Piano Factory Mall

              It 
Cable pianos were greatest 
At its peak, the St. Charles plant of the Cable Co,   
turned out 35 pianos a day. Below, Wellington   
models are assembled by female employees, whose   
help was made necessary during World War I and   
proved their value tot he company. Maims' strings   
were tightened (above) and tuned before the finished   
products were ready for shipping 
When Victor Nelson   
walked out of the defunct   
('able Piano Co. in January   
1937- -one of the last three   
men who still worked   
there–it was more like the   
beginning of a career than   
the end of one. 
"I'm getting a little lazy   
now," Nelson said last week   
at age 81. Hed like to cut   
back a bit from the 100   
piano keyboards a year he   
renovates, a specialty for   
which he has had more than   
enough customers in the 37   
years since he left Cable. 
At the height of his   
tenure with the "World's   
Greatest Manufacturer of   
Pianos," as the St. Charles   
firm was known then,   
Nelson used to be able to   
put the ivory tops on an   
average of five sets of   
keyboards a day. 
"And that was no 
eight-hour day, either" he   
said	 
recalling many a 
,  
16-hour stint at times when  
theSt. Charles plant turned  
Out 35 pianos a day and  
employed up to 500 people.  
Nelson came here in 1913  
from Sweden, where he had  
worked in a sawmill. Cable,  
which was founded in  
Chicago in 1881, had  
expanded to St. Charles in 
1901 and added to it   
facility here in 1904 and   
1909, 
The factory contained   
250,000 square feet of work   
space	 
adjoining d joining	 
lumber 
ards in which were stored 
Y  
more than four million feet   
of hardwood. The   
company's II acres along   
the Fox River were known   
for	 
well	 
kept	 
lawns, 
shrubbery y a nd	 
flower  
gardens. 
'3y 1921, Nelson was   
foreman of the key   
de department and had a force   
of more than 30 working   
with him. Many were   
women, a phenomenon   
which began in 1916, when-  
World War I necessitated   
tapping a new labor market. 
The Cable factory gave   
St. Charles an international   
flavor. Ivory for piano keys   
came from India and Africa.   
Wool for the hammers Caine   
from Australia. Rich wood 
veneers were imported from   
Mexico, South America and   
thegold coast of Africa. 
In return, Cable   
distributed its pianos all   
over the world and had 
dealers in Spain, Italy,   
British East Africa, Japan,   
Australia and other key   
foreign places. 
Cable was one of the few   
piano companies which   
made its products complete   
and didn't just assemble   
parts. Cable polished and 
Nelson also recalls that   
most Of the pianos Cable   
made in its finalyears were   
sold by salesman named   
Biederman, who was a 
musician as well. One area 
of the St. Charles factory   
was made into a   
&Monstration . studio for 
Biederman, who wouldplay   
beautiful melodies for 
potential customers 
During 19	 
however, 
there were on	 
five or six 
employees mostly to 
repair pianos	 
Howell  
Co. already 
take over the	 
and 
rebuild 
manufacturing	 
rniture. 
rebuild areas. 
On the finalday.Jan. 7, 
1937 t eonly	 
0 t her 
renmaining Cable employees 
were Oscar Swanson and 
KlausJohnson of the 
finishing department. 
Almost immediately, 
Nelson began to get requests 
from musical , firms and 
individuals to continue h 
trade. One of his biggest, 
customers in recent years, 
has been Lyon-Healy. 
Key finishing is just as 
precise a trade as it ever 
was, and Nelson still is 
master. The only change 
that t he keys now are 
covered with plastic.- Ivory. 
can b e imported from 
England but Nelson prefers 
not to. 
His home and workshop 
at 1007 Ohio Ave. is' the - 
,	 
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I.	 
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