SHSU To Celebrate Pipe Organ's New Life

Sam Houston State University will showcase a newly restored piece of its history when it dedicates a 113-year-old M.P. Moeller opus 139 pipe organ Friday, Aug. 3 at 4:30 p.m. in the Peabody Library.

The public is invited to the organ dedication in the Peabody Library on Aug. 3.

Gary and Cheryl Loper, owners of Loper Pipe Organ Service Company of Corsicana, restored the organ, which had been in pieces in the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, with funds generated by the SHSU Alumni Association.

Susan Smith Lenamon, an alumna of the university and member of the SHSU alumni board, contributed $10,000 in memory of her mother, Frankie Walker Smith, to begin the restoration work.

The organ was purchased and installed in the auditorium of Old Main in 1894 and was played by faculty members several times a week at then-compulsory chapel services, according to a written history of the organ compiled by Beth Miles of Huntsville.

In the early 1920s, the organ was removed from Old Main in order to give the drama department additional room on the stage of the auditorium and placed at St. Stephens Episcopal Church.  

When the church's congregation moved to a new building, the organ was returned to the university and stored in the Carriage House on the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.  

That's where it stayed, deteriorating from neglect, until the 1950s when Grace Longino, director of the Museum, sought help to restore the organ.   A committee was appointed to begin fund raising efforts.   However, they fell a little short of their goal and had to come up with a creative way to reach their target.  

The final funds were obtained through a football game sponsored by two fraternities, the Esquires and the Dons.   The game, dubbed the "Organ Bowl," was held at Pritchett Field. One of the young players in that game was George Miles, who has been a leader in the most recent restoration effort.

The newly restored organ found a home in the family wing of the Museum where it stayed until it was dismantled and stored in a downstairs area of the Museum until 2003.  

At that time, Patrick Nolan, museum director, and Mac Woodward, curator of collections, approached the SHSU Alumni Association about raising funds for the restoration of the organ and locating a suitable home for the instrument.

"I remembered the organ from when I was a Sam Houston student," said Miles, who was chairman of the alumni board's development committee at the time and later served as chairman of the board of directors of the Alumni Association.

"Because Sam Houston State University is so rich in tradition, and the organ is a part of the university's history, the board of the Alumni Association felt it was a worthwhile project to take on," Miles said.

"We felt that the instrument could be a wonderful connection to the university's past and that it deserved to be in a place on campus where it could be enjoyed by everyone now and in the future," he added.

"We were thrilled when President (Jim) Gaertner suggested that the organ have a home in the beautiful and historic Peabody Library Building," he said.   "We think everyone who sees and hears the organ will be delighted."

Gary and Cheryl Loper spent time in Huntsville as well as at their business in Corsicana on the restoration project, which included cleaning, repairing and replacing some of the organ's parts, transporting the disassembled pieces to Peabody Library, and putting the organ back together.

"It was an unusual project in that the organ is over 100 years old," said Gary Loper.   "When working with an instrument this old, especially one that has suffered water damage and has been in pieces for awhile, it sometimes takes a leap of faith to take on a job like this," he said.

"The restoration turned out better than we initially thought it would," he said.   "Although it still needs some work and some of the parts we repaired should eventually be replaced, the organ is functioning at almost 100 percent.   It sounds remarkably good in Peabody.   Visually, it is an excellent match, and the location really could not be any better."

The Alumni Association will continue to raise funds for the complete restoration of the organ to its original configuration.  

The public is invited to attend the dedication, which will include musical selections played by Charlotte Tull.   For more information, contact the SHSU Office of Alumni Relations at 936-294-1841.

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SHSU Media Contact: Julia May
July 26, 2007
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