[HAM] Long time with Hammond

[Doug Irvine]

Hello, all. Let me introduce myself, Doug Irvine, retired. Started
selling Hammond Organs in Ottawa Canada, in 1958, and have sold Hammond
right across Canada. From Ottawa, to Winnipeg, then Brandon, to Calgary
and finally 10 years with our own Hammond Organ Studio in Kelowna BC. I
have lost three long time friends this past year, with the passing last
spring of John Rowland, the man who brought Leslie to Canada, then Brad
Heintzman, whom I first met in Toronto in 1947, when he still was with
Heintzman Piano Company, and finally Ernie Henn, who was involved with
Hammond International Canada Ltd, as the western Canada rep for many
years, and who died last winter. I sold Hammond organs, Leslie speakers
and Heintzman pianos for 25 years, and I have a wealth of memories of
the golden years of Hammond Organ. I met Laurens Hammond in Chicago at
the West Diversey head office in 1959, the year before he retired, at
age 65. At that visit I was presented with a sterling silver tie clip,
in the design of a drawwbar, with The Inner Circle inscribed in the
middle. The Inner Circle represented those salespeople who had achieved
a large volume of Hammond Organ sales in the shortest period of time. I
have a box of Hammond Times, as well as other memoribilia, and service
manuals, which we must dig out. I still own a Hammond S-6 chord organ,
the first organ that I learned to play, and have given away an L-101, an
M-112 and various other Hammonds to my family. Looking back over the
years, and all the organs I sold to folk who could not play a note,I do
feel that I contributed considerably to the musical enjoyment of many
people who otherwise would not have had that opportunity. Cheers, Doug
on Vancouver Island BC