The employees of the DeKalb Wurlitzer Division received the Army-Navy “ E “ Award at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb to honor their hard work during World War II. They did not perceive the influence they had made on the millions of lives around the world. Their remote controlled drones would eventually evolve into what is today’s auto-pilot systems. |
In addition to its effects on DeKalb, the music industry, and the war effort, the company also created a philanthropy. The Wurlitzer Foundation was created in 1952. This foundation gave college scholarships to worthy children. The five lucky winners each year got a chance to choose any college in the United States. The Wurlitzer Foundation donated over $600,000 to college-bound students.
Sadly, despite its once thriving business, the production of pianos at the DeKalb factory on Pleasant Street stopped in December of 1973. The company was struggling due to high interests rates, a weak economy, and foreign competition. Although piano production ceased, Wurlitzer continued to use the offices in DeKalb as headquarters.
Then, in 1988, the Baldwin Company bought all of the Wurlitzer patents, trademarks and assets. The Baldwin Company, and all the Wurlitzer assets, were next acquired by the Gibson Guitar Corp ten years later in 1998. Today, under the management of Gibson, Wurlitzer has headquarters in Oxfordshire, England and Gurnee, Illinois.
Wurlitzer started out as one man with a dream, and by the late 1990s had grown into a corporation with factories from DeKalb to Australia. The single Wurlitzer retail store grew to be a successful multimillion dollar company. This corporation played a key role in World War II and shaped both DeKalb and the music industry of its time.