In 1987, Charles H. Templeton, a 1949 graduate of Mississippi State University, donated his collection of 200 antique music players dating from about 1895 to 1930, 22,000 pieces of sheet music and 15,000 records to his alma mater. The collection, which could be said to represent the business of music, is housed in several rooms on the fourth floor of Mitchell Memorial Library on the Starkville campus. I had the opportunity to see and be shown the collection last March when I attended the Charles Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival for the first time.
I was introduced by Jeff Barnhart, the festival’s music director, to Charlie’s son, Charles, Jr. (Chip). My curiosity about how the collection came about led me to sit down with Chip for almost an hour to get the backstory. I wanted to tell you readers what you will not find about the collection on MSU’s website.
If you go there, be aware that you will not see the entire collection. Maybe someday the museum will be expanded in order to display everything. But what is viewable is identified as accurately as possible, and most, if not all, the musical instruments are operable. Now, in Chip’s words....
“My father was a very interesting person. He had a tough time growing up with polio, but he never used it as a crutch. He never accepted the idea that ‘you can’t do something.’ He was a businessman here in town. He was very
