Organ Console Removal

On Friday, August 22, the organ console was removed for electrical repairs. (The console is where I sit when I play the organ.) I was present to watch over the removal, take pictures, and help out when needed. I had assumed that Russel Draeger would just roll out the console into a truck. Instead, he took it apart piece by piece and then loaded into the truck! The organ console was taken apart from the top down. It was fascinating to see the inside the organ console. Russ showed me the mechanism for the organ stops and how it uses magnets to bring the pieces of metal together to turn the electrical current on and off— kind of like a light switch. We had to turn the electricity off to the organ before cutting any wires. We played the guessing game, “Which circuit breaker controls the organ?” Tony, our lead custodian, helped us find it. The huge “umbilical cord,” which contained all the individual wires from the organ and connected them to the wiring in back, was cut off and thrown in the trash. A much smaller cord will replace it. On their last trip out with the stack of three keyboards, Russel and his employee Chris said, “This is the only vacation this organ has been on…all the way to Bloomington, MN!”

The console will be updated in Draeger’s workshop with a new control system. In November, Russ will work on the wiring behind the choir loft. The organ console will likely not return until after Christmas. It will be great to have all the stops and pistons working again--when I ask them to, at the right time, and without the trumpet stop turning on randomly at the wrong time!

Thank you to all who donated to the organ repair!