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Rectory, St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic
Church
Analysis
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Notes The finish is not the original one; I reworked it when I bought it 20 years ago. It had been left in a public area -- a community building at a campground in Kansas. The finish had yellowed to a really sick color, and some kids had used some crayons on it. I didn't feel I had a choice. But I retained the original color scheme - white with black trim and highlights. Actually the organ had quite a history. After it left the rectory it was placed in a small town Catholic church, until the 50's or 60's when a guy in Omaha bought it as a hobby project. He tried to combine it with electronic organ sounds and double wired everything somehow. I'm told it never really worked, and of course the tuning would have been a nightmare since the electronic components in those days didn't have adjustable tuning. Then it was picked up by the guys I bought it from -- twin brothers in Sabetha, Kansa, who owned and operated the campground. They were organ enthusiasts, and removed all the Omaha double wiring and got it playing. But they found another organ that occupied their attention and decided to sell the Minuette. They listed it in "The Diapason," which is where I spotted the ad. It was not identified specifically as a Minuette -- the ad just said "3 rank pipe organ in a grand piano case." I had never heard of such a thing but I researched it and got intrigued. They also sent a photo before I went down to look at it. It was not hooked up or playing when I bought it, but they assured me that it was in basically good shape. We took it apart carefully and put it in a U-Haul for the trip to Minnesota. There's been some rewiring, and I have a new blower to get the 5" pressure it needs.
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