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Many of the vintage 45s that we are currently have in our store come from The Wiggins family.
As collectors of vintage 45's we know that many people love to hear about the history of the muisc they are listening to, the provenance if you will, and this collection is rich in imagination and history!
The Wiggins Store was built in the Village of Manatee in 1903 by King and Lillian Mae Wiggins. The turn of the century was a period of rapid growth for the community. During this time, the railroad, telephone, telegraph, automobiles, and electricity arrived in the area. An entrepreneur in business and agriculture, Wiggins designed the building to house his general store and large storage facility, and to provide overnight accommodations for customers who traveled long distances to purchase his goods. Porches on three sides of the building made it energy efficient as did a building technique of providing air pockets between two layers of brick. This building was one of the first buildings south of Tampa to utilize an elevator. A gathering spot for the Manatee community, its customers combined business with pleasure and took time to listen to Wiggins’ phonograph or play a game of checkers. Over the years, the building was used as a barber shop, general store, hotel, apartments, and finally as migrant housing before it was condemned and boarded up in 1983. The Manatee County Historical Commission acquired the building in 1985, and after a lengthy fund raising campaign and careful restoration, reopened the Wiggins Store to the public in 1990. It is the only building in the Manatee Village Historical Park that was originally located at this site.
Many of the records from this collection are signed and dated (We will note this in the item description) by Clyde, who was King's son. You can just imagine him coming home to the store from manatee High School (from which he graduated in 1956) to see what new 45s "pops" had gotten in that day, laying claim to his favorites, and perhaps sharing the sounds of that era on the stores phonograph with the customers, or perhaps stashing them away in his room putting his name on them so they didn't accidentally get sold.. Perhaps working store chores to pay for them... A true piece of history, in vinyl... the imagination is captured when you hold these pieces in your hands
More information can be read/seen here about this historically significant family:
http://cdm.lib.usf.edu/u?/p4048coll21,4473
http://www.clerkofcourts.com/ClerkServices/HisVill/parkbuildings.htm
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