January, 1930
PRESTO-TIMES
Co., Chicago, says that "though naturally affected by
its gyrations, business is not dependent upon the
stock market." Of the American standard of living
he said: "It has become accepted as an established
national habit that will vary but little from year to
year. If that be true, it will mean the continuance
of a truly tremendous demand for goods and services This Texas Piano House Has Been an Im-
of all kinds."
portant Factor in Growth of Dallas
Frank Wetmore Predicts Good Trade.
as Musical Center.
Frank O. Wetmore, chairman of the First National
A factor in the evolution of Dallas from a frontier
and First Union Trust & Savings Banks, Chicago,
said: "We see no reason why there should not be a community where the inhabitants had little time or
desire for art and music to a city in which musical
fairly satisfactory volume of business during the first
organizations are among the most prized assets, and
six months of 1930."
an interested and helping witness to the growth of
the city from a scant 10,000 population to more than
300,000, the Will A. Watkin company is this year
celebrating its forty-seventh anniversary.
During this nearly half a century devoted to the
Concerning the purchase of the piano stock of the
Rauworth Grand Piano Corp. of Bellevue, Iowa, by development of music in Dallas, the company has
the Rudolph Wurlitzer company, it should be under- been under the personal direction of Will A. Watkin,
founder and president of the organization.
stood that this purchase was for only the pianos on
Mr. Watkin began his study of music as a choir
hand or at near completion, and does not include the
taking over or the purchase of the Rauworth corpora- boy at the age of 9, and during his forty-five years
tion or of the Rauworth business as a piano manu- of service as organist and choir director he has held
positions with only four churches, two of which were
facturing concern. The stock purchase consisted of
several hundred grand pianos both plain and period in Dallas. With his young wife, the daughter of Gen.
models. The deal was consummated with Harry Joseph P. Nuckols, then adjutant general of Ken-
Meixell, chairman of the creditors' committee of the tucky, Mr. Watkin went to Dallas in 1882, where,
history of frontier communi-
Rauworth Grand Piano Corp. This is just one of the despite the forbidding
7
many purchases recently made by the Wurlitzer com- ties, he immediateh established his music store.
As organist and choir director for the First Con-
pany.
Since the shutting down of the Rauworth factory gregational Church, he continued the work which he
Mr. Rauworth has been engaged in work in other had begun as a boy and which he had determined
factories, notably with the Zenith Radio Co. at upon as his life work. In 1884 he went to the First
Baptist Church as choir director, later becoming
Chicago.
organist, also, which position he filled for thirty-seven
years.
CAMPBELL ON BOARD.
The first of many musical events brought to Dallas
Julius B. Barnes, chairman of the executive com- for which Mr. Watkin was responsible was in 1891,
mittee of business leaders and chairman of the board when the First Baptist Church purchased what Mr.
of the United States Chamber of Commerce, is to be Watkin believes was the largest pipe organ up to
congratulated upon the wisdom of his choice of Mark that time brought to Texas, and for its dedication he
P. Campbell, president of the Music Industries Cham- brought to Dallas Henry Eyre Brown of New York,
ber of Commerce and president of the Brambach former organist to Henry Ward Beecher's church
Piano Co., to a place on the new advisory committee
and also at Dr. DeWitt Talmadge's tabernacle in
to the National Business Survey Conference. In his Brooklyn. He later managed for Dallas and Hous-
letter to the 140 appointees Mr. Barnes said: "There ton the only visit of the Metropolitan Grand Opera
is need for continuing interpretation by informed
Company and was local manager for Paderewski,
business executives of the situations in the trade Sembnch, Nordica and other celebrities.
lines."
Associated with Mr. Watkin in the work of bringing
WILL A. WATKIN CO.'S
47TH ANNIVERSARY
THE RAUWORTH SALE
NEW YORK LETTER FULL OF INTEREST
The Presto-Times Correspondent Reviews in
Brief Happenings and Conditions
in the Greater Metropol-
itan Area.
More than fifty piano men met at the New York
Republican Club on December 26 for the annual year-
end luncheon. It was decided that instead of having
outsiders entertain, the meeting be made a personal
get-together party, with talks from some of the trade
leaders.
All present decided that the Committee in charge
made no mistake in so arranging matters. A fine
spirit of sociability prevailed. From the talks there
rose a spirit of determined optimism which should
make for better days for the individual piano indus-
tries represented.
Distinguished Speakers.
The speakers included Theodore E. Steinway of
Steinway & Sons; Richard W. Lawrence, president
of the National Republican Club and probable future
leader of Republican politics in New York city and
state: Mark P. Campbell, president of the Music In-
dustries Chamber of Commerce; John J. Glynn of
Mathushek Piano Mfg. Co.; Hermann Irion, of Stein-
way & Sons; Alexander MacDonald of Sohmer & Co.;
Gordon Campbell, president of the New York Piano
Manufacturers' Association; Ben H. Janssen, and
others.
England's Piano Trade Good.
Needless to say every one of these men is pos-
sessed of a good sense of humor as well as a good
supply of jokes, and so entertainment was not lack-
ing. Of the serious remarks the most interest:'ng was
the fact that in England, a country with but a third
of our population, over 50,000 pianos were sold this
year.
Prosperous Days Ahead.
The general feeling expressed was that the man
or the business that cannot meet a little adversity is
not worthy of success; that the majority of the fail-
ures and withdrawals from the pr'ano business were
those of industries which had been run on wrong
methods and would have failed long ago had not
the piano business been abnormally good; and that
for those who stayed in the business and worked
prosperous days were ahead.
Dean of New York Trade.
The Committee in charge consisted of Ben H. Jans-
sen, A. Dalrymple and Albert Behning who acted as
LEFT. STANDING, ERNEST E1CHENBRENNER;
LEFT, SITTING, WILLIAM TI.ETZ; RIGHT, STAND-
ING, AUGUST HOLBEIN; RIGHT, SITTING, JOHN
BERGER.
music into the Southwest have been his son, Robert N.
Watkiu, secretary of the company, and A. Ragland,
vice-president. Directors of the Watkin company are
Will A. Watkin, M. H. Wolfe, Rhodes S. Baker, A.
Ragland and Robert N. Watkin.
Robert N. Watkin, now secretary of the company,
was born in Dallas in 1885 and was graduated from
Bryan Street High School in 1903 and from the Uni-
versity of Texas in 1906. He is past president of the
National Music Merchants' Association, former secre-
tary of the Texas Music Merchants' Association, past
president of the Dallas Music Industries' Association,
and past president of the Ampico Art Society of Amer-
ica. He is a member of the Dallas Chamber of Com-
merce, the Dallas Retail Merchants' Association, the
Phi Delta Theta Club, the University of Texas Alumni
Association, the Scottish Rite Masonic bodies and nu-
merous other professional, civic and social organiza-
tions.
"The whole secret of successful radio and piano
merchandising- can be summed up in five words," Mr.
Watkin said recently. "They are, 'play square with
the customer.' "
Among the projects sponsored by the Will A. Wat-
kin Company for the stimulation of fine musical tastes
in the community are the free use of the Watkin
music salon, seating up to 200, for pupils' recitals; the
maintenance of a free practice room equipped with
two pianos, and the loan of a concert grand piano for
the larger musical affairs, with the teacher paying only
the actual cartage expense.
WM. TONK & BRO. LIQUIDATION.
The liquidation of William Tonk & Bro., Inc., New
York, is being carried out by the creditors' commit-
tee, which consists of Harry Meixell, representing
the Musical Supply Association; Walter C. Mallory
of the Lester Piano Co.; W. G. Heller of Winter &
Co.; W. E. Rammelkamp of Kohler & Campbell, Inc.;
and M. De Angelis of the Pneumatic Action Co. The
committee notes that the receivables, amounting to
about $95,000, are nearly all pledged to secured cred-
itors, and says that only through careful preser-
vation of the equity now existing can unsecured cred-
itors, having accounts amounting to about $15,000,
hope to realize anything from this asset.
The tariff on carillons or musical bells for churches
and educational institutions is being debated in Con-
gress. Mr. Smoot opposes taking off the 40 per cent
duty on the English carillons.
firm in the industry in New York city was repre-
sented.
Unusual Service Records.
On December 20 the Manufacturers Council of the
Cjueensborough Chamber of Commerce gave a ban-
quet to some 400 employees in the Commodore Hotel
in New York city. The guests were those who have
worked upwards of forty years for one firm. Their
reward included such delicacies as broiled mignon of
beef, bonibe glace fraiselia, and douceurs. Each one
of these employees received gold service pins in honor
of their records, which in most cases were more than
fifty years.
Received the First Prize.
But the man with the banner record, the one who
received the first prize of a platinum watch, was
Krnest Kichenbrenner of the bellying department of
Ste'nway & Sons' Queensborough factory.
Mr. Kichenbrenner came to America from his na-
tive Wittenberg some sixty years ago. He had
learned his trade as a cabinetmaker before he came
and in 1870 he went to work for Steinway & Sons.
For three years he made sounding boards. When
uprights came in he fitted plates and glued in sound-
ing boards. Eventually he came to fitting plates in
the grand p : anos. This year marks 59 years of serv-
ice in tin's one department.
He says that he has never taken much time off,
although when each of his children were born, and
there are ten of them—four boys and six girls—he
did take short holidays which mounted up a bit. He
is in perfect health, having smoked continuously up
to two years ago. He now has 17 grandchildren and
one great grandchild.
Works Regularly at Eighty.
Mr. Kichenbrenner's record is the more remarkable
because his work is very strenuous, in fact it is known
as one of the hardest operations in the plant, and yet
at the age of eighty lie is still working regularly,
rarely missing a day and earning a good wage. He
works at fitt : ng plates on the larger styles of Stein-
way Grands. He himself says that while the "old
days" were all right he finds the present time just
as good or better to live in and to work in.
Employed S ; nce 1873 and 1875.
Three
other
Steinway employees received special
toastmaster.
Among t'.iose present was Charles
Jacob, who might be called "The Dean of the New attention at the banquet. One. William Tietz, has
York Piano Trade." Mr. Jacob never misses one been continuously employed since 1873 1 in the small
(Continued on Page 25.)
of these get-together occasions. Practically every
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