Pulling out the stops

Tag : Electric Pipes

William and Katherine Butterworth were quite the couple.

From 1907 to 1928, William served as president of Deere & Co.,the company founded by Katherine’s grandfather, John Deere , and Katherine busied herself with community organizations such asthe Red Cross and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Together they lived large and entertained regally in a fine Molinemansion built in 1892 as a wedding present from Katherine’sfather.

While the home was grand to begin with, the Butterworths added toit several times, beginning in 1909 with an addition that includeda sunken music room with a 30-rank pipe organ. Organs werefashionable in upscale Victorian homes, but the Butterworths’was far bigger than most, occupying a 16-foot cube in the corner.

As time passed, though, the organ deteriorated.

By last year, some parts didn’t sound quite right and othersdidn’t work at all. So the trust that operates the home nowknown as Butterworth Center hired the nationally known Levsen OrganCo. of Buffalo, Iowa, to do a complete restoration, a $200,000project.

Levsen’s work is now finished, and you can see and hear theorgan for yourself today when the home will be open for its annualfree open house, called Blossoms at Butterworth. The nearbyDeere-Wiman House also will be open. Attractions at the noon to 5p.m. event include home tours, garden walks, music, games,refreshments and an antique auto show.

For the organ concerts, though, be careful of your ears. The organcan be heard a block away. In fact, there is evidence that theinstrument turned out to be louder than Mrs. Butterworth expected.

Butterworth Center program director Gretchen Small said she hasheard there were several layers of tapestries draped over theorgan’s pipes. The thought is that they were placed there inan attempt to quiet the sound, she said.

“That still didn’t soften it enough, though,” sheadded. “When the organ plays, you can’t sit and chat.It’s not background music.”

The restoration

Restoring an organ is no simple task because an organ is no simplething. In fact, the pipe organ has been described, along with theclock, as the most complex of all mechanical instruments developedbefore the Industrial Revolution, according to the National PublicRadio Web site, npr.org .

The Levsen company is up to the task, though, having built andrebuilt organs throughout the Midwest and beyond during its 54-yearhistory.

The Butterworth restoration took about nine months of steady work,company founder Rod Levsen Sr., 72, explained while working on-sitein Moline one day in mid-May.

What does it mean to restore an organ? Basically, it’s this:The instrument is taken apart piece by piece, and each piece iscleaned, repaired and/or replaced with custom fabrication. Then allof the pieces — everything from the pipes and wood boxes thathold the pipes in place to the wiring — are put back togetheragain.

Workers need a mastery of metalworking, woodworking, electricityand musicianship, Levsen explained.

Asked how they keep everything straight once the organ is takenapart, he said simply, “That’s our craft.”

In addition to straightforward repair, Levsen employees alsoupdated the Butterworth organ with the installation of fiber-opticcable and a digital operating system as well as the creation of newelectric-action wind chests where air is regulated to the pipes.

Company history

Levsen has been fascinated by pipe organs since he was a young man,working as a custodian at Davenport’s First PresbyterianChurch. “The pipe organ had mystique,” he said.

That interest, coupled with a mechanical aptitude picked up fromhis dad, propelled Levsen into a self-employed piano and organrepair and tuning career, working across much of eastern Iowa. Healso sold and installed organs for a time.

Although the organ industry peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, mainlinechurches still are interested in pipe organs, so Levsen anticipateshis company and its 10 employees will be busy long into the future.

Where: Butterworth is at 1105 8th St. and Deere-Wiman is at 81711th Ave., both in Moline. (Generally, the intersection of 8thStreet and 11th Avenue)

How much: Free

Featuring: Concerts featuring the recently restored Butterworthorgan, tours of the historic Deere family homes, self-guided walksthrough the homes’ extensive gardens, old-fashioned music,games of the 1800s, jugglers, an antique auto show, refreshmentsand food vendors

Schedule of organ concerts: 12:30-2:30 p.m., Steve Steeley.Steeley is minister of music at First Lutheran Church in Moline aswell as organist at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Rock Island, and atTemple Emanuel, Davenport. 2:30-4:30 p.m., Dave Gaulrapp. Gaulrappis director of music and organist at First United PresbyterianChurch, Clinton, Iowa, and the organist at Zion Lutheran Church,Clinton.