Morrill Hall Chapel

This thumbnail historical sketch begins in 1891 with the completion of the construction of Morrill Hall and the recorded sale for $300 of "the old organ" which had been used in Old Main. Funds had been set aside for several years for the acquisition of a new organ, and in 1895 one was finally purchased from Henry Pilcher's Sons of Louisville, Kentucky. An alcove had been especially built into the north wall of the second-floor chapel auditorium to accommodate a pipe organ. The Pilcher organ was a two-manual tubular-pneumatic action instrument of perhaps 17 ranks (approximately 1,000 pipes). An undated early photo in University Archives clearly shows the organ case with painted and stencilled display pipes, barely visible swell box, attached keydesk, and about 21 drawknobs. Interestingly, what is not shown in the photo is the customarily exposed handle for operating the bellows. Since organs of this period were hand-pumped, in all likelihood a student was stationed behind the casework to pump the bellows, thereby furnishing a steady supply of wind to the reservoir and wind chests. The 'bellows boy' would have been alerted by the organist when more wind pressure was needed by engaging a special stop marked "Blower's Signal."

Pilcher was a respectable organbuilding firm, and the $2,300 paid by Iowa Agricultural College was a good investment, even though the school used the organ for only 20 years. The dedicatory recital was given on May 16, 1895 by Mr. Herbert Oldham of Le Mars, Iowa. Educated at the London College of Music, Oldham directed a music conservatory in Le Mars and was widely known as a brilliant performer on the pipe organ. Unfortunately, no evidence survives in either Westmar College or Le Mars Public Library archives concerning Mr. Oldham or his conservatory. However, we do know the recital program for that evening's 'Grand Organ Opening Concert':

Part I

Part II

From the above program, it can be seen that the performer included few works specifically written for the organ, and that most were transcriptions, reflecting contemporary performance practice. A newspaper account of the recital noted that Mr. Oldham was assisted by the Misses Chambers and Westermann, presumably as vocalist and pianist.

In 1906 the purchase of an electric motor is recorded, thus ending the need for student 'volunteers' at the bellows. It was considered chore enough to attend mandatory chapel services, and being selected as bellows boy must have been the ultimate grief. Dr. O.H. Cessna, head of the Department of History and Religious Education conducted daily week-day services. Doodles and graffitti in surviving hymnals of the era reveal that wandering minds ill at ease in the hard wooden auditorium seats were not always intent on Dr. Cessna's morning remarks. Besides being used for chapel services, the organ provided music for commencements, special concerts, and music lessons. One can only wonder how patrons studying in the Library on the floor below could concentrate when the organ was being played.

With the end of the First World War, mandatory chapel services ceased and the organ fell into disrepair. About this time the organ was sold to the First Baptist Church of Ames for the sum of $400. It was subsequently installed in their church located at the corner of 5th and Kellogg and used until the last service held there on May 1, 1949. Building plans called for a new organ, which the church could ill afford, so William Harrison Barnes, well-known organ architect and organist at First Baptist Church of Evanston, Illinois, was called in as consultant before the organ was removed and the old church demolished. Students of organbuilding have also encountered Dr. Barnes as author of "The Contemporary American Organ." This landmark reference work was first published in 1930, and has gone through no less than nine editions over a span of forty years. Following his advice to save only the pipework and discard the windchests and console, church members removed all organ pipes and put them into storage in the basement of the parsonage awaiting the day when they could be re-installed at the new edifice at 200 Lynn Avenue.

Eventually, Dr. Barnes located a 1925 Austin organ that had been installed in the Philadelphia residence of architect Frank R. Watson. This Austin opus 1318 was subsequently joined with the 1895 Pilcher organ and installed in the church's new building under the guidance of James D. Trees of Chicago. On May 1, 1950, unused ranks of pipes from both organs of the resulting hybrid were sold to Frank Wichlac, an organman also from Chicago who specialized in re-installing old theatre organs in churches. To this day six ranks of the original Morrill Hall chapel organ are still speaking boldly at First Baptist. A quick tour of their organ chamber soon reveals on the south windchest a row of late 19th century painted and gilded display pipes as definitive proof of the fate of the 1895 Pilcher instrument. Closer examination shows the Pilcher ranks to comprise: Stopped Flute 16'; Open Diapason 8' (Great); Open Diapason 8' (Swell); Violina 8'; Octave 4' (Great); and Harmonic Flute 4'.

written by Dennis Wendell