Travel

By JIM WEAVER
Travel Correspondent

PHARR - Long before iPods, and computer downloads, people listened to popular recorded music on jukeboxes.

These coin operated machines could be found in diners, restaurants, bars and dance halls - just about anywhere you might want to hear music.

For just a nickel, you could play your favorite tune. Companies such as Wurlitzer, Seaburg, Rockola, and Rowe/AMI manufactured many thousands of units to satisfy a growing demand for popular music at the drop of a coin.

Nestled deep in the Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo County in one of the town's oldest buildings, is Smitty's Jukebox Museum. For many years, Leo Schmidt operated a business selling and servicing jukeboxes and other coin operated machines. Schmidt died in 2000 at age 77, and his son Leo, Jr. now operates the business and museum.

Through his work, the elder Schmidt acquired many old jukeboxes and after he retired he restored many of them to their original condition. Now numbering 92 (60 on display and another 32 in some stage of restoration), it is one of the largest jukebox collections in the world.

Among the treasures is a patented wind-up Edison Victrola, the first Wurlitzer Model P10 from 1934, as well as modern compact disc players. Many of the juke boxes are working models with baskets of nickels available to play them. As Leo, Jr. "Smitty" explains, "we've selected records to play that are appropriate to the era of the various machines."

The oldest jukebox in the collection is a 1926 Electramusic manufactured by Holcomb & Hoke of Indianapolis. A nickel machine in a handsome wood cabinet, it holds only eight 78 rpm records but offers no means to make a musical selection.

"Coin operated machines began in the 1920s," Smitty said.

One of the museums rarest jukeboxes is a Wurlitzer 950. Production number 151 of only 3,400 units manufactured in 1942 (because of World War II), it is one of less than 150 still in existence. It is valued at auction between $38,000 and $60,000.

The unit holds 12 records (24 selections) and operates on nickels, dimes, or quarters. Called "The Satyr,'' the Wurlitzer 950 was the first to use fluorescent lighting.

The first jukebox to be restored by Leo Schmidt Sr. and the beginning of his collection was a 1940 vintage Wurlitzer 1050.

It was known as "The Bubbler" for its long bubble tubes (filled with alcohol heated to the boiling point) running from base to arch. Like Christmas tree "bubble lights" of the period, this feature gave the machines added visual appeal. Again it offered 24 selections and three coin options. The jukebox was rescued from an old garage that was being torn down.

For many years it had been a popular attraction at the Midway Lounge in nearby Mission and one of the all-time favorites.

"The Wurlitzer's Model 1015 may be the best known and most loved jukebox ever made," said Smitty.

A rare 1929 Seaburg Audiophile, found in a church basement, offers only eight selections (hand operated by a lever) and the coin activated record player arm. A Rockola Nightclub Model A can also be seen.

Pre-World War II units in the collection include a 1938 Do Ra Me manufactured by Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, a 1939 Singing Towers from Automatic Musical Instruments (AMI) of Grand Rapids, Mich., and a 1940 Aireon manufactured in Kansas City, Kan.

The collection included a number of Wurlitzer jukeboxes from the 1930s including a Wurlitzer 412 (Production Number 16), a Wurlitzer 616-A, a Wurlitzer 500, and from the early 1940s a Wurlitzer 800.

"The 800 unit is very popular among jukebox collectors," Smitty said.

There's also an AMI T-40 Model from the late 1940s that offers 40 selections and has an all metal cabinet.

An AMI Model C from the early 1950s has blinking color lights while a Wurlitzer from the same period offers 48 selections.

By the 1950s, jukebox design began to change to offer a greater number of musical selections and more colorful cabinets.

Inflation would set in by the 1960s with many manufacturers eliminating the 5- and- 10- cent options in favor of a 25-cent machine that offered three plays for a quarter. Jukeboxes were regularly offering 100 or more selections.

The small "wall mount" selection boxes designed for booths and counters at restaurants and diners were introduced in the 1950s. They enabled people to play their favorite records without leaving their seat. With the advent of the space program in the 1960s, jukebox design adopted a more futuristic mode with rocket shapes and flashing lights. In the mid-1950s, along with rock 'n' roll, came the introduction of 45 rpm record to jukeboxes. Units that handled CD recordings began appearing in the late 1980s.

The collection also includes a Seaburg jukebox from the mid-1950s, a 10 cent a play machine that holds 80 records, is valued at auction between $5,000 and $10,000. There is also a Seaburg unit from the mid-1960s that offers 100 selections.

Smitty explained this unit is difficult to find and, therefore, more popular with collectors. Also from the 1960s is an AMI Continental 2, the "Sputnik" model which offered 200 selections.

For several decades, Leo Schmidt Sr., collected vintage jukeboxes from all across South Texas. Several units in the museum, those with large coin slots for pesos, were found in Mexico.

A dozen of Smitty's boxes hail from the golden age, which lasted until 1949. In the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s, the styling of Wurlitzer Jukeboxes was taken to a new level by a gifted designer named Paul Fuller.

"In the 1940s, the sophisticated and artistic use of plastics, glass, and wood made these machines instant classics." Smitty said.

The outstanding collection shares space with the family business, Smitty's Music & Amusement Co. It leases new and used coin operated machines, such as jukeboxes, amusement games, and pool tables, and provides service and repair.

The museum's Web site is at http://members.aol.com/smitty4124/smitty.html.

For more information about Pharr and the Rio Grande Valley, log on to www.visitpharr.com.

PLAYING HISTORY: The Wurlitzer 1015 (1940) may be the most popular jukebox of all time. It was the first to feature bubbling lights.
((Courtesy Photo))