Maris Grove Resident Frank Green Restores Vintage Jukeboxes

Frank Green marvels at the complexities that make old machines tick. That fascination led to his hobby of restoring jukeboxes—those glass-domed, brightly chromed, vacuum-tube wonders that played the soundtrack to memorable moments in our lives. Before the retired engineer and his wife Ronnie moved to Maris Grove, the Erickson Senior Living community in Glen Mills, Pa., he fixed them in the basement of his house. Now, the second bedroom in their spacious Kingston-style apartment home serves as ‘Frank’s garage.’ The couple have a fully restored Seeburg jukebox in their living room and often dance to the tunes they loved growing up.

Labor of love

Frank acquired his first jukebox in 1985. “I saw an ad for some restored machines, but they were too expensive, so I decided to try fixing one myself. I bought two so I could cannibalize parts to restore one,” he recalls. After months of painstaking work bringing the machine back to life, he tabled his hobby for two decades.

“Restoring a jukebox requires patience, perseverance, and open-mindedness,” he says. “I was so busy with work and family, I didn’t get another one until 2005, when I had time to devote to it.”

He found manuals online, reliable parts distributors, and experienced professionals and hobbyists, all of which helped him learn the intricate restoration work.

“As you get into it, you make a lot of contacts,” notes Frank. “If I encountered an issue I couldn’t solve, I’d call someone. I’d work on it for hours and hours, and suddenly, it would function. The reward was worth the frustration.”

Built to last

Frank explains that the technology from the 1940s, ’50s, and early ’60s was primarily electro-mechanical, with switches, relays, and [cylincrical] cams that had to function seamlessly.

“When you compare it to the digital age it seems primitive, but what they were able to achieve with the technology they had is incredible,” he says. “It’s a real testimonial to the manufacturers’ ingenuity,” he enthuses.

“These machines are 60 to 70 years old, but the parts were made so well, they never fatigue. In fact, the best thing you can do for a jukebox is to play it. Otherwise the parts lose their lubrication and stop working.”

Frank explains that different jukeboxes rely on different internal configurations. For example, Seeburg jukeboxes have a single motor that selects the record, places it on the turntable, lifts the tone arm, and returns the record to its slot. Others, like Wurlitzer, have multiple motors to handle these functions. The earliest boxes dating from the 1930s and ’40s that played 78 rpm records were constructed from wood, but the most valuable are the chrome versions that appeared in the ’50s and ’60s

“Collectors highly prize the ones where you see the record playing through the dome,” he says. “Those can go for tens of thousands of dollars, depending on year, maker, condition, and demand.”

These days, most jukeboxes belong to private collectors, although venues striving for a sense of nostalgia often add one to the decor. Frank’s most unusual restoration assignment was in a women’s clothing store in Philadelphia. “I sat on the floor fixing their vintage Rock-Ola while the women shopped around me,” he chuckles. “That was an interesting learning experience.”

An American invention

Luckily, finding 45 rpm records to stock the machines is easy. “There are quite a few record companies that still produce forty-fives for this purpose,” Frank explains. “And there are a number of stores with large collections for sale.”

Frank says that this quintessential American invention is extremely popular in Europe, where vintage machines fetch high prices. He believes this is because jukeboxes represent American ingenuity and design at their finest.

“Wurlitzers are seen as works of art. They are enjoying a real renaissance,” he notes. “And, since parts are readily available, they’re easy to maintain.”

Frank tinkers with only one or two machines a year because they’re so labor-intensive. Still, he finds his hobby extremely satisfying. “Once an engineer, always an engineer, I guess,” he says with a smile. “Every time I restore one, I learn something new, and that’s worth all the time I put into them.”

If you’d like to know more about a move to Maris Grove, visit MarisGrove.com or call 1-800-520-2916.

About Maris Grove: Maris Grove, one of 21 continuing care retirement communities managed by Erickson Senior Living, is situated on a scenic 87-acre campus in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. The not-for-profit community of more than 1,900 residents and 750 employees is governed by its own board of directors, affiliated with National Senior Campuses, Inc., who provide independent financial and operational oversight of the community. Additional information about Maris Grove can be found at MarisGroveCommunity.com.