conditions prevail in a model, thriving town
line, situated some nine miles in a southwesterly direc- where the help can reap the benefit of excellent edu-
tion from Barton, with the water rights to Stone cational facilities for their children and enjoy good
Pond and Daniels Pond, both good-sized lakes, form- town diversions.
,
"'"•'.'
ing natural basins or reservoirs for the surrounding
Most Desirable Town.
mountains. The latter pond lies some thirty feet
Barton is an incorporated township of some 2,500
higher than Stone Pond, into which it drains, and
inhabitants, owning its; own hydro-electric plant,
the two combined make a splendid water power
which was described by an eminent hydro-electric supplying light and power, not only for Barton itself,
engineer as constituting one of the prettiest small but to nine other surrounding towns and villages.
power sites in the entire state of Vermont. In this It has a good water system, with fire protection with
region, which lies in a densely wooded section, Wes- a natural pressure of 90 pounds to the square inch.
sell, Nickel & Gross own outright close to 5,000 acres The progressive town has three churches, a Masonic
of practically virgin timber, both hard and softwood. lodge, a legionary, a big golf course, fine bathing
Late this fall a fourth mill (a steam mill) was beach on Crystal Lake right within the town limits,
purchased at Albany, Vt., located in the Black River and all manner of winter sports are indulged in.
The piano action moulding departments are now
Valley, some 14 miles west of Barton, in one of the
functioning at Barton and will be added to from
finest timber regions of northern Vermont.
month to month until the entire, mill departments
The Latest Acquisition.
have been transferred from New York.
It no doubt will prove a distinct revelation to
many of the friends of the old established action
GOOD WESTERN REPORT.
house of Wessell, Nickel & Gross to hear for the
An'encouraging
report on the improvement in busi-
first time of these developments, as well as the activi-
ness in the Rocky Mountain region was male recently
ties in a new two-story brick building 40x90 in
by Alvin A. Beesley, president of the Beesley Music
Barton, started in the fall of 1920 and completed in
Co., Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah and Idaho were
the spring of 1921. In this new building are housed
the saw mill and moulding mill departments, where closely examined by the well known piano man who
is made the piano action mouldings for the famous is usually conservative in his estimates. Business is
Wessell, Nickel & Gross grand and upright actions. increasing and collections are becoming easier with
Directly connected with this new brick building the passing of every week, he said, arid his words are
(whose walls are sufficiently strong to carry two considered significant when it is remembered that his
additional stories when the need for additional floor investigations were made in a region of farmer
space arises) are two Grand Rapid Vapor Dry Kilns customrs.
of the compartment type, with dry storage shed and
loading platform.
PHONOGRAPH FAILURE.
The shipping point for all these mills is at Barton.
Garvin & Gless, phonographs, at 52 Fordham Road,
The logs are drawn to the respective mills located in New York, filed a petition in bankruptcy, listing lia-
the region where the timber is cut, sawn into lumber bilities of $3,412 and assets of $1,332. The members
and air dried, transported to Barton to the main of the firm are Charles J. Garvin and Richafd H.
plant, to be manufactured into piano action mouldings Gless.
THE PUBLIC NEEDS MORE
PLAYERPIANO KNOWLEDGE
That Is the Opinion of a Veteran Piano Mer-
chant Who Intends to Inaugurate a Cam-
paign of Instructive Advertising.
As a result of an educational campaign setting forth
the many desirable features of a playerpiano as a
Christmas present, the retail store of the Straubc
Piano Company, Hammond, Ind., did the largest
player business this year it has ever done during a
holiday season. C. W. Smith, manager of the store,
and a veteran music merchant, is of the opinion that
the public at large have not yet been sufficiently in-
formed of- the merits of the playerpiano, and that
greater educational publicity is necessary.
"Those of us in the industry," Mr. Smith said to
Presto, "are so thoroughly in sympathy with the
p'.ayerpiano- that we naturally assume the public has
a great deal of knowledge which it hasn't got. Day
after day I come in contact with people who have no
idea of the practicability of the playerpiano. Some-
time or other they have heard that a playerpiano is
merely mechanical—that it is not possible to get ex-
pression with it. I think we can understand this at-
titude, too; it is a holdover from several years ago
when the playerpiano didn't possess the many de-
pendable features of today. And, naturally, when
you come in contact with a customer with this idea,
you have to do a great deal of educational "work,
either in a sales talk or through the medium of pub-
licity.
"Beginning with the new year, we are going to say
something in all our newspaper publicity about
playerpianos; day after day we are going to state
player facts, with the idea of correcting that false
impression which I just mentioned. I have had
customers who actually gasped in astonishment when
T demonstrated our players to them; they didn't know
that the art of player piano construction had pro-
gressed so far. And I have sold players after a dem-
onstration in cases where I had been told in the
beginning that my customer wouldn't have a player
in the house on a bet.
"I believe that this lack of understanding as to
the playerpiano should have the immediate attention
of piano manufacturers and merchants. I am sure
that we have overestimated the public's knowledge
of the playerpiano. Things which have become com-
monplace with us come as revelations to many cus-
tomers. We think of the playerpiano as a compara-
tively old instrument, yet it is surprising how many
people know practically nothing about it; a good per-
centage have never even heard a player. The results
of our recent campaign, short as it was, convinced
us that we have discovered something which is going
to be worth while in a business way."
ANDREWS MUSIC HOUSE
BANGOR, ME., IS BURNED
Defective Wiring in Adjacent Building Causes De-
struction of Entire Block.
The Andrews Music House, Bangor, Me., was one
of the companies which suffered from the fire which
destroyed the Freese Block in that city last week.
The fire swept from the Freese department store,
which was badly damaged, into the Andrews Music
House building, which extends from the Freese store
to Water street. The two upper floors and attic of
this building were destroyed and the lower floors
damaged by smoke and water.
The Andrews Music House building is owned by
Harry French of Bangor, and was occupied by the
music concern, with the exception of the third floor
and the Water street corner of the second floor.
PADEREWSKI AND MUNZ.
Ignace Paderewski gave a dinner last week at
the Hotel Gotham, New York, in honor of Mieczys-
law Munz, the young Polish pianist, who made his
American debut this season under the most brilliant
circumstances. Munz, like Paderewski, is a Pole, and
Paderewski was among the listeners at Munz's second
New York recital, a fortnight ago. The guests at
the dinner included many of the best known musical
figures in New York.
IN FOR CHRISTMAS.
Several representatives of the Gulbransen-Dickin-
son Company, Chicago, were at the general offices
over the Christmas holiday. They are H. C. Din-
more, representative in New England and New York;
J. J. Healy, in Minnesota, Wrsctmsin -and Iowa; T.
W,-Perkins, in Illinois and Michigan, and W. S. Kar-
mann, from the southwest territory.
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