Owego to ‘Rock the Deck’ on August 4

Get ready for an evening of iconic music, and browse music memorabilia at the Tioga County Visitor Center, located at 200-204 Front St. in Owego. Long-time Tioga County resident Glenn E. Strope, owner of Blue Moon Jukeboxes, invites the public to join him and other vendors on the outdoor deck of the Visitor Center on Aug. 4, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. 

Guests will be treated to favorite hits of the 1960’s and 1970’s, and maybe a few selections spinning from the 1950’s, too, and all played on an authentic 1957 Seeburg Jukebox that Strope restored.

On display inside the Visitor Center will be Rock and Roll memorabilia, including framed vinyl records and posters, concert ticket stubs, and more. Several items will be for sale.

Also on the deck, Patrick Ayres of Waverly’s Broad Street Records will be on hand to chat about his business and offer items for sale. Broad Street Records is a full-service music store selling vinyl LPs, CDs, cassette tapes, audio equipment, and more. Patrick will be bringing along a selection of 45’s, boxes of LP’s for guests to thumb through, and several CD’s from the 70’s and 80’s with fascinating picture sleeves.   

Be sure to stop by Audrey’s Jewelry of Apalachin on the deck, too, and where hand-made jewelry will be for sale. 

Refreshments can be purchased at Meliora, a café, smoothie and juice bar located adjacent to the Visitor Center. Meliora is a Latin word meaning “better,” and at Meliora in Owego, and as their business sign states, they love serving up, “Better things.”  

Strope grew up in Newark Valley, graduated from high school there, and lived a time in Apalachin before moving to Owego. His passion is restoring jukeboxes, a craft he has spent decades mastering, and has traveled near and far in search of classic used jukeboxes that need a little TLC.

Strope, self-taught in jukebox repair and restoration, remarked that he picked up mechanical and electronic skills from his father.

He reminisced about one jukebox in particular that he paid $200 for with “some assembly required,” and which he brought home in pieces scattered within several boxes. Eventually he celebrated as the jukebox hero, igniting life back into the once silent music box.

When asked what happened next, Glenn grinned, and remarked, “I sold it,” and then noted that some of his projects have taken upwards of six months to complete. 

And not just the jukeboxes, at one point Glenn acquired 15,000 45-rpm records from Woody’s, a favorite record shop that once thrived on Washington Avenue in Endicott.  

Strope shared that the word “passionate” is the best word to describe his restoration work. An element of that passion was evident during his four-decade run as owner and operator of Richard’s Funeral Home in Owego, and where he actually set up a work area in the basement of the property. 

That particular profession is sometimes depressing, Glenn mentioned, yet it was the music from the jukeboxes that lifted his spirits.  

Another example of Strope’s passion for jukeboxes, he displays them in various rooms of his home, and today gets a little chuckle out of starting one of them prominently placed in his living room with the push of a button on a remote control. Other models, like one on display inside the Visitor Center, require a quarter to get the music revved up. 

Nostalgia plays a big part, too. In fact, Glenn remarked that his granddaughter has taken a liking to the jukebox music selections, and will occasionally don a poodle skirt to match the theme.

Strope shared that one of his favorite musical groups from back-in-the-day, the Dave Clark 5, performed at U.E. Stadium in the late 1960’s. He may just spin one or two of their tunes on the jukebox!

Glenn hopes guests who stop by the Visitor Center’s deck on Aug. 4 will leave feeling “Glad All Over,” and just like the signature Dave Clark 5 song from 1964.