09/04/2025
If this jukebox could talk... The stories it might tell.
This classic 1941 Wurlitzer 750 was purchased at the 1973 "Big Dorothy" Baker estate auction. Baker, of course, was the last of Helena’s South Main madams, her possessions sold less than a year after a police raid shut down her operations.
Dave and Crystal Shors (Missouri River Chronicle) acquired the rare jukebox about 15 years ago, and there it sat in their garage, in need of major repairs and renovation, until they were fortunate enough to meet Gayle Voisine of Victor, Montana.
A master technician and woodcrafter who loves to bring old Victrolas, Edisons, radios, and jukeboxes back to life, Gayle's magic touch with old machines is extraordinary.
After several months of rebuilding and restoring the electronics, mechanical parts, and cabinet, this Paul Fuller masterpiece is once again playing the 1940s and 1950s records of choice, much like it would have done 75 years ago.
Where was it in its prime, and who listened to those early fox trots, ragtime dances, and big band sounds of the era?
We can only imagine.
"Big Dorothy" Baker opened Dorothy’s Rooms in the early 1950s. When she did, she had connections with earlier Helena madams, like Pearl Maxwell and Ida Levy.
So, in its earliest days of the 1940s, one might speculate that this Wurlitzer played its soothing tunes in another part of Helena’s Bridge Street or the South Main “Red Light” district and was later passed on to Dorothy.
Crystal Shors grew up in Helena’s South Main neighborhood. She remembers Dorothy was one of her best customers when she sold Campfire Girl candy as a child in the late 1950s.
We know Dorothy was a good citizen, generous to neighbors, and also generous to the Helena Police Protective Association—that, according to Jack Williams, Helena Police Chief at the time Big Dorothy’s closed in the spring of 1973.
“I don’t know why we had to shut her down. She didn’t hurt anybody,” Williams said in his Civic Center office after the bust. A day earlier, Williams had called Dave Shors, then an Independent Record reporter, and said, “You better get down here, we’re closing Big Dorothy’s.”
Shors grabbed a camera, fellow reporter Bill "Skid" Skidmore grabbed a notebook, and the two ran down the street. Inside the alley entrance door, Dave remembers seeing Baker sitting on the edge of her large, round bed, crying. He was told “No pictures,” and was told several of the “girls” were hiding in closets.
After interviewing Williams and another official, Skid wrote the short story that appeared the next day in the IR. Dave was left with only one picture, that of the outside entrance.
So, the closing of Big Dorothy’s was documented.
What happened after that is a sad conclusion to a colorful period of Helena’s history. Dorothy Baker returned to Great Falls, where she died awaiting trial.
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See and hear this wonderfully restored Wurlitzer jukebox at Missouri River Chronicle Antiques, located at 1125 Helena Avenue, next to Great Harvest Bread.
We’re always buying and selling quality antiques, advertising pieces, and collectibles, especially from and about Helena and Montana.
We’re open 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Fridays and Saturdays.
