The newsletter of the Roy Perry American Classic Organ Foundation.

From the president . . .

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Perriola, the newsletter of the Roy Perry American Classic Organ Foundation and the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival.

No one is quite sure how Roy Perry’s nickname “Perriola” came to be, but we do know that most people within the Aeolian-Skinner organization, including G. Donald Harrison, used it playfully when referring to him. And Roy himself used it in signing correspondence to his friends and colleagues, and referred to the organs that he sold and finished as “Perriolas.”

There are enough surviving stories about Roy Perry that we know he took his work very seriously—both his church job and his organbuilding work — but he didn’t take himself too seriously and he liked to have a good time. The program of our annual festival reflects this same aura and we hope that the newsletter will follow suit. We plan to offer articles of substance in each issue, together with news and humor, in our attempt to capture and expound upon the attributes of this unique man, the great Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company for which he worked, the First Presbyterian Church he served, the city of Kilgore where he lived, and the Crim family who made it all possible.

Our goal is for the newsletter to appear quarterly. If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to receive this “good times book” (another Roy Perryism) on a regular basis, please have them send a request to us at easttexaspipeorganfestival@gmail.com. In the meantime, please plan to join us for the tenth annual festival in November.

Good wishes,
Neal Campbell, President
The Roy Perry American Classic Organ Foundation