Jim Good is giving a spin to a new home-based roadside attraction.
It will spin at 45 rpm and 33 rpm, depending on your tastes.
The man who single-handedly built the famed Goodsir Nature Park on Old Summit Lake Road has now created the J.L. Good Record Museum on the same 160 acres. Now, in addition to or instead of touring the full-spectrum array of unusual flowers, trees and shrubs you can revolve back in time to the golden age of rock 'n' roll and country 'n' western.
"It's two very different kinds of entertainment and education, in these two attractions I now have for the public," said Good.
The record museum is comprised of about 18,000 singles and albums now arranged for viewing - and even listening - arranged by musical theme. There is a Beatles section, and Elvis section, a Johnny Cash section and a Motown section. Each one features the name artist, but also all the related music of that genre.
"Being a record collector is my second passion after plants," said Good. "I started them at the same time, when I was about six years old. And they fit together. When I was out on trips across Canada to collect plants, I'd buy a record in a lot of the places I stopped. I had a battery-powered record player along with me and I'd listen to music as I'd camp for the night."
Another feature of the museum is an antique hi-fi set with modern modifications for multiple turntables and recording devices. This helped him transfer vinyl tracks to cassette back in the days before CDs and downloads.
It isn't mentioned anywhere in the vinyl attraction, but Good was a professional dance hall deejay from 1976 until his last show on New Year's Eve of 1997. Many of the records he has on display at the new museum came from his professional portfolio, but many were off of his personal shelves as a lifelong fan of music.
"Creating this museum was something I've had in the back of my mind for years, but I was so focused on the plant museum that I didn't have any other energy left for other projects," he said. "Now that I'm retired, I had the time to do it. I needed to do a lot of building and moving and arranging. It was incredibly time consuming, but it is now ready to go."
Like entry to the trails and interpretive buildings of Goodsir Nature Park, the J.L. Good Record Museum is accessible with a donation at the front door. That way, people pay what they can based on their economic circumstances. He wants the world to come see the fruits of his labours and he knows there is no chance of full financial recompense for all the time and money invested over his life on the components of his passions.
Although they are separate entrances with separate donation admissions, the same parking lot is utilized for both Goodsir Nature Park and the J.L. Good Record Museum, including RV parking and tenting areas.
The trails are open to self-guided tours while the vinyl displays must be confirmed by phone in advance. The address is 22825 Old Summit Lake Rd. and the phone number is 250-971-2337.
