An Interesting Diversion

I had a cousin named Oren Stembel (his name was really Gilbert Oren Stembel, but he went by Oren).  He was 11 years older than me and he lived in Chicago.  I only met him once.

In the 1960s Oren owned a small recording studio in Chicago and released records on the "Orlyn" label.  I did not know this until about 3 years ago when I received a FedEx package from Ketchikan, Alaska.  A guy who lives there now grew up in Chicago and was a member of a band in high school.  One summer the band won a contest in which the prize was free time in Oren's recording studio, "Recordings Unlimited".

Like most high school bands of that era, it disbanded after the members graduated and scattered around the country to start their own lives. But in 2003 the band got back together for a reunion in California. They brought their instruments, played the old songs, had a great time together, and decided they would like to find the master of the recordings they made in Oren's studio.

So the guy who lives in Ketchikan Googled "Oren Stembel" and found the Stembel Family History website - and my address.  Certain I was the same Oren Stembel who owned the studio, he sent a lengthy history of the band and it's reunion to me.  Alas, I had to call and give him the bad news that,  against all odds, there were actually 3 Oren Stembels in this world: me, my Dad (deceased), and my cousin (also deceased). I had to admit to him that I knew almost nothing about my cousin Oren. All i could do was tell him the names of Oren's children, now in their 30s, and suggest he try to track them down. They might know if the masters still exist.

End of the story? No. A couple days ago I got an email from a music historian in Connecticut who is writing a book about small record labels, and he wanted some information about cousin Oren's recording studio and the bands that recorded there. He had Googled "Oren Stembel", found the family history, and my email address. Once again I had to tell him the sad tale about the three Oren Stembels, etc. etc., but I told him about the guy in Alaska.

So now I'm trying to get the two together so they can help each other find what they want.

The Internet is a wonderful thing!