August 12, 1988
The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
15
Pipe o
Former organist takes interest in parisi
By MARY T. ELLERT
Message Staff Writer
The pipe organ at St. John the
Baptist Church, Vincennes,
holds many memories for
Katherine Summers. At the age
o 16, she was one of the first
parishioners to play the instru-
ment when it was dedicated in
1924.
Now, 64 years later, Mrs.
Summers and members of her
family are involved with the
restoration of what was once
the largest organ in the
Vincennes area.
At the beginning of the year,
5{ . John parish accepted a
$40,000 donation to the organ
project from Katherine and Ber-
nard Summers and their son
and daughter-in-law, Joe and
Vera Summers. In turn,
parishioners have pledged
$45,000 in matching funds.
The history of the original
pipe organ is not clear. Father
Donald Ackerman, pastor,
speculates the organ was pur-
chased in the early 1920s; he
thinks it came from an old
movie theatre.
Mrs. Summers remembers
playing it for the first time dur-
ing a funeral Mass July 6, 1924.
On Sundays, she played the
pipe organ during the
children's Mass at 8:30 a.m.,
High Mass at 10 a.m. and at
Vespers at 3 p.m. Mrs. Sum-
mers also played during the Re-
quiem Mass, "four or five
mornings a week."
She was paid $1 for each Re-
quiem. Her yearly salarly was
$300, which was "not bad for
1924," she laughed.
On her wedding day in 1926,
she remembers waiting for the
organist to begin playing. He
couldn't figure out how to turn
the pipe organ on, so she
started up the stairs to the choir
loft to show him. Before she got
there, the music began, and she
and Bernard were able to pro-
ceed with the marriage
ceremony.
The pipe organ was replaced
with an electronic organ in the
early 70s. After 16 years of use,
it was in need of expensive
repairs. In August of 1987, the
parish council decided to
restore the original pipe organ
instead of investing in another
electronic organ,
Mrs. Summers is looking for-
restoration project
ward to hearing the pipe organ
resound once more in St. John
Church. The music "has more
body" when it is played on a
pipe organ instead of an elec-
tronic instrument, she said.
"There's just no com-
parison," she said, matter-of-
factly.
The pipes and blower are just
about the only things left from
the original pipe organ. In addi-
tion to purchasing a new
keyboard, solid state circuitry
will replace the leather bands
which were used in the past,
according to Father Ackerman.
More ranks will also be added,
he said.
Also included in the project
is a plan to establish an organ
maintenance fund to prevent
deterioration over the years.
Wolford and Woods Pipe
Organs, Inc., of Evansville has
been contracted to work on the
organ project. The parish has
also signed a contract with
Mark X. Haffield of Evansville,
who will serve as an "organ
engineer" through the duration
of the project.
For the past few weeks, many
volunteers have been working
to prepare the choir loft for the
organ reconstruction. Duct
work, woodwork, doors, frames
and other items were removed
so that the electronic organ
could be moved to the
sanctuary.
The large blower from the
original pipe organ was rt
moved in two parts and taken t
the Hamilton Glass Compan3
See ORGAN page 1
Plans are underway for the restoration of the pipe organ at St. John the Baptist Church, Vincennes.
Above, providing matching funds for the project are, from left, Joe Summers and his parents, Ber-
nard and Katherine Summers. Seated to the right are Fathers Donald Ackerman and John Breiden-
bach. At right, parishioner Jack Sievers and his son, Joe, stand in front of the pipe facade in the
choir loft. They have removed several items from the loft in preparation for the refurbishing of the
pipe organ.
--Message Photos by Mary T. Ellert
iiiiii
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