Colborne United organ history

Participants in the May 24 dedication ceremony for the Colborne United Church organ found that there has not always been an organ in the church.

Some of the early records are sketchy, but the church's current organist Dik Habermehl has pieced the history together.

Thirty years after Colborne's founder Joseph Keeler arrived with 40 settlers in 1793, a Methodist Church was formed in the village.

Seven years later, in 1830 or 31, the congregation set about the first of several expansions. In 1862, 1875, 1890 and again in 1968 the building grew.

The first record of the presence of an organ is in 1910. It is possible a pump organ was used before that date. This would seem to be verified by the mention of an organist in the 1890's.

By 1900 the congregation had swollen to 400 and 10 years later the records show there were 200 children registered in the Sunday school. A larger organ was needed to accompany the singing.

In 1909 Daniel and Eliza Simmons initiated a committee to explore the options. Three companies were considered, but the committee members realised they were out of their depth. The final choice was left to the organist of the Metropolitan Church in Toronto.

That organ cost $1,900. The cost was covered by a $2,000 donation made by Mr. and Mrs. Simmons - twice a minister's salary at the time. The Simmons also paid the salary of an organist an an organ blower for a year.

The two-manual, 16-stop instrument had almost 900 pipes. An organist from Toronto nwas brought in for the June 6, 1910 dedication service.

The organ was pneumatic. Pressing a key would force air up a pipe and open a valve to produce sound. This system was relatively new but it was challenging for the organist who had to be a note ahead of the singers due to the delay in sound production.

Within 18 months the organ was malfunctioning and a repairman was brought in from Toronto.

When he opened up the organ he found a nest of rats which had been eating through the leather pipes. The repair cost $800.

But it was not the organist's salary that became the problem, nor was it repair costs.

The church could find no one to pump the air into the organ for the organist for the two services a week, choir practices and the organist's weekly preparation for services.

Finding no takers, the church handed the task to its caretaker. He did it for a year, then resigned in anger.

The ensuing solution was not satisfactory either.

The manufacturer suggested the church purchase a two-horsepower blower. The recommendation was ignored and they bought one half the size -with predictable limitations in sound.

The organ was removed in 1968 and replaced 11 years later with a Baldwin electronic organ.

It was replaced earleir this year by the current digital model built in the Netherlands.

The organ was purchased with money received from two estates. Dr. Frank and Marion Pember and Annabel Cleverly beqeathed money for the purchase of the virtual pipe organ which filled the sanctuary with sound on May 24.

The organ produces the equivalent sound of a 3,000 pipe organ.

Gone are the rats, the organ blower and the many pipes - but the magnificent sound remains.