b'Matters heart of thematterThingsthat Matter Since 1990 Unexpected Voices Featuring Local People, Places and PUBLISHER from the Past& EDITOR IN CHIEFEllen DonkerASSOCIATEEDITOR & Found: family recordings on antique discsSOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERAnne Mandell BY ELLEN DONKERADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Atheago,recordeditonherphoneandsentit Rene ConlonH. Leslie GilmanAmy Powerfewweeks my mother got anaround to our immediate family.GRAPHIC DESIGN unexpectedpack- Whenwelistenedtotheotherre-Ellen Donker ageinmail.cords I heard my grandmother singing COPY EDITORS MycousinLor- hymns. I was reminded of the voice of Charles Hammer raine was cleaninga well-trained soprano I had known as Jayson Rodriguez outhermothersa child. There were also recordings of apartmentandthoughtmymothervarious sibling trios and quartets as well CONTRIBUTORS might want some photos and homemadeas a disc that featured greetings from Kristen di Gennaro record discs from her youth.familymemberslivinginLosAnge-Adrianna Donat Thephotosweremostlyduplicatesles. Unfortunately, the recording of my Donny Levit of ones my mother already had, but the records weregrandfather and his friend doing improvisational skits Amy Lynn-Cramer another story. They are home recordings that her Uncleabout their Norwegian family were unintelligible. But Cindy Perman Herb had made in the 1940s. She had mentioned thea disc devoted to recording my mother and her cousin Ilysse Rimalovski recordings to me over the years but thought they hadlaughing uncontrollably survived.Julia Maloof VerderosaDanielle Alfonzo Walsman beenthrownout. ThisiswhenyouappreciateyourI became curious about how Uncle Herb had cut aunts hoarding tendencies. these records. We have about 20 discs in allnone My daughter Madeline and I were eager to play thewere in protective sleevesof various sizes and mate-records, but I hadnt owned a turntable in decades. Itrials. The earliest is a 6.5-inch Wilcox-Gay fibre-core was a perfect reason to reach out to our neighbors viadisc. After researching that label, I believe he proba-our community Google Group. Typically, well emailbly had a Wilcox-Gay Recordio machine. From 1910-the neighborhood for a recommendation for a reliable1963, the company manufactured and distributed ra-Please address all correspondence to: plumber, to offer items we no longer need or report adios, dictation machines, blank recording discs and the Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. problem with rowdy raccoons. Within minutes afterRecordio line of home recording machines. P.O. Box 198 asking the group for a turntable to borrow I had sev- I can imagine Uncle Herb brought this novel ma-Maplewood, NJ 07040 eral offers. An hour later, my neighbors Bill and Kittychine to family gatherings as a way to preserve the 973-763-4900 came to the door with a portablewonderful sounds his siblings made. They were a large mattersmagazine.comturntable.bunch who loved music, with most living in Chicago. info@mattersmagazine.com ThediscMadelineMany sang together in musical groups at church and Matters Magazine is owned and publishedand I wanted to hear firstontheradio.IdoubtUncleHerbimaginedanyone by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O.waslabeledMarilynwould be listening to these records 80 years later. Box 198 Maplewood, NJ 07040. Matters Magazine is free, with editions direct mailed&HerMother,2-7-42.Im not sure what Ill do with these discs. I returned seven times a year to the residents of Maple- We placed what felt likethe portable turntable to Kitty and Bill. But then my wood and South Orange and distributed toapieceofcardboardonneighbor Olivia ended up passing her turntable on to businesses and surrounding communities totaling 16,000. Subscriptions are availablethe turntable and, amid theme for keeps. Now I have a permanent way to listen to to non-residents for $30 (U.S.) $40 (Foreign)crackle, heard my mother as arecords. I could digitize the discs, but there is something annually. No part of the publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without9-year-oldin 1942 introduce herself and sing a sillyspecial about placing a disc on the turntable and waiting writtenpermissionfromVisualImpactcamp song. Madeline instantly teared up because it wasto hear something you missed from the last time.Advertising, Inc. the same song she had learned at the summer camp ofThe discs dont take up much room, so maybe years CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY her youth.fromnowwhensomeoneiscleaningoutmystuff U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. True,thequalitywassopoorthatmyhearing- theyll find them. Ill place a copy of our family tree READ & RECYCLE impairedmothercouldntdecipherit.Butitmadewith the discs so they can have a piece of their heritage for a memorable time capsule of her youth. Madelineboth to touch and to hear. 8/ matters magazine / holiday 2025'