Posts

Showing posts from 2013

And is it True? A Message for Christmas 2013

“And is it true?” And is it true? And is it true,           This most tremendous tale of all, Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,           a Baby in an ox’s stall? The maker of the stars and sea Become a child on earth for me? And is it true? As we make our way into our churches or gather round our festive tables this Christmastime, do we believe that the Truth of the image illumined in stained glass is also the Truth that illumines our hearts?   In his poem Christmas, John Betjeman (1906-1984), the late poet laureate of England, utters these words “and is it true?”, as a cry that straddles faith and doubt as he observes the festivities unfolding.   Oh, to be sure, as we look around us during this advent season, the markings of Christmas are all there.   He writes, “The bells of waiting Advent ring,/ The Tortoise stove is lit again…”   and “The bunting in the red Town Hall/ Says ‘Merry Christmas to you all.’”   The signs are there, but is it true? Is it tru

New Publication! "Richard Hooker: His Life, Work, & Legacy -- Essays in Honour of W. David Neelands on his Seventieth Birthday"

Image
Richard Hooker: His Life, Work, & Legacy - Essays in Honour of W. David Neelands on his Seventieth Birthday Daniel F. Graves & Scott Kindred-Barnes, editors with contributions from the Richard Hooker Society Toronto: St. Osmund Press, 2013 Hardcover, 242 pp. ISBN 978-0-9921114-0-3 $29.95 CDN I am very pleased to announce that Richard Hooker: His Life, Work, & Legacy -- Essays in Honour of W. David Neelands on his Seventieth Birthday was launched on Friday, Nov. 15th, 2013 at a special celebratory evening, at Trinity College, in Canon Neelands' honour during the annual meeting of the Richard Hooker Society.  This festschrift, edited by the Rev. Daniel F. Graves & the Rev. Dr. Scott Kindred-Barnes, features articles by the following Richard Hooker scholars: Matthew Cadwell, Lee Gibbs, Rudy Almasy, Daniel Eppley, Egil Grislis, Daniel Graves, Torrance Kirby, Gary Jenkins, John Stafford, Scott Kindred-Barnes, and Paul Stanwood. The volume features a lovely por

Restoring a Reed Organ, Part 13: Recovering the Bellows and Exhausters

Image
 After we stripped the cloth off the reservoir and exhausters, we sanded them down so that they were nice and clean with no glue or material residue remaining   The bellows had been recovered in 1905 and the restorer had left a penciled note on the inside of the reservoir.  The exhausters, however, were original. They were "harmonium style", that is, with large ribs with leather hinges and leather gussets. The conventional wisdom as that novices like us should not attempt to recreate these on the first go-around.  We decided we would just recover the exhausters using bellows cloth (more on that, below).   We cleaned off the old ribs and sanded them down so that we could use them again in the exhausters. We then set them aside while we moved to work on the main reservoir. We rehinged the bellows board to the movable reservoir board (for some reason I didn't take any photos of that) and then while waiting for the hinge to dry w

Restoring a Reed Organ, Part 12: Cleaning the Keys

Image
A while back, I had the opportunity to work on cleaning the keyboard.  There are a few front ivories that are missing and the keys are very dirty and yellow.  You can also see some of the red felt stains on the treble end of the keyboard that was caused by water being spilled on the keyboard at sometime in its past.  I removed the mount upon which the stop levers are located and this allows for the removal of each key for cleaning.    On the underside of the stop mount, the number 307 was written in pencil.  Is this the part number for this stop action?  I found 303 written in several other places on the organ. I know that M and H used "300" numbers as style numbers for some of their organs.  There is still no overt sign of a serial number or style number. A few more pencil markings were found on the keys: "#49" The letter "H" I gently sanded the sides of the keys to remove any finger gunk.  I then used warm water and a small am

Restoring a Reed Organ Part 11: the Octave Coupler

Image
The Octave Coupler: The octave coupler is an interesting mechanical device that allows you to play two notes, an octave apart, while playing only the lower of the two keys.  The device is engaged when the "octave coupler" stop knob is pulled, engaging a linkage that is attached to a rod underneath the coupler system which slightly elevates the coupler bed so that an angle rod (the coupler rod) can activate the corresponding key an octave higher.   It is a great place for collecting dust and bits of debris, including this missing stop face!  Clearly, too much dirt and debris will affect the way the coupler mechanism works.  After retrieving that Melodia stop face and vacuuming the coupler, we dismantled the entire mechanism to get an idea how it works and what needed to be done to return it to its original functionality. The mechanism has a couple of strips of wood to hold it in place, as well as felt in several places that keep the couplers from hitting each othe

A Dominion Reed Organ Diversion

Image
 St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Ullswater/Bent River Ontario About fifteen minutes east of Rosseau, Ontario, on Dee Bank Road, just off of Hwy 141, sits a little Anglican Church that has long been a favourite of mine, St. Thomas'  Anglican Church Ullswater/Bent River.  It is part of the parish of St. Stephen, which includes St. Thomas' Church, Orrville (my parents' home church), Church of the Redeemer, Rosseau, St. Thomas' Church, Ullswater/Bent River, and Christ Church, Windermere.  I first encountered St. Thomas' Ullswater/Bent River during my time as a Divinity student.  I spent two wonderful summers with the rector, my good friend, the Rev. C. Peter Simmons, and each Sunday we did the circuit of three of the four churches.  During that time I had the opportunity to preach at this wonderful church and since ordination have presided at the altar on numerous occasions. This church is a delightful, small country church with a Sunday summer attendance of