Rare pipe organ may be dismantled for parts

Mason City Globe-Gazette ^ | March 13, 2012 | DEB NICKLAY

[iowamark]

The Verney Organ Co. produced pipe organs like this one from its founding in 1900 to about 1910 on First Street Southwest in Mason City. (Photo courtesy Mason City Public Library)

[iowamark]

[cripplecreek]

I moved every one of these organs (95 of them) when I was about 15 or 16 years old. The old guy had them in a barn outside of town where he spent a lifetime restoring them and couldn’t play a note.

http://www.conklinreedorganmuseum.org/lcro.htm

[FedsRStealingOurCountryFromUs]

A new, digital organ is more important than the organ’s historical value to the church? Perhaps THEY are the problem.

[Paladin2]

My reed(sic) too.

[Balding_Eagle]

Why don’t you buy it? It’s only a $1!

[Fiji Hill]

It was built for the Parkersburg United Methodist Church in 1904

The United Methodist Church didn't exist in 1904--it was formed in 1968. If Parkersburg is the one in W. Va., the church in question was probably known at the time as the First Methodist Episcopal Church.

[bigbob]

The lack of any consideration for historical preservation is just jaw-dropping. I’m working on this.

[iowamark]

This is in Iowa.

[RegulatorCountry]

It’s beautiful.

[iowamark]

It almost goes without saying that the modern Episcopal Church is not much interested in tradition.

[CrazyIvan]

“A new, digital organ is more important than the organ’s historical value to the church? Perhaps THEY are the problem.”

Amen to that. E Power Biggs must be spinning in his grave.

[kalee]

There is a Parkersburg Iowa.

[Fiji Hill]

The Iowa church was also a Methodist Episcopal Church. I found more on the organ company's website, available here.

[WhoisAlanGreenspan?]

There is absolutely no doubt that old is cool. I'm currently selling off a ton of stuff from my grandparent's house that dates from the 1970's thru 1920's. I've held on to this stuff long enough and there are collectors who truly appreciate it more than I do, and I'm getting my garage back in the process.

Today I made my 1990's vintage electric guitar recording equipment obsolete by downloading and running GNUguitarINUX. It's a linux debian distro dedicated to guitar playing; it has recording multi-track, drums, synth, and every effect for guitar I have stored in my studio.

It's especially cool because it fits on a usb thumb drive and does everything my analog stuff did and more and it's entirely free.

So, old stuff is cool, and so is new stuff. Ain't life grand!

[Cowgirl of Justice]

I worked with a guy who bought a house in Mt. Airy, NC (Mayberry) from a sister whose sister had passed. The two sisters bought two houses side by side and furnished them identically. They lived in one and the other was just cleaned but never lived in. He bought the house with the furnishings that had never been used. The house was built in the 1950s and the stuff in it was classic. Tupperware, 1950s kitchen electrics, all kinds of antiques that had NEVER been touched except to be dusted. It was like walking into a time capsule.

[Cicero]

The church is conducting a remodeling of its worship area, which includes making the space accessible to the disabled, Rogers said.

So, this incredible organ has to give way for a disabled elevator? Maybe they should stick the elevator somewhere else.

[gunsequalfreedom]

Won’t exactly fit in my house but the price is right.

[martin_fierro]

It almost goes without saying that the modern Episcopal Church is not much interested in tradition.

"Yeth, but I'm sure interethted in organs."

[WhoisAlanGreenspan?]

A guy walks into my store today with an electric skillet that he says he uses all the time but he lost the cord. It's the type with the temp control in the cord. I tell him he's not going to find that cord here or at any big box store. Maybe if he writes to the original manufacturer...

Then I say let's take a look over here; In a dirty old looking box I've never actually opened is the exact skillet with a brand new cord along with a brand new skillet and manual. I tell him him it's $20 dollars after I realize the dang thing has never been used. I'm finding all these things as we go... It's really a lot of fun!