Dear Father:

Thanks for the letter, and your copies of the orgel-spoofs, they are really good for a laugh.  I often think a lot of these organ guys take themselves pretty seriously, and they need to be checked up once in a while.  Not that they likely could see the joke, they are of that type, I am afraid.  But the rest of us can stand some humor.

Now for a look at your proposed scheme #1 - I shall call it that, and I hope you are keeping copies of your proposals and specs, as I do, so that we both can refer back as we no doubt often will have to do.  Planning is half the fun. 

Now for the specs - you have a question mark at the Swell 4' Flute, and with good reason, as in an organ of that size I think 2 four-foot flutes are not all that useful, if something else more necessary could be used.  One is enough. Then, you have two Dulcianas; I found the Great Gemshorn it to be an excellent accomp. Rank as well as having chorus possibilities of its own.  If the Flute 8' on the Great is an open one, mild and bright, combined with the Gemshorn it might - I can't be sure of this, of course - make a synthetic Diapason of another character than the more virile Principal on the same manual.  Of course, we would have to scare up another rank of pipes, a Gemshorn shouldn't be all that difficult, however, not after all the other goodies we will have. Sure hope that Prince Rupert comes through, it would be nice to have some pipes for trading after we have used the ranks we want.

I see that it is lunch time, that must be why I am making all the errors and omissions.  Then I will have to rush to catch the 2 o'clock bus for the Island, while over there I shall look around.

Extra 2 note chests can easily be built for the pedals, nothing to it.  Also, I think you could get another stop tablet for pipes, by using the Tremulant one, and for a few dollars, get a reversible toe stud for the Tremulant stop control, like they used to have on the old Karn-Warren two manual reed organs.  The tremulant is so seldom used, I should imagine, in the chapel with male organists, that the stop tab is not all that necessary.  Now, if it was a convent, we could wire it on permanently for the good sisters, as they seem to have a perverse love for the things, it is the first stop they draw and the last one they shut in.  After that came the Swell to Great coupler.

As regards my venture, there is a rift in the clouds this week.  Now, you can realize a new venture, especially dealing with such conservative organizations as the Canadian banks, is not easy to get rolling. If it had been, someone else would have started it long ago.  So lets keep hoping that I will not have to sell the organ to the Anglicans in Regina, they have made an offer on it this week.  I told them not to be in such a hurry, as I had not yet decided to sell.

I think it would be a waste to use the 61 note Solo chest as a 32 note pedal chest, unless one had chests to burn, which is not the case.  Also to use only 32 pipes of the Fagotto and throw away the rest would be a similar waste, unless we had some other use for them.  (Knowing you, I suppose that would not take you long to figure out!)

Do you still get the Diapason?  If you do, answer any likely looking ads regarding chests and pipes, you never know.  That is what I used to do, even if I didn't have any money just then.  Because it sometimes happened that by the time I got an answer, the money was available for purchase.  Or what say if we put an advt. In like:

Wanted Electro-pneumatic chest, 7 or more ranks preferred.

Thanks for your offer to pray for me:  I need it!

I will have a chat with my friend in Victoria who has some pipes left over from his own job.  They are a lot closer than Kindersley, Saskatchewan.

All the best,

Stuart