At 92 years old Les Paul has enjoyed a long and productive career as inventor and performer and is credited with many “sound” innovations. Working with Gibson, he had created the solid body electric guitars that carry his name and are revered by generations of renowned guitarists, and with older models and examples with provenance to specific musicians or events, highly sought by ardent collectors. (We of modest means collect vinyl, sheet music and studio photos.)

Still introduced as “The Wizard of Waukesha,” Les Paul does two shows – one at 8, one at 10 – in the basement nightclub, every Monday night onstage at the Iridium Jazz Club at 51st and Broadway in New York.

The Les Paul Experience

When the Waukesha County Historical Society, announced a preview, and wine tasting event in the historical old county courthouse and jail, now run as a museum, to raise both funds and public interest in the future permanent interactive exhibit of the Les Paul collection of memorabilia, we just had to attend.

We contacted the museum to order tickets and asked who was in charge of the event. We were told it was Leslie Rohloff, Director of Development. Leslie was very appreciative of Collectors’ Quest’s support and promotion of their upcoming major tourist attraction.

The opening of the Les Paul exhibit is expected in 2010 and will take up approximately 5,000 square-feet on the second floor of the Museum and will tell the story of the Wizard of Waukesha, who changed the world of music. In this highly interactive exhibit, visitors will be immersed in Les’ world as they learn how Waukesha influenced Les and Les influenced the world.

The big night came, February 29, 2008, and because of the favorable weather and timely articles in local publications, the turnout was much larger than they expected. Leslie left Press Passes for us at the check-in and after meeting with the Vice President of the Board of Trustees, we went to the second floor.

We were greeted by Kathy and Mary Ellen, two volunteer hostesses who could not have been friendlier or more informative! (we respected their instruction not to use flash in the museum.)

While we waited for Rick Jablonski, Director of Exhibits, they talked about meeting Les Paul in May, 2007, when he came to town preform for a fund raising event for the museum. They said he was a very charismatic man, and sure did not look his age! Les told them that he has every intention of coming to the opening of the exhibit. After all, his mother lived to be 101 years old!

Rick finished with the other guests and came to meet with us. He explained that this exhibit is in the ‘concept stage’, and due to security and some logistical concerns, the exhibits were limited in what could display for this preview event. The goal was simply to whet the appetite of those who wish to offer financial support and stir up some excitement about the exhibit.

Rick told us that Les Paul was going to be involved in the layout and was very generous with his donations of artifacts and ideas.

Rick showed us around and we saw a display case with one the Gibson guitars designed by Les. The intention of the museum is not only to show the finished products but how they came to be and the plan is to have an interactive section for children to enjoy.

He proudly showed us the area where Les experimented with sound and also took us to the machine that cut the records.

There was a small mock-up of the layout for the exhibit and he expounded on the Les Paul & Mary Ford Theatre. While we toured, we enjoyed a video and audio presentation of some of their movies.

One could tell that the whole community was behind this event! Wine tasting, martini sampling, yummy chocolates, assorted fresh fruit and cheese cakes were donated by local purveyors and a classical jazz duo added to the evening’s fun. There was also an art auction from local artists and raffle to raise money. We left there filled with anticipation over the next step in the Les Paul Exhibit Opening.

As discussed by fellow bloggers on these pages, in the past, rare collections deserve preservation for future generations, and who better than a dedicated group working in a museum with the necessary resources.

Waukesha County is also blessed with Ten Chimneys, the estate lovingly created by Broadway theatre legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, and open to the public as a world-class house museum and national resource for theatre, arts, and arts education.

We want to thank the staff at the Waukesha County Museum for their information and for the resource material in Wikipedia.

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Article Tags: Gibson, guitar, Les Paul, Leslie Rohloff, memorabilia, music, musician, Ten Chimneys, Waukesha County Museum

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