Sunday

Up at eight and off to church with Eric Everett who owns the house where Jason and I are staying. He teaches Sunday school so we needed to be there early. I mostly caught up on email after the eight o’clock service got out, while I was answering questions and accepting compliments from the many people who peeked in before church to check things out. I sat through the ten thirty service and was surprised at the low level of participation in congregational singing. I don’t think of myself as much of a singer, but I was by far the loudest in my area. I would have expected more participation in the live acoustic.

I conducted the first of three question and answer sessions after the service, probably fifty or sixty people stayed for it. Everyone wanted to know if we are on schedule, I said we were slightly ahead, but facetiously said not to tell the rest of the crew. They all laughed and that got things off to a good start. It really seems to me that folks want to know what they’ve spent their money on, and want the technical details explained even if they don’t understand it all. I think they respond to being let in on the fun of an arcane art. I also think it is part of taking care of our future to educate as many people as possible as to why we do what we do.

The other guys had gone off for a walk in the park north of the Tar River, which runs through town, and came to pick me up at one. We drove east along the north shore of Pamlico Sound to Washington, NC and then further to Bath, both of which have well preserved old centers. In Bath there is a ferry that one can take for free to the south side of the Sound at Aurora, unfortunately a very depressed mining town dominated by the huge piles of gypsum left over after phosphates are extracted. We drove back along highways lined with trailers whose yards were full of junk cars and were back in Greenville before the dining halls close at eight.

Monday

We spent some time this morning consolidating the gains we made last week and taking care of small problems we had bypassed in the push to get parts up off the floor on Friday and Saturday. We began assembling again after mugup and put up the huge side panels in short order. It was too difficult to move the lift around the side but it proved quite simple to lift them straight up with a block and tackle. About three we started to install front posts and with the lift they were going in at the rate of more than one an hour. Front pipe racks and other casework followed. There was some damage to the lower front post on the side panel, looks like it rubbed against something in the truck and took the finish right off, we’d left that part wrapped to protect it from the floor and didn’t find the problem until it was standing up straight. A quick call to Rob and some Mohawk product and now it looks fine if you squint enough.

I did another Q & A at seven this evening just after we quit work. A smaller group this time so we were able to walk through the lower level of the organ and they could ask questions from there. There were a few who asked questions to show how much they knew, but since I’ve done that myself more than once in the bad old days, I didn’t let it spoil the fun. I didn’t finish until almost eight-thirty, long after the dining hall had closed, but the guys were still in the rec center downstairs shooting pool and playing air hockey. I went to join them and discovered that our dining cards work in the little snack bar – fast food joint next to the dining hall, as well as in the espresso bar. Each card has enough money on it for dinner every night, but if you want to spend it another way, that is one’s own choice. I bought sushi and a drink and went to shoot some pool.

Tuesday

More posts this morning, and I finally had to make up my mind about the red accent stripes. The color we put on in the shop blended in with the tinted lacquer to such a degree here in this lighting that it was all but invisible. One trip to the Sherwin-Williams store and I put up a brighter red on one of the lower case arches, but it looked garish even though it was darker than the red on the altar cross. Another trip, and I’d scaled it back a couple of notches, now it looks a tad too bright under natural light during the day, and a bit too somber in the evening under the incandescents, so it’s probably okay. Jason and I repainted all the trim in about 90 minutes and some of it went up before it was even dry. The gold really pops in the room, when people ask about it we explain that it is organ builder bling.

The last Q & A went well, about 15 or 20 tonight, probably half of whom were from Janette’s studio. There were lots of technical questions, seems like there must have also been some faculty members in the group. Some discussion about Bernoulli and pluck and I tried to explain the Kowalyshyn Servo-Pneumatic Lever, but that never seems to get across until I mention power steering, which seems a poor analogy a best.

No sign of the electricians today, but they promised to come tomorrow.

Wednesday

We went right across the top of the organ today and installed all the cornices so that except for some returns and minor bits, the case is complete. It fits beautifully, and the sight lines to the swell box doghouse are such that one has to be on the chancel platform to see more than a bit of it. We’ll want to paint the swell shade action roller the color of the wall as well but that is only visible from the ambulatory.

I began to unpack front pipes and Jonas began to set up to shop voice them, but with no wind we are left wanting. The electricians did come at one, and four of them arrived to start work, which may make up for them starting late. I've tried to keep the wiring and plug layout as simple as possible, so we can only hope they finish in good time. They were not able to hot-wire the little blower for us in the space of the afternoon, so I have my doubts.

The front pipes are packed in a harder foam than I've seen before and I spent six hours getting just four pipes ready to be lifted out of their crates. If we could only get Laukhuff to pack them with a layer of heavy plastic above and below the midline of the pipe taking them out would be a five-minute job.

Thursday

We put up front pipes all day. I'm unpacking and Jonas is shop voicing and then up they go. We struggled some with the center tower, the bucket of the lift gets in the way of lifting them with the slings. We have the organist’s platform screwed to the floor and the machine and other interior parts affixed. Good fastening all around here, which has helped the job move along well. Jason is doing a good job fitting the baseboard to the slate floor, which always helps the organ look grounded.

We continue to have a steady stream of watchers, it is rare to look up and not have someone sitting on the chancel steps or at the caution tape and saw horses holding folks back from the construction zone. There are people who will come and watch for hours at a stretch, and quite a few who drop in every day at lunch or after work. Sometimes, late in the day, there’ll be ten or a dozen, mostly parishioners, some organ students and others who have seen the coverage on TV.

The electricians have all the boxes in place and almost all the flexible conduit and wire run, but at five, when they knock off, they informed us they don’t work on Fridays. Some of our crew thought that was a good idea, seems dangerously Communist to me. In any case, if they come back Monday with as large a crew and stay at it, I think they’ll be done and out by Tuesday evening.

Friday

Many more front pipes in today and the last of the crates is unpacked, Alleluia. What a miserable job it is. Tom Norris has made untold numbers of trips to the dump with all the foam, plastic, excelsior and shredded paper. We did find a local woodworker who wanted the crates and most of them were hauled away today. There is to be a Pod placed in the parking lot for all the stuff we have but don’t need to have right by the organ, we'll probably have another work party to shift things around when the time comes.

Janey Ferguson, the woman who has done such a fine job of organizing our food, brought us East Carolina barbeque for lunch today. I'm afraid that we didn’t eat it as promptly as we should have, we were so wrapped up in putting things together, but it was still excellent. It’s pork and comes with a vinegar-based sauce. Very fine eating, even if not eaten piping hot.

Saturday

We only worked today until noon, when we had to clear out to make way for a diocesan praise band practice. But all the front pipes are up and we have the whole sanctuary cleaned up save for the pipe trays in the transept. The organ looks very good, we still need to work on some scrim and lighting issues, but they should be a snap with the lift still around.

Had a quick lunch at a Mexican restaurant that was full of Mexicans, and then home for a few hours. I fell asleep sitting up in a chair doing a crossword puzzle while I waited for the drier and only woke up when the buzzer went off. We went out to see Be Cool at the toomanyplex and laughed a lot.

A great week, a great crew, and a very fine looking organ.