Recorded Music
On a quiet evening in Salisbury in the early 1900’s one might have heard a new sound. That new sound was recorded music playing on the Edison!
The Edison Diamond Disc Record is a type of phonograph record marketed byThomas A Edison on their Edison Record label from 1912 to 1929. They were named Diamond Discs because the matching Edison Disc Phonograph was fitted with a precision-made semi-permanent diamond stylus for playing them. Diamond Discs were incompatible with ordinary disc record players, the disposable steel needles of which would damage them while extracting hardly any sound. Uniquely, they are about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick.-Wikipedia
Alonzo Cole, The Minstrel shows
Excerpt from an interview by Paul Shaw with Ida prince May 26, 1994
Published in “They Said it In Salisbury” by Paul S. Shaw 2004
Ida Prince “I want to tell you about a boarder up at Sawyers’s (Leander). He was a remarkable man.”
Paul Shaw- “What was his name?”
Ida Prince- “Alonzo Cole. He was a supervisor of music in the Newton (Mass Schools). I think he was at Sawyer’s all summer and while he was there he busied himself in the Sawyer’s attic and made several scrap books which Salisbury Historical Society has. He put on a show, a variety show. I suppose it was similar to what had been minstrel shows of the era.”
Paul Shaw- “That was using local people?”
Ida Prince- “Yes, using local people. And of course, we had summer people that could give their talents. And he put on this big show and after the show he had this big party, mostly races and things for the kids. I don’t know what Old Home Day people were doing along that time. That seemed to be the big thing that went on several summers while Mr. Cole was here. His church in Newton gathered gifts and books and sent them to the Salisbury kids at Christmas time. He was quite a boy, Mr. Cole was.”
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Amos Lorenzo Ames, Singer, Entertainment at the Grange
Reminiscences of Robert and Isabel Bartz
From an Interview by Paul S. Shaw, MD.
Aug. 31, 1992
Published in They Said It In Salisbury by Paul S. Shaw, MD
Paul Shaw- “You were telling me about”(Amos Ames)
Isabel …..”But one of the things concerning Salisbury, he used to sing. He had a beautiful tenor voice and it was a treat when he come to sing.”
Bob- “He belonged to the Grange.”
Isabel- “Yes, he was a Granger.”
Paul Shaw- “You said his name was Ames?”
Isabel- “Yes. Amos Lorenzo Ames.”
Isabel- “At the time that we came here Academy Hall was an association, also. The neighborhood around the Academy Hall was called the Academy Hall Association.”
Paul Shaw- “And what did they do?”
Isabel- “They…they…. The school was downstairs. I don’t really know what the transaction was…that the association owned the building and the school was downstairs, the Grange was upstairs. We had Grange Fairs. All the vegetables were displayed on the desks downstairs and there were some beautiful vegetables that people in Salisbury raised.. Back in the 40’s that was.
I think one of the things I remember about Grange that struck me greatly was we went to he Grange Fair and there were sales going on all day long with booths around the hall. Then evening time there was a supper, and the same people that were tending the sales tables were setting up supper tables, cooking food, putting it on, waiting on people. Soon as supper was over, tables cleared away we had an entertainment: lovely, lively show, same people. They were the characters in the play, the ones doing the singing. It was just an amazing story to me, but I suppose that’s the way it is in the neighborhood, when you get things going, the people that are there are the ones who do the work.”
Bob- “At that time we had a dining room and put on supper.”
(for more on the Grange see Bartlett Grange 104)
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Historical Society, Annual Classical Concert
In recent years, Dr. Paul LaRaia has brought musical performances to Salisbury to benefit the Historical Society Scholarship Program.
The September Concert serves both as an additional fundraiser for the Scholarship Program as well as an afternoon of fine musical entertainment. Selected to perform are well respected, professional classical musicians.