BUSINESS
Wallowa County Chieftain
A6
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Find your album at Ruby Peak Music
BIZZ
BUZZ
Where: 501 S. River St.,
Enterprise
By Bill Bradshaw
Who: Greg and Michelle
Mitchell
E
NTERPRISE — Who
doesn’t enjoy that
warm, fuzzy feeling
of a vinyl LP on a turntable?
Yeah, CDs or live streaming
may produce higher-defi ni-
tion sound, but they skip the
memories the LPs evoke.
That’s what Greg and
Michelle Mitchell are off er-
ing at Ruby Peak Music, a
small music shop in what
used to be a garage behind
their home.
“It was a two-car garage
and now it’s our shop,” Greg
said during an interview
Wednesday, March 2.
“Most of this stuff was
our own and we were like,
you can only have so many
boxes in the house and they
were stacked to the ceiling,”
Michelle said. “We decided
we wanted to do this place
about four years ago and
really started busting (the
garage) out the last couple
years and started cooking on
it last spring. We had to get
rid of the garage doors.”
They actually opened in
mid-December with mostly
records they’d collected on
their own over the years.
Collecting
Although the Mitchells
started with mostly their
own collection, they did
obtain some from friendly
sources.
“We have this friend we
met at an outdoor fl ea mar-
ket and he was selling boxes
of records and we hadn’t
really bought them until
said, adding that he believes
it sells online for about $120.
Not all sealed deals are
vinyl. A Pink Floyd CD box
set has all kinds of extras
like scarves, concerts and
posters.
“All kinds of crazy
things,” Greg said. “These
are going for quite a bit on
the internet and we have
them for $100. … We try
and keep our prices lower
than the internet,” he said.
RUBY PEAK
MUSIC
When: Thursday and
Friday, Noon to 6 p.m.;
Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Expect to go to fi ve days
a week in spring
Phone: 775-721-7561
Email: Tuesday1111@
att.net
Keeping prices low
Website: https://ruby-
peakmusic.com/music
also Facebook
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Michelle and Greg Mitchell hold a brand-new sealed Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
album by the Beatles surrounded by other classic music and instruments in their Ruby Peak
Music on Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
then,” Michelle said.
“We were doing the CD
thing at that time,” Greg
added.
“We thought, ‘Oh, these
are cool. Let’s check this
out.’ So we bought a bunch
from him for like nothing
and we ended up being good
friends,” Michelle said. “He
would go to a storage unit
and would end up with all of
these records and he would
call us every time he got
some and so Greg, of course,
was like, ‘Yeah, we want
them all.’ This was becom-
ing a once-a-week thing. It’s
crazy, but it’s — with some
exceptions — what we have
collected.”
Greg said that friend has
now passed, but they keep
a picture of him there “to
watch over us.”
Greg said he had to start
over collecting records after
his parents sold many of his
originals at a yard sale.
“We didn’t know records
would be coming back,”
Michelle said. “It was all
CDs then. Who knew?”
But the crackle — not
a skip — of a vinyl record
adds to its charm. Greg said
they don’t sell records that
skip. If a record skips, he’ll
take it for a return credit and
try to clean and repair it.
“That’s part of it,”
Michelle said. “Obviously,
you want some that don’t,
but it’s like if you put on an
old Mamas and Papas and
there’s some crackling there,
you know people have lis-
tened to it.”
“They’re so much
warmer than CDs and
streaming,” Greg agreed.
“Streaming just sucks
terribly.”
“Those crackles tell you
that it’s been played and
loved,” Michelle said.
The whole gamut
But they don’t limit their
wares to just vinyl. They
also sell CDs, cassettes and
even a few eight-tracks,
along with players for all
and some instruments and
amplifi ers. They even have
45 and 78 rpm records and
several genres of books.
In their shop music afi -
cionados will fi nd every-
thing from classic rock such
as Led Zepplin, ‘50s like
Elvis Presley, pop, jazz,
blues, easy listening like
Frank Sinatra and Dean
Martin, Herb Alpert, Coun-
try-Western, classical, gos-
pel, Disco and even movie
sound tracks.
The LPs aren’t all old,
used and scratched. Many
are new and still sealed from
the manufacturer. They have
sealed, unopened records
such as the Beatles’ ground-
breaking Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band,
Pink Floyd, Robert Johnson,
and newer artists such as
Sturgill Simpson.
“We have some more
obscure things, like this is an
album by the Black Angels
that is one of only 500
made,” Greg said. “We have
some oddities, some rarities.
We want to cover the whole
gamut of music, like we
have done in our personal
lives.”
Some of their collectibles
include the Beatles Esher
demos, a collection that
ended up on the now-classic
White Album.
“When they got together
in George Harrison’s house,
they taped all the songs that
they were planning to put
on the White Album,” Greg
said. “It’s got the full White
Album and two discs of
them just sitting in George
Harrison’s house doing the
songs before they actually
recorded them — demos.”
The package set goes
for $95 at Ruby Peak, Greg
& Skylight
Gallery
They have a system of
colored stickers showing
the cost of each record. The
stickers are placed inside
the album covers so as to
not damage the outer cover
when they’re removed.
Many are less than $10.
“We know from raising
two boys that we never had
enough money to do any-
thing, so we try to keep our
prices reasonable,” Michelle
said. “Music should be
accessible to people other
than just the rich.”
“We want people to be
able to aff ord to come in
here,” Greg added. “We
have several customers who
love just going through
things.”
But like any businesspeo-
ple who hope to be success-
ful, they’re doing their best
to cater to what the customer
wants.
“We’re a work in prog-
ress,” Michelle said. “We
have to see what it is people
want or what they’ll buy.”
———
Bill Bradshaw is a
reporter for the Wallowa
County Chieftain. Have a
business tip? Contact him
at 541-398-5503 or bbrad-
shaw@wallowa.com.
Church
Directory
Finding books is
our specialty
CLUES ACROSS
1. Very mean
6. Eve lived with him
10. Camp shelter
14. Grammy winner Mann
15. Australian actor Eric
16. Minimal difficulty
17. Colorfully named
political group
19. Eyelid woe
20. “___ Well That Ends Well”
21. High card in a royal flush
22. Flicker of light
23. Up to, informally
24. Chance to settle the score
27. Prefix for “bot”
29. Puts in the overhead
bin, e.g.
30. Dangers
32. 20/20
33. Pageant wrap
37. Certain matriarch, or
a three-part hint to 24-
or 48-Across
39. Certain patriarch, or
a three-part hint to 17-
or 59-Across
41. “Now, about ...”
42. Part of a circumference
44. Dark suit?
45. Fancy neckwear
47. Foil alternative, in fencing
48. Comedic brother who said
“I’ve had a perfectly
wonderful evening. But
this wasn’t it.”
53. Insecticide banned in
the U.S.
55. Henhouse perch
56. KGB’s Cold War foe
57. Quack doctor’s promise
58. Wood-shaping tool
59. Sheet for geometry
homework
62. Foamy brew
63. Something struck on
a runway
64. “Como ___?”
65. Installs, as a lawn
66. Averse to
67. Crystal-lined rock
Joseph United
Methodist Church
Grace Lutheran
Church
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
409 West Main - Enterprise
10 AM Worship
Online AND In Person
SUNDAY
WORSHIP 9AM
SUNDAY
Ash Wednesday-March
2 at 5pm
WORSHIP
Lent Services at at 5pm
starting March 10
9am
For More Info
541-432-3102
JosephUMC.ORG
Pastor Cherie Dearth
Pastor John B. King Jr
phone (message): 541-426-4633
web: gracelutheranenterprise.com
Enterprise
Christian Church
St.
St. Patrick’s
Patrick’s
Episcopal
Episcopal Church
Church
85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449
We have ‘In-person worship” @ 9:00 am
(Guidelines observed)
Sunday School at 10:30
Parking Lot Radio/Facebook @ 9:00
100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise
NE 3rd & Main St
541-426-3439
Worship Service
Sunday 9:30am
David Bruce
Pastor, Enterprise Christian Church
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Summit Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
Worship Service 11:00 AM
at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
CLUES DOWN
1. Bother constantly
2. United group?
3. Sense something fishy
4. Free shirts, often
5. Currency in Tokyo
6. Calculator with beads
7. Bravely decided you would
8. Tunneling insect
9. Can, more politely
10. Model 3 automaker
11. Face-plant
12. “Bye Bye Bye” boy band
13. Canines and molars
18. Up to ___ (adequate)
22. MLB execs
24. Alchemist’s target metal
25. Attention-getting instrument
26. Elegant pitchers
28. Spanish for “boy”
30. Sports org. with a Tour
31. Box office sensation
33. Go berserk
34. Collectively signified
35. Finish quickly, like a book
36. Contains
38. Gas brand hidden in
“car company”
40. Very top
43. NBC’s owner
45. Charade
46. Capital whose name sounds
like a competitive personality
48. Snatches
49. Sport often featuring clowns
50. Gave off, as charm
51. App customers
52. Old-school cheer
54. Far from long-winded
57. Phone protector
59. Transcript stat
60. “Apollo 13” director Howard
61. Wooden pin
107 E. Main • Enterprise • 541-426-3351
www.bookloftoregon.com
Sundays at 10 am
Pastor: David Pendleton
541.398.0597
Hwy 82, Lostine
www.summitchurchoregon.org
Stephen Kliewer, Minister
Cloverleaf Hall • 668 NW 1st St. • Enterprise, OR 97828
Wallowa
Assembly
of God
702 West Hwy 82
Wallowa, Oregon
541-886-8445
Sunday School • 9:am
Worship Service • 10:am
Pastor Tim Barton
Visit Us on
Christ Covenant
Church
Pastor Terry Tollefson
Church Office: 541-263-0505
Family Prayer - 9 AM
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:30 AM
723 College Street, Lostine
Seventh-Day Adventist
Church & School
Enterprise Community
Congregational Church
305 Wagner (near the Cemetery)
P.O. Box N. Enterprise, OR 97828
Church 541-426-3751
School 541-426-8339
Pastor David Ballard 503-810-9886
Join us at the
BIG BROWN CHURCH
Worship Hour
10:30 a.m. - Noon
Sunday Worship 11:00 am
Sunday Bible
Worship
11:00 am
Study:
Bible
Studies:
Sundays, 9:30 am
Sundays 9:30 am
Interim Pastor Rev. Dr. Craig Pesti-Strobel
301 NE First St. • Enterprise, OR
Find us on Facebook! 541.426.3044