Fond farewell bid to historic organ — until it returns

Posted on Oct 01, 2009 by Dave Rasdal.

Farewell, old song. Hello, restoration.

With the last refrain of “‘Till We Meet Again,” Steve Story played the final notes on the huge Kimball pipe organ Tuesday at Union Sunday School in Clermont. In the audience of about two dozen sat Dean Zenor, waiting to tear the historic organ apart.

“What we’re going to do, you might say, is give it a nose job,” says Dean, service manager of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd., of Lake City, Iowa.

Installed in 1896, this 1,554-pipe organ is the largest Kimball still playable in the United States. Owned by the State Historical Society of Iowa, it is valued at more than $500,000 if kept in good shape.

Not only does the 22-foot wide, 19-foot tall organ dominate the front of the small 1863 church/school, its notes rattle the building from its multi-paned windows to tin ceiling to authentic 45-star flag on the rear wall.

Purchased for $3,000 by former Gov. William Larrabee for his daughter, Anna, the organ became a center of controversy in 2007 when $80,000 approved by the Legislature for its repair became an example of pork barrel spending. Gov. Chet Culver vetoed that appropriation but signed another in 2008 after Save America’s Treasures approved a $50,000 matching grant.

With restoration estimated at just over $100,000, Dean says, “We’re hoping it won’t be that much.”

Dobson, nationally known for building and restoring organs, looks forward to restoring this, the largest remaining unaltered tubular-pneumatic organ built by W.W. Kimball, Dean says.

The last restoration, in 1979-1980, included complete releathering and the revision of the wind system to properly accommodate the electric blower added in 1910 when electricity came to Clermont. The old manually cranked system can still be used.

While this restoration includes the keyboard and pipes, it centers on rusted screws that prevent the valves from properly sealing, causing “whispers” — notes to play when they’re not supposed to play.

The four organists Tuesday — Steve, Sally Boie of Hawkeye, Marvin Kerr of North Liberty and Otter Dreaming of Decorah — have experienced the stuck keys and ghost notes. But they love the old organ anyway.

“Right now,” Sally says, “the problem is you never know if it’s going to work or not. But it’s a Kimball. There’s nothing like it.”

With the 2010 season slated to begin April 25, they can’t wait for the organ to play again, just like it did in the old days.