ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
From: Tim Gentry, December 2007
Dave purchased the organ from Ridge Rink, a roller skating rink in Seattle, Washington.
He installed it at Christ Memorial Church in Poulsbo, Washington in 1974, when the church was going
through an expansion project and holding services in their gymnasium.
The organ was installed in, over, around, and under they stage at the end of the gym
there (and it sounded wonderful, I remember it well).
Dave was the church organist there for several years, and 435 was his pride and joy.
During his time there they built a new sanctuary but did not move the organ into it, opting instead to
install another larger pipe organ.
435 remained at its installed location in the church gymnasium. As I understand it the orgran was
unused for about 2 years.
435 was sold sometime in the mid 80's (nobody remembers exactly when) to Neighborhood Church in Chico,
California, but wasn't actually installed there. When they moved the organ they realized that
there wasn't enough space in their pipe chambers, so the organ was put into storage for ten years
before it was purchased by an individual in the church that wanted to build a private residence around it.
When the organ was removed from storage the new owner discovered that the transition from moist, cool
Pacific Northwest climate to ten years of storage in the hot, dry climate around Chico had caused much
of the wood to dry out, shrinking and cracking the console, bench, and pipes. The console was parted out,
and a new four-manual electronic was purchased to replace it. The electro-pneumatic components were
replaced with a custom built electronic system, which includes the capability of driving the organ
through a MIDI interface. The damaged pipes were repaired on-site in the owner's workshop, and at
least 4 more ranks of pipes were added.
The list I have is from a picture on the wall of the pipe chamber. Some of the lengths are identified, some are not. Most of the ranks' maker is identified, and I'll include that. Enjoy.
1. English Horn, Dennison
2. Tuba Mirabilis, 16', Kimball
3. Trumpet, Morton
4. Tuba Horn, 16', Wurlitzer
5. Stenorphone, Kimball
6. Open Diapason, 16', Wurlitzer
7. Tibia Clausa, 16', Morton
8. Orch. Oboe, unknown
9. Kinura, Kimball
10. Clarinet, Gottfried
11. Viol d'Orch, Kimball
12. Viole Celeste, Kimball
13. Salicional, Wurlitzer
14. Viola, Kimball
15. Voix Celest, Kimball
16. French Horn, Kimball
17. Oboe Horn, Morton
18. Concert Flute, 16', Wurlitzer
19. Flute Celest, 4', Kimball
20. Vox Humana, Wurlitzer
21. Mixture I, Kimball
22. Mixture III, Kimball
23. Mixture III, Kimball (yes, that's a duplicate on the list on the
wall)
--
Piano, MIDI
Harp/Marimba, Wurlitzer
Glockenspiel, Wurlitzer
Xylophone, Wurlitzer
Solo Chimes, electric, Maas
Chimes, electric, Maas
Solo Glock, electric, Artisan
The current owner said that he added 4 ranks, specifically Posthorn (not listed, so I'm not sure rank in the list that corresponds to), Oboe, Oboe Horn, and Trumpet. As I understand it, all the rest of the ranks came from the organ as it was installed at Christ Memorial Church (CMC), which was installed almost exactly as it was removed from Ridge Rink.
At one point there was a rank called "Clarabelle," but that rank was removed for space reasons prior to the organ's installation at CMC. My brother and I have several of those pipes in mantlepiece arrangements in our houses. I'm reasonably sure that the rest have been destroyed.
The organ is currently fully installed and operational in an absolutely gorgeous private residence in the
hills overlooking Chico.
It is played daily, and when I visited the new owner's residence it was obvious that the organ is well loved.