Restored to Glory Reconditioned pipe organ brings 'Joy to the World'
MARS — The problem of the ciphers was finally solved Christmas Eve at Mars United Presbyterian Church.
The church picked its 5 p.m. Christmas Eve service to debut its newly restored pipe organ, the culmination of six months of construction and reconditioning and four years of fundraising.
The first hymn played on the restored instrument was “Joy to the World,” according to Jamie Daugherty of Leetsdale, the church's music director, organist and choir director.
“I came to the church in 2002 and noticed that the organ was in pretty bad shape,” said Daugherty.
Daugherty said the organ is comprised of parts to two separate pipe organs rebuilt together. It was installed in 1940 in the former Christ Presbyterian Church in downtown Mars.
When that church merged with the former Trinity Presbyterian Church on Crowe Avenue to form Mars United Presbyterian Church, Daugherty said the organ fell into disuse until it was decided to move it to its present location.
However, she said the fact that the organ's pipes had been exposed to temperature extremes when they were installed in the attic of Christ Presbyterian and the 60- to 72-degree swings of temperature at Mars United, as well as the fact the pipes were crammed into too small a space in its new location, put the organ in a state of disrepair.
“Things just began to deteriorate because of the high heat factor,” Daugherty said.
Daugherty said, “The church was not kept at a constant temperature to keep the pipes from going out of tune.”
Perhaps the biggest sign of the deterioration, said Daugherty, was the organ's tendency to emit ciphers, notes being sounded randomly by the organ.
“Pipes are set in a chest, which is the box that conveys air from the blower to the pipes,” said Daugherty. “We had a lot of air leaking from the chests. The pipes would speak on their own without having a key depressed on the console.”
“So, I'm kind of the one who went to the session to start the restoration. Nothing gets done in a Presbyterian church without session approval,” Daugherty said.Barbara Roos of Mars, a 30-year member of Mars United, was on the restoration committee.Roos said, “We started researching whether the church should get a new pipe organ, an electronic pipe organ, a combination or a restoration.”Committee members toured other churches to examine their instruments.Roos and Daugherty said that, with session approval, the church decided to undertake a restoration project in 2010.“The organ had too much of a history with the church not to do it justice,” said Roos.Deciding on restoration was easy; funding the work was not.Daugherty said it took four years of fundraising to come up with the $160,000 needed to recondition and revoice the organ's 908 pipes, as well as build new pipe chambers, rebuild the chests and air system, install a new air blower and recondition the draw knobs, pedals and 908 leather pouches that are part of the organ's relay system.Daugherty said, “The money was raised by fundraising: chicken pie sales, hoagie sales, candy sales, gift card sales. We had an antiques and collectible road show.“We had pie sales, yard sales, junk-in-the-trunk sales, Christmas cookie sales. If you wanted a certain hymn played on certain Sundays, throw in $10 and I will play it,” she said.“I made CDs for two years and sold CDs,” she said.
Actually, Roos said, the church still needs $6,000 to fully fund the restoration. Roos said she doesn't doubt some donor or donors will help the committee reach its goal.The actual restoration effort began in June 2014. The organ pipes were removed by Bill Siedle of Siedle Organ Co. and taken for reconditioning to his North Hills workshop.Siedle subcontracted to have two pipe chambers built on each side of the Mars United sanctuary, Daugherty said, to give the organ pipes room to breathe and for future maintenance workers to move about more freely.Daugherty said some of the pipes were bent or damaged from being installed in too small a space.Adding to the organ's woes, the church's heating system went out last winter, said Daugherty. The church would be in the 60s during the week and when the heat was switched on for Sunday services, it would go up to 72.Daugherty said the optimum temperature for the organ's pipes is between 68 and 70 degrees. The renovation included zonal heating to keep the parts of the church housing the organ at this constant temperature.Daugherty said, “He (Siedle) was here on Christmas Eve Day to make sure everything was working right. He was constantly tuning and tweaking.”Roos said of the construction work in the sanctuary, “I don't know if there was a lot of disruption. We weren't moving pews, and the work was done in the summer when the choir wasn't present.”For music at worship services during the construction and organ restoration, the church made do with “an electric piano and I don't think anybody had any problem with that,” Roos said.
“I won't say it was a hardship. I would say it was different,” said Mars United's pastor, the Rev. Nathan Esser. “I am very proud of the congregation. Reconditioning a pipe organ is a daunting task for any church, especially for one of our size.”Mars United has nearly 300 members, Esser said.Daugherty said, “Well, everything is tight now. The organ doesn't leak air. You don't have ciphers playing when you don't want them to play.”“It sounds great,” Esser said. “One of the things that is different is the way the bump-outs are angled, so the sound comes out to the congregation instead of bouncing back and forth.”Daugherty said the church is getting ready for the pipe organ dedication Jan. 24. There will be a dinner marking the church's 120th anniversary followed by a service of dedication for the pipe organ.“The dedication comes at the end of our anniversary year celebration,” said Esser. “It's a fitting way to join the two together.”“Now we can disband and be happy with our success. Our last job will be helping with the dedication,” said Roos.
