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Do You Want
40,000 Records?
%e of the largest private collections of recordings in the U.S. has been given to
Hill College by a retired Lincolnton couple. Compiled by Mr. and Mrs. Frank
ndges, the collection contains over 40,000 items ranging from wax cylinders to
78’s, to stereo LP albums. It is^one of only two collections known to be of
^ size in the nation.
ow retired from the Seaboard Railroad, Bridges began collecting in 1946. The
®st recordings in the collection date from around the turn of the century; and all
of music, including jazz, the blues, country, folk, popular, classical, and rock,
j^f®Presented in the assemblage. According to Bridges, his offer to donate the col-
''^0 to several other colleges and universities met with some resistance as the
. only wanted portions of the collection while he preferred to keep the collec-
!? intact.
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6 Bridgeses made contact with Mars Hill through Dr. Harley Jolley, professor
jf ^^ory at the school and well-known regional author. Dr. Jolley is in the process
a new book about the mountain region during the 1930’s. It was at a
reunion of Civilian Conservation Corps workers that Dr. Jolley and Bridges
D( ’^Covered they had friends in common, and Bridges mentioned his collection,
ij' °ney then went to Lewis Miller, the college’s librarian, who quickly recognized
,_^lue of such a collection.
he value of this collection is its diversity,” noted Miller, “and its sheer size.”
(jj^^'hiates that two tractor trailer loads will be required to move the collection
I Bridges’ home to the college.
% k retirement the Bridgeses had moved to a farm; but even with the aid pro-
a bai-jj Qjj tbe property, their living space was becoming crowded. “The tail
®8Un to wag the dog,” Bridges commented.
Continued on page 4
'SI
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Silltoitf
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VOLUME LV, Number 7 FEBRUARY 14, 1982
The Hilltop
MARS HILL COLLEGE
Mars Hill, N.C. 28754
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