Thanks!

Barry Howard and Larry Fenner would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the following people who helped make our project possible:

Donald Borden*, who saved WurliTzer Opus 501 from the wrecking ball in 1962 and installed the instrument in his house where it remained until 1975.

Ernest Boda*, for his dedication to, and preservation and improvement of the instrument from 1975 until his untimely death in 1995.

Beth Boda, who continued to preserve the instrument in Ernie’s memory, for allowing us to be the next owners of Opus 501, and for extending her patience, understanding, and generous hospitality to us during the removal of the organ.  The picture below shows Beth and Opus 501 in it's new home.

George Bell, whose untiring assistance during the removal and packing of the organ was as welcome as his friendship.

John Angevine*, recipient of ATOS’ 2007 Award for Technical Excellence/Technician of the Year, who also provided much welcome assistance during the removal and packing of the organ, and who continues to share his wealth of technical expertise with us during our installation.

The picture below shows (L to R) Larry, George Bell, Barry, and John Angevine* during the Ohio River Dinner Cruise of the 2008 "Play It Again" ATOS Convention headquartered in Indianapolis, IN.

Bob Matterness*, Doug and Barb Eyman, Hans Herr, Rick Kepley, and Scott Ellison* for helping to unload the final truck in Pennsylvania and for continuing to offer their help as the project progresses.

Terry Nace, Ray Brunner*, and Hans Herr of Brunner & Associates LLC, Silver Spring, PA, for sharing their organ building expertise and for their services in providing replacements and repairs of damaged parts.

Terry Nace (again) for configuring and installing the Artisan Micro-MIDI Control System and combination action for Opus 501 and for making two custom pull-out drawers for the console.

Larry Pruett, Bill Duck, and the crew at Columbia Organ Leathers, Columbia, PA, for their advice about various leathering projects and what types of leather to use for them, and for making quality leather available to us.

Rick, Deb, and Ken at the Backyard Woodshop, 121 West Second Street,Hummelstown, PA 17036 (717-566-9469) who stripped the old paint and restored the original mahogany finish on the console.

Ken Crome* at the Crome Organ Company (out of business), who expertly made our new stop rails and fall board.

Dennis and Margaret Unks for their friendship and for providing needed parts and very helpful suggestions pertaining to the restoration of Opus 501 that were gained through many years of experience working on WurliTzer Theatre Organs.

Don Phipps for his help in modifying our harp action.  Please visit Don's website showing the ongoing installation of his "Phipps Experience" 4/35 WurliTzer Theatre Pipe Organ in the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA, which will be featured during the 2011 ATOS National Convention.

Bob Sieben*, a Buffalo area theatre organ historian, who provided historical information about Opus 501, including the possible fate of the original Brass Saxophone from the organ.  We were informed that Bob unfortunately passed away in February 2012. 

Keener Electric Motors, for their excellent help and advice in replacing our original DC blower motor with a new 3-phase AC motor, line reactor, and variable frequency drive.

Joe Clipp and his associates at Trivo Company, Inc., in Hagerstown, MD, who expertly and beautifully restored and revoiced our Brass Trumpet and Brass Saxophone.

Clark Wilson and Carlton Smith who performed the all-important tonal finishing of the organ and allowed it to sound as good as it does.

Dr. William L. Coale, author of a series of books about the famous theatre organist George Wright ("The Genius of George Wright"), who provided us with a number of files pertaining to historic articles about the Lafayette Theatre and Opus 501.  A picture in one of those files shows Arthur J. Martel, who also played Opus 501 at the Lafayette Theatre.  Both pictures show the same light with an unusual circular object attached to the light stand, verifying that the C. Sharpe-Minor picture was taken at Opus 501.  Both pictures can be seen at the bottom of this webpage.

And last but certainly not least, our thanks to all of the organ builders and organ technicians, both past and present, who created and serviced theatre pipe organs and to all of the artists, also past and present, who recorded the thousands of hours of theatre pipe organ music that continue to provide inspiration and entertainment to us while we work on Opus 501.

* Deceased - Rest In Peace our Dear Friends