Dear Learned Ladies and Gentlemen of the Phonograph Community: We are very special. We collect history in sound, mechanisms, and the printed word. We value the big picture that is the expanse human advancement. Unfortunately our appreciation of the work of previous generations is not shared by the educational community today. The teachers of today are from the colleges of the sixties where they essentially bought into the line, "History is bunk." Thus the Orwellian vision of The Ministry of Truth became a reality in the schools of today. As a professor in the sciences at a university level I witnessed the continuing decline of knowledge and historical perspective. I also taught in the public school system and found that the teachers at that level had a disdain for people who were personal heroes when I went to school. Thomas Edison has been forgotten by the public school system and the textbook writers. Thus it came as no surprise to me that AOL's poll would completely miss the Founding Fathers or the Father of the Research Laboratory. In my classes I always found a way to bring in a gramophone or phonograph to demonstrate something I was teaching. The most common question was, "What kind of batteries does it take?" This week The History Channel had a special on Edison and how he invented much of the basis of our technological world today. It covered the electric light, power generation, motion pictures, and gave the phonograph excellent coverage. I was pleased to see a number of well known phonographic purveyors, Neil Maken, Ray Philips, etc., who gave presentations. With reruns into infinity this program will likely be the only source of knowledge about Edison for future generations. Kindest regards to all on the list who keep the echoes of history going, Al
