An "organ transplant" of a different kind....

In early summer of 2006, word was given that the new church was nearing completion and that work could commence. Following a farewell concert by organist Tom Hoehn on April 30th, the organ was removed from service and the process of dismantling it and preparing it for the move began. A team comprised of Rene and Ramona Folse, John Couvillon and John DeMajo, assisted by members of St. Joseph Church congregation, the Boy Scout troop from the area, and the American Theatre Organ Society, began the task of moving the 80 year-old instrument into the new facility. The Photos below track that work.

SAINT JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH,
Ponchatoula, LA.

As the new St. Joseph Church building nears completion, members of the "Organ Transplant Team" swing into action to complete the move of Wicks theatre organ Opus 838 to its third permanent home in 80 years. Organ chambers are visible on immediate right and left of the rose window at center. The original five-rank Wicks theatre organ from the old church will be housed in the chamber on the left. Chamber on right of altar will house four ranks of additional salvaged pipework from a second Wicks organ that was partially destroyed in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

In anticipation of the upcoming move, church members, members of the ATOS SMGC Chapter, and friends from Ponchatoula and the surrounding area gather to hear the final concert in the old church. On the afternoon of April 30, 2006, and in front of an audience of over 200 attendees, Father Justin Kauchak introduced nationally acclaimed Tampa, Florida organist Tom Hoehn who played the final recital on the former Ideal Theatre organ.

Following the well attended performance, Tom poses for one last shot at the console before the move begins. (You can hear Tom's opening number by clicking on the photo above)

Dismantling of the organ begins. This is the second move for this instrument. It was moved from The Ideal Theatre to the original church in the mid-1930's where it remained until now. In photos above, church organist Ramona Folse and ATOS president John DeMajo remove sections of the organ's huge mechanical relay.

A large array of parts and pieces filled the chamber and choir loft of the old church as the moving crew assembled to transport the organ across the parking lot to the new building..

Exposed harps, similar to those originally installed on the instrument, were located in Indiana and brought to St. Jospeh Church in 2002. Here the harps are removed from the old church for repairs and transport to the new building.

Moving day arrives. With the assistance of a team of volunteers from the church congregation, Knights of Columbus, and the Boy Scouts of America Ponchatoula troop, members of the ATOS oversee removal of the organ from the old choir loft and transport it to the new church building across the street.

As the console is placed in the new building, 1925 vintage flammable wiring is replaced and new thermoplastic umbilical cables are attached to connect the keys and control switches to the pipes and mechanisms located high overhead in the organ's two pipe rooms or chambers. One of the ATOS chapter member-volunteers, who is the retired owner of a large electrical engineering firm, has been overseeing the electrical areas of the installation.

After rewiring of controls, console awaits its new rolling platform

New wiring installed in the console

On August 20, 2006, the swell shades were hoisted into position and the chamber installation began.

By nature, theatre organs require huge amounts of wind under pressure to produce their lush orchestral sounds. Prior to the move, St. Joseph's 80 year-old original Wicks blower had begun to show signs of failure. Having lost a pipe organ in the Hurricane Katrina, ATOS preseident John DeMajo donated the destroyed organ's brand-new Spencer blower to this project. Although the blower sat under water for weeks in DeMajo's flooded house in New Orleans, church member and volunteer Rene Folse, who is a machinist and millright, was able to rebuild the unit which enabled it to be used on the new St. Joseph organ installation. This saved the church the $5,000 cost that would have been incurred by the purchase of a new blower. Here, members complete construction of a noise silencing box to house the five-horsepower wind machine which can create a hurricane of its own. Device above the blower box is the main air regulator which was also refurbished by ATOS members last Spring.

The custom built 5 horsepower blower, commissioned by John DeMajo in 2001, is an exact replica of Spencer's 1920's "Orgoblo" series that was used on thousands of theatre organs built in the silent movie era.

Piping wind to the organ: Main air trunk is assembled and connected to regulator

Electrical controls for new blower, and organ's main rectifier are mounted on wall of blower room.

Photo above shows soldered metal main air line which was fabricated by the transplant crew.

The organ begins to take shape as the Accompaniment Division pipe chest is reassembled inside one of the new chambers.

Here, following replacement of flammable 1920's cotton wiring with modern wire, final adjustments are made to pipe chest before pipes are installed.

Early September, pipework begins to appear in main chamber

By the third week in September, pipework installation in the main chamber was completed and relay installation is only days away.

Opus 838 was originally supplied with beautiful harps. When the organ was moved to St. Joseph Church in the 1930's the harps were lost. In 2002, similar style Wicks harps were located in Indiana, and the church purchased the set and installed them. As the move to the new church occurs, the harps are reconditioned to provide many years of additional service.

Photos below show work involved in hoisting the harps into specially constructed niches in the new church.

Completed main chest wind line is made of conventional soldered metal pipe

Meanwhile back in the chambers, String and Tibia offsets are moved into place and wired.

ATOS president John DeMajo originally discovered this theatre organ because of the chrome Ford Model "T" dashboard lights installed on the console to provide light to the organist during silent movies. Here, Ed Koch completes rewiring of the console lighting.

Expanse of the church, prior to furniture installation, as seen from the organist's perspective

September 20, 2006, the new Peterson relay arrives. Below, crew members begin the task of mounting the relay and connecting the thousands of tiny wires that will be needed to communicate signals from the organ's console to the pipes and controls high above the altar in the two pipe chambers..

Some final touch-up for the console wiring as the relay is installed.

Sunday, September 24, rolling console platform is constructed on-site. The console will be set in place this week.

Console shown loaded onto platform as it will remain in finished church.

By the first week in October, furniture has begun to arrive

The organ crew kicks into "high gear" to complete the right chamber. Here is the competed winding system for the right chamber main chest. ATOS member John Couvillon had just completed chest rewiring to remove old flammable cotton wiring.

Saturday, October 14: With the dedication a little over a week away, left chamber testing and adjustment begins. Here crew member Rene Folse adjusts a few cyphers under the main chest.

As the dedication approaches, Ed Koch completes work in right chamber by replacing  fungus covered leather valve disks on the chest which was retireved from the flooded New Orleans church. Over 400 valves had to be stripped and new leather disks glued in place onto the action magnets.

Consistent with being a theatre organ, missing traps were replaced during this renovation. This cymbal unit, designed by John DeMajo, stands as an indication of what 80 years of scientific advances have done to theatre organ toy counters.

As the project nears completion, the right chamber is filled with pipework recovered from the heavily damaged organ of the Unitarian church in New Orleans. When the new church was dedicated by Bishop Robert Muench of Baton Rouge on October 25, 2006, these pipes were officially converted to Catholocism as they joined with the pipes of eighty-year-old Wicks Opus 838 to produce beautiful music, in a splendid setting,  for future generations.

Above: As the project nears completion ATOS President John DeMajo puts the instrument to the test. Below: Church organist and project volunteer Ramona Folse evaluates the organ as the church prepares to accept the successful project.

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The American Theatre Organ Society and St. Joseph Catholic Church wish to thank the many volunteers who worked to make this project possible. The following are saluted for exceptional service for the many long nights and weekends they gave up to make the finished organ a big success: Rene and Ramona Folse  John DeMajo  John Couvillon Dr. Barry Henry Mike Fitzgerald Mr. and Mrs. Edward Koch Steven Hnatyshyn Also, special thanks to Dr. James Hammann for material and services provided. And most of all, thanks to Father Justin Kauchak, pastor, and the people of St.Joseph's Parish who gave their support and encouragement for this project to go forward.