PUCE .•.SOUIIDPIPELIIIEVol. 14,No I - January 2003

Published monthly byPuget Sound Theatre Organ Society

6521 N.E. 191stSt.Kenmore,WA 98028-3453

Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society is a non-profitorganization furthering the appreciation,

restoration, and use of the historic Theatre PipeOrgans of the I920s, through education.

OFFICERSPresident-Clint Meadway,360-805-9794

Past Pres.-Barbara Graham, 206-525-7859Vice President-Bill Keller.360-456-8269

Secretary-Bob Zat,206-329-1826Treasurer-Norman Miller.206-784-7154

Board MembersCarl Dodrill, 206-236-0067

Jackie Cedarholm, 206-282-5680Andy Crow, 360-357-8939

Diane Whipple, 253-856-1 156

COMMITTEESPipeline Editors-Russ & JoAnn Evans

425-485-5465Pipeline Online Website-Tom Blackwell

206-784-9203Committee Liaison-Marilyn Schrum

Membership - Doug Owen, 253-566-6734Publicity & Promotion, Tacoma

Doug Owen, 253-566-6734Nat'l Magazine Reporter - [o Ann EvansHLie Liaison - Bob Zat. 206- 329-1826

PSTOS Organ MaintenanceBob Zat, BobWhite

Haller Lake Keys-Bob ZatFranklin High School Liaison

Jackie Cedarholm, 206-282-5680Sunshine Chairman

Diane Whipple, 253-735-3025Hospitality, H.L.C.C.

EllenSullivan,206-365-7554

Listing of non-PSTOS eventsin the Pipeline

PSTOS, upon request, will list non-conflict-ing non-PSTOS theatre organ events in the"Other Events" column of the two Pipelinesimmediately preceding the event, providingPipeline editors receive sufficient prior writ-ten notification. Venue, artist, type of event,date, and contact information will comprisethe included information.

Advertising in the PipelineClassified-type ads for member-owned elec-tronic, electric, or pipe organs, and/or pipeorgan parts, will be published at no charge.Please limit copy to include brief description,contact name and phone number. Prices willnot be listed. Ads may be edited for contentand length. Mail ad copy to address above.Other advertising is not accepted.

2 PUGET SOUND PIPELINE • MAY2003

Teddy Rooseveltsaid, "Far and awaythe best prize thatlife offers is thechance to workhard at work worthdoing." I believethat preserving thetheater organ forfuture generationsis work worth

doing. Besides, we can have a lot of fundoing it.

Tom Blackwell works hard keepingour website interes~g, informativeand up to date. If you haven't visited ina while, drop by www.pstos.org and

~

~'organiZed." -=-.rTedde Gibson has given PSTOS the 1ee manual console from his Marr &

Colton to rebuild and install atFranklin High School, pending theschool district's approval. Does any-body know where the 2nd Avenue"swimming palace" organ came from?One list we know of says "a theaterback east." Got something morespecific, let us know!

Speaking ofTedde Gibson, hestepped in at the last minute to substi-tute for Dennis James at the Paramounton March 31 and accompanied Wingsto a full house. Here is Tom Blackwell'simpression of the event:

"The silent movie tonight at theParamount was great, but not for thereasons I expected. I arrived at thetheatre around 3: 30PM today for thepre-show setup and was surprised tofind Tedde Gibson at the consolepracticing to Wings. (I learned laterthat this was his first-ever viewing ofthe film.) Dennis James had missed hisplane out of Florida and the theatrecontacted Tedde to see if he could play.HE DID AN ABSOLUTELY MAR-VELOUS JOB! His arrangements andmodulations were interesting and veryappropriate to the film. Everythingheld together and the audience was .,

~tremely appreciative, giving him ~

Continued Page 3, Column I .

Tony Fenelon andJonas Nordwall Duo Concertat the Wilcox Wurlitzer Homein Gig Harbor

What a special event this will be! It maywell be YEARS before you have anotheropportunity for such a musicalexperience. Get your tickets now!Saturday, May3, 2PM

A Two-For-One Special!Visit St. Columban Church in Yelm toenjoy Father Terence's fine theatre pipeorgan and havettmchr Then on to the BillKeller home near Olympia to hear andplay Bill's spectacular Custom AllenTheatre Organ.Saturday,June 21st

Summer Social & Program-Mystery Guest at the Wurli!

Jack & Mary Lou Becvar home in Kent. Aprogram on their 3-manual Wurlitzer.Sunday, July 20

Home party!Ray & Muriel Whelpley home. Bellevue.Another opportunity to hear and playabeautifully restored WurlitzerlSaturday, Aug. 9

AMICA Convention, Portland(Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors'Association) Let's charter a bus or even atrain earl Hear Jonas Nordwall a!_the _Oaks Park Rink and many other terrificprograms. Full information coming in theMay Pipeline.August 20-24

Big Autumn Event atHaller Lake Community Club

Sunday,October 5

l24.f3~TMZ withRagtime Pianist BOB MILNE &Organist JONAS NORDWALLat Gig Harbor

Sunday afternoon, November 9

Annual PSTOS Christmas PartySunday,December 7

PRESIDE •••••S Messaae.Cont.inued ...hear~ applause before intermission anda standing ovation at the end. GREAT 1

1..l9B, TEDDE!" --JIt is good to remember that theatre

organs were designed to replaceorchestras in accompanying silent films.Most theatre patrons did not go to thetheatre specifically to hear the organ.There would have been complaints ifthe piano were used instead, but peoplewould not have stopped going to seevaudeville and the movie. Your Boardhas been corresponding with folks inAustralia, Denver and New York as tohow to get more people to hear thetheatre organ. A common thread is"the organ AND ..." We will work topresent organ and movies, vocalists,instrumentalists, drummers, dancers,etc., so that we can attract and infectmore folks with our love of this mag-nificent musical instrument.

Small pipe organ for sale4-rank organ from Margarite Theatre inMontana. Intact as it was originally in-stalled. No alterations. Good organ for"first organ person." Room for fivemoreranks on relay/switch stack. No cutcables. Metal pipes boxed. Most offsetpipes mitered to 8 feet. Very reasonable.For information please contact RichardWarburton at 360-677-2254

Plan now to attend Bill Keller'sMore- Than-A -Home-Party plannedfor Saturday, June 21st!

The day will begin with a visit to St.Columban Church in Yelm, to see,hear, and,play Father Terrence's RobertMorton theatre pipe organ. And onceagain we'll enjoy the wonderful buffetlunch planned for us by the ladies of St.Columban, heralded by their famousdinner bell! And a real bargain it is forjust $7 per person.

After enjoying the Robert Morton,and the wonderful lunch, we'll drive onto the lovely home of Bill and CarolKeller in a semi-rural setting just a fewmiles away. Bill has an outstandingcustom Allen theatre organ installed ina room that beautifully accentuates itssound. An easy organ to play, it's onefor all to enjoy-practice up and haveyour music with you!

All the details, detailed drive instruc-tions and reservation information forthe lunch will be in the next Pipeline.Get it on your calendar now andreserve the day. It will be worth thedrive through the countryside.

Remember, Saturday, June 21st for~~More-Than-A-Home-Partyr'

Simon Gledhill Concert at Portland's Cleveland H.S., Friday, May 2, 7:30PMSponsored by Portland Chapter; ATOS.

HOKUMHALL HAPPENINGS, 7904 35 AVSW,West Seattle, 206-325-6500The Hokum Show, 8PMSaturdays, 3PMSundays.

Music, magic, silent films, vaudeville, and the Wurlitzer with Professor Hokum W Jeebs andfriends. Hokum Hall in West Seattle. 206-325-6500, on the web at www.hokumhall.org

Hokum Hall Silent Movies, Fridays 7 & 9PM, Saturdays 2PMKids. Koko and Kar Krashes, May 2, 3Oz before Judy!, May 9, 10A Buster Keaton feature, College (1927), May 16, 17Disney before Mickey, early animations from the Disney studio, May 23, 24

HISTORICEVERETTTHEATRE, May silent movie scheduleOrgan accompaniment by Dennis James. Info at 425-253-6766.

The Iron Horse, Mon., May 5, 7PM The building of a transcontinental railroad. 1924.A Dog's Life and The Pilgrim, Sun., May II, 2PM Charlie Chaplin as a tramp. /918.

SWELL SHADES?Well, they're not "swellwindow coverings!"

The word "swell" in organ termsmeans "an increase in volume orloudness. "

"Shades," also called "shutters,"permit the organist to regulate loud-ness or softness.

On an electronic organ, moving thevolume pedal makes the sound louderor softer in a way similar to changingthe volume control on a radio.

The pipes of a pipe organ, however,always "speak" with the same volume.There is not a way to adjust theamount of air blown into each pipe tomake it softer or louder.

To enable expression, or loud andsoft playing, pipes are installed in pipechambers (small rooms) which containthe sound. Large openings, resemblingwindows with no glass, face toward theaudience side of the room. Into theseopenings are installed large thickmoveable wood shutters (occasionallyglass) resembling oversized Venetianblind slats. Moving the expressionpedal causes these shutters to pivot,one by one, allowing more or lesssound to escape from the chamber.

Multiple expression pedals on largerinstruments indicate multiple pipecham bers, each with its own set ofshutters. This allows the organist to, forexample, open the shutters on thechamber containing the clarinet whenplaying the first passage of Rhapsody InBlue, while keeping shutters closed onthe chamber that contains the accom-paniment voices. This allows theclarinet to be featured as the dominantinstrument without being overpoweredby other voices.

The shutters in the Gig Harborhome can be seen all the way acrossboth chambers, and when fully opened,allow maximum volume to enter themusic room. Even when the shuttersare completely closed, a surprisingamount of sound manages to escape.

PUGET SOUND PIPELINE· MAY 2003 3