(to S.Kennedy)
from Kindersley,Sask.
May 29th, 1962

Dear Stuart:

I owe you a letter - since before Xmas I think. However, I thought it best to wait until I had something to report. What a busy - and cold - winter it was! Washing pipes was a big job. Re-leathering all the stopped pipes another big job, plus repairing those damaged by water and mice. I think I told you we were moving part of the organ to safer storage when the great blizzard of '55 struck, followed by a terrible winter, some wood pipes received water damage. However, all is well again. The chests were stored in a shop. Somebody left a door open last summer and a mouse got in. She decided to make a home in the Swell chest primary and had chewed a couple of holes in the purses before a trap put an end to her housekeeping activities. As the primary had been checked and electrified not long before, I never thought of evil until the primary was on the chest (no small operation) and 2 bass notes didn't work. Talk about trouble to repair these - a place almost impossible to get at; reminded me of a prostate gland operation!

Mein Gott im Himmel! No wonder organs cost money! I never before realized the work to the damn things because somebody else did other parts of the work. But all by one's lonesome - what a job it has been and so much more to do (console mostly). Now I know why they cost so much!

My friends were very polite and never expressed their thoughts ("It will never work!!"). But it did, and does. Great, Swell and Choir are connected up. Solo not yet - it is not important. 16' Open and Octave, 16' Bourdon and Octave and Gt to Pedal coupler are working so there is some Pedal. The hardwood floor has not been installed yet because of all the activity at the organ, but even so I am very happy about the acoustics of the room - there is as much and more reverberation as in many churches far larger. No reeds are installed yet. The tuning is a bit rough - have trouble getting the girls to hold keys - they get "so tired!"

No shutters installed as yet either, so we have a completely expressionless organ. The Swell, I think, is quite good. But the Great! No, it is not dull and thick, quite the reverse. Diapason Chorus based on 16 Principal, 8' Geigen, 4' Octave, 2' Fifteenth and 3R Mixture is on the stringy side. But the upperwork is so ladylike! The mixture compared to the full bodied Swell mixture is out of the running altogether, and the Octave 4' is much less in evidence than the 4' flute. The Fifteenth was also "I hope I don't intrude" variety. It had been damaged by the clumsy Blanchards who tuned the organ for years, as it was next the walkboard. Just for fun I opened it up, and rescaled it one pipe larger. Now it adds top-maybe too much, but you know when it is added which is something you can't say about the mixture (15 - 19 - 22). There is no Twelfth in the chorus at all. So now I am thinking about opening up Octave and Mixture to see what happens, no harm can come of it and maybe some good. I don't like these super refined organs, I like 'em gutsy in the choruses at least with lots of Pedal --- though there must be Pedal upperwork - I never could see why the Victorians didn't realize the value of a good 4' on the Pedal for clearing it up. But it is my opinion they liked their organs like their ladies - rather fat; and their furniture, heavy with odd curliques and excrescenses. An example - the casework was of oak, natural finish with gilded show pipes. What did they do, back in 1910? Put black varnish over the oak, and painted the pipes with bands of hideous greens and ghastly red. Ugh. Since the 16' Principal 24 pipes and 12 pipes of Open #1 were in the "prospect" they are not speaking yet. I think all they did was muddy up the Great, anyhow. They will have to have "beards" to quicken speech and brighten them up.

So here is progress to date:
1. Swell flues in
2. Choir "      "
3. Great "     " except 36 Bass pipes noted above
4. Some Pedal in "Big & Little Boom" no soft work as yet
5. Great to Pedal coupler - others will come soon.

No -
1. Swell shades
2. No crescendo pedal
3. No combination action
4. No reeds

That's the progress to date. So if you think it worthwhile for a visit, come along - you're more than welcome! Don't expect Knox yet, but as the Katzenjammers say "chust vait." I'll show 'em a thing or two yet. At least its not stored away in chambers.

Went to a recital in Knox United, Saskatoon by Virgil Fox May 3rd. The organ is on two sides of the chancel and has been recently rebuilt by Casavant. Frankly, I was disappointed. No doubt it is terrific in the chambers, but never gets out to the church. It is quite a large 3-manual. Virgil took great jumps at the keys but der noise didn't come out. Acoustics were partly to blame, the crowd damped the organ quite a bit. I had always heard the organ in an empty church, from the console in the chancel, in direct line with the music.

I'm looking forward to meeting you very much, so try and come out to see us! Now I've warned you not to expect too much, but she's still a fair old girl even so.

Be seeing you,

Stuart    
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