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About The news-review. (Roseburg, Or.) 1948-1994 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1950)
12 The News-Review, Roseburg, Ore. Thur.. Dte. 21, 1950 PIPE ORGAN: HOW MUCH? Fulton Lewis Jr., Choir Boys Construct One That Glorifies Christmas Eve By LEN LeSOURD . Reprinted by courtesy of Guideposti magazine, a non-profit inspirational monthly published at Pawling, N.Y. Copyright, 1950, Guideposts Associates, Inc. Dinner was over, Fulton Lcis, Jr. arose from the table and started to, his study for e long evening of work on a ipeciel broadcast a task already postponed too many times. "Tonight," the broadcaster announced with that determined look his family knew so well . . . "Tonight I'm not to be disturbed for anything not even for St. Peter himself." Once in his study, he closed the door firmly and settled himself at his desk. But his mind till rang with the shouts of some thirty hrfum-scarum youngsters whom, as their choir-master, he had gathered together that afternoon and conducted on a 60-mile trip to Washington D.C., for special singing instruction. Outside he heard the aoorDou ring. Rigidly he tried to concen trate on the papers before him, but the sound of youthful voices talking to his wife filtered through. "Say, we've got something really important to ask Mr. Lewis." "I'm very sorry, but he just can't be disturbed." Fulton Lewis sighed, laid down his pen and went out. "Okcy, kids," the broadcaster said dryly, "what's so important?" 15-year-old Bobby Adams, son of a local bricklayer, spoke up. "None of us ever heard any thing as beautiful as that pipe or gan today. We decided to chip in and buy one for our church. J low do we go about it?" "Do you know how much a pipe organ costs?" Lewis asked quizzi cally. "As much as $JO0?" "About $25,0U0 for a small one." The youngsters looked stunned. "Colly, aren't there any sood second-hand ones for less?" wistfully queried 16-year-old Sumpy Rcadmond, who aspired to be a mechanic. "I'd be glad to help repair it." , , Lewis shook his head. "If you want a pipe organ bad enough, you'll have to so out and build one yourselves. Goodnight, kids." Puitling Question Possd Back at his desk, Lewis squirmed uncomfortably In his chair. "How did I get myself in for all this'" "All this" referred to the local children and their choir project which music-lover Lewis had taken on months before. It started when many of his neighbors, disturbed by the spiritual drought through out St. Mary's county, banded to ether and built a Methodist church outside of the little town of Holly wood, Maryland. Fulton Lewis Jr., who lived with his family two miles away at Placid Harbor, helped ded icate the sanctuary on his 1947 Christmas Eve broadcast. An a last minute idea, he gathered together a small group of kids for a junior choir. , , , This new church was a healthy spot in an area peppered with more bars than grocery stores, more gamblin? joints than churches and many more pour than well lo.do. Youngsters from these families were in the group that approached Fulton Lewis Jr. several days after the broadcast to ask him to be regular choirmaster for their plan ned junior choir. Something in their faces grabbed his heart as they came timidly be fore him with their proposition. His own youngsters, Betsy, 17, and Buddy, 14, had also been working on him. Sure he'd be glad to train them, but they would have to work harder than ever before. Who would have imagined that these untrained and olten iinial entcd youngsters, ranging from 9 to 17 years, would through per sistence, patience and practice, quickly learn some 200 hymns by heart, take to four-part harmony and become a disciplined, imagina tive singing body? Second Appeal Win) But now for his broadcast. . . As he picked up his pen and bent over his papers, the doorbell rang Benin "Mrs. Lewis, could we see Mr. Lew 15 again for jut a minute?" Kvcry voungster pitched in. The broadcaster threw down his j Nothing glamorous about sandpa pen. "What can you do with a pcring the same pipes over and bunch like that?" But there was a over awn. . . or cutting leather twinkle in his eye hy the time he diaphragms for the hundreds of reached the front door. i needed pneumatics until hands i: 1 I' I f e i "Mr. Lewis," blurted Bobby Ad ams, "we decided we can build a pipe organ. But we need your help just like with the choir." Lewis looked over the young sters' eager faces and aiain that same twinge. "Okey, kids." he said, "you win." And fled to his study. The choir was scheduled for a program at nearby Cedai Point the next evening. At afternoon practice Lewis was jovial. 'You kids tried to put one over on me last night, didn't you.' Build j pipe organ! Why, it would take years. What'll you think of next?" None of their usual banter greeted this. Lewis went on with rehearsal, uncomfortable at their silence. That night, for the first time, their spark was missing. While driving home, Lewis reflected. All over the country people worried be cause many youngsters thought only ol pleasure and excitement the kind that led to crime. How often did youth pitch their dreams and hopes in the stars, then have realistic grown-ups dash 'em to the ground? Manual Task Launched After the ride home, he gathered them together. "When we started this choir, I said that if you had faith in yourselves, you could work miracles," he began. "You have with the choir. I tried to discouiage you about the pine organ, but it didn't work. If you'll work twice as narn, we it tackle the organ. Would thcyl "Remember this, thouoh Vn outside professional help. We do the job ourselves cr it doesn't get done. Okcy?" "Ukey!" On the morning of May 17. 1948, villagers alon? Maryland Highway 235 witnessed an unusual sight. A truck hove into view, piled high with an amazing assortment o f pipes. Skeptical townspeople, who wen Knew mat Lewis and several of the choir kids had gone to New York to purchase organ parts, poKcn a nine inn. "They're stove pipes!" "Naw. . . 'flub gum' traps," cracKea anotner, rfie'Ting to a certain type of rabbit trap com mon to local huntsmen. Lewis pulled up the truck in front of the community church and 700 pipes were quickly disgorged over the cluirch lawn. Kids soon swarmed in from every direction, armed with brushes, buckets of water and glass wax Overhead the warm rays of a May sun poured down on the scrubbing party as the youngsters bathed and polished pipes, handling delicate parts with a tenderness usually reserved for a precious possession. Local people had never seen anything like it. Late in the day, grunting, sweat ing youths reloaded the pipes into basement. Mrs. Lewis saw at once that her days of orderly house keeping were over. Her home soon resembled a tool shop as boxes of parts, wires, connections and lum ber began to pile up. And pipes everywhere! Meanwhile, every spare minute, Fulton Lewis pored over a little volume on the technique .of organ I construction. I w r pi . r i a i- Service Includes Chest This set will be a much uied Christmas gift. Long wearing silver plate in a handsome chest at e Christmas budget prfoe. Buy today) O Shop our Back Table for many unlisted Christmas Shopping Specials. that you did. Come in today! USE YOUR CREDIT. .BUY PAY LATER were cramped and aching. . . or twisting wires around contact pins until fingers were raw The total of 15,000 needed electrical connec tions seemed staggering. ' Mrs. Lewis, TeiQHat Woes Mrs. Lewis, resigned to her home becoming a recreational hall, set up her own school lor man ners. It wasn't unusual to hear her kind but firm voice lining tnem up in fives and sixes and ins, met ing them in the art of meeting new people, and introducing each other to strangers. Dedication to their choir and pipe organ pro jects gave the youngsters a sense of purpose and belonging, some thing they never had before. Sumpy Readmond suddenly as sumed a mantle of responsibility and leadership. His mechanical billty stood out for the first time he excelled at something. In his case it was the beginning of a career now underway. Teddy Adams, for another, taught him self to play the organ. Buddy Lewis, the broadcaster's spirited son, was already a skilled organist. wnen expenses soared, Choir master Lewis became Lecturer Lewis to raise funds. Then, the seemingly insurmountable problem oi me "slop list" reared up. The "stop list" is the selection of pipes fur various ranks, of which every pipe organ has many, including the flute, trumpet, oboe, chimes, vox humana, reed and diapason. Every rank contains a whole range of pipes, each with a different tone in much the same manner as a piano has a whole range of keys. Keen sensitivity is needed in the selection or the organ tones will be flat. Friend In Need Appears One day a visitor stood outside file Lewis door. "Joe Whitefield!" Fulton Lewis cried as he spied his lawyer friend from Washington, II. C, "You're an answer to prayer." Joe was an ardent and exper ienced amateur organist. He ha) dly had his coat off before he was down in the basement, listening to problems involving the "stop list." Snatched up by the fervor of this project, he forgot his mission, his job, everything, for days of con tinuous work. Together with kids and two grownups "voiced" over one thousand pipes, separating them inio various ranks, testing them again and again for just the right sound. Days later Joe Whitefield left, his eyes newly lighted from a labor of love. He went back to Washington, quit his career as law yer and several weeks later phoned Lewis long distance. "I never did like being a lawyer.' he said. "I just needed to rub against some of. the fervor of your kids to set me off on the right track. A man's a fool not to work at what he loves." Joe took a job with the Aelian Skinner Organ Co. of Boston. Church Has To Be Alf.r.d Deadline for completion of the pipe organ was set for Christmas in lime for a Chritsmas Eve broadcast. Schedules were stepped up, and heads threatened to split over the confused jumble of wires, pipes, magnets, bellows, and con nections. In November the process of moving all these from the Lewis basement to the church began. Then it was discovered that part of the church would have to be redesigned before the organ would fit. Walls were knocked down and choir pews respaced. The organ chest was found to be the wrong size and would have to be rebuilt! Lewis came lme that night con vinced he'd have to cancel the special broadcast. It was a grim household with little conversation and edgy nerves. After dinner, as both he and son Buddy often did when upset, Lewis sat down at his small electronic organ. He started to play jerkily, belligerent and bitter. Then the music softened. At the end, the powerful yet simple strains of "The Lord's Prayer" cust a hush over the whole house. It would be hard to imagine a more eloquent prayer for God's help and guidance. The planned Christmas Eve broadcast was not cycled. In stead, activity redoubled. December i:.trd was ma, . Thurs day. The organ, though installed, needed endless adjustments. Choir members, drained of energy, beset with doubts, were completely list less. After dismissing them all with an optimism he didn't feel, Lewis worked far into the night and all the next day with the organ tuner. Hours before the service was to start that December 24lh, 1948, the little church hy the side of the road began to fill. There was leathery v'3 r -W. . for 6 I '4M I Reg. 12.95 You'll be glad NOW Johnny Green, oysterman and blacksmith; old Doc Greenwell, still country doctor at 88; and some 200 others all that could jam inside the small church. They came to hear a 35,000 pipe organ built by faith and tenacity yet, would it play Lewis took his place at the organ and nodded to Mervill Dean, local merchant, who was stationed inside the organ loft to manipulate the swell shades that regulated the organ sounds. There hadn't been time to fix the automatic control. Triumph Of Endeavor At 7 p.m. the N. Y. radio tech nician nodded to Lewis. Then the soft strains of Adcste Fideles floated through the church. Garbed in maroon and white gowns, big black collars and white Windsor tics, the junior choir marched down the aisle, their exultant voices join ing the triumphant organ strains. Lewis, feeling the surging tones of the organ respond to his slightest tow h, was lifted by the pride and devotion in the faces of his 30 "choir brats " They had called these voices immature. If so, then the pipe or- yl uty SHO 'i&SiiP Thuri. Afternoon Store No. 2, Roseburg, Open All Day Sunday, December 24th .CD' '' 48 T"6"y SafU,dy Henninoer Thrift Markers Sutherlin, Oregon Open Sunday SI IbL UttWWW V $M December21,22,23, 1950 niV NVM X EVIIIaftA Bake Your Holidav Cookies and Candies ( S-Ji UWr So Eeosy With Fresh, Rich Nucio 0 POPCORN 0 - CIGARETTES LOG CABIN PINEAPPLE WMMMMMMMMMM VEGETABLES FRESH CARROTS ftl. SWEET POTATOES FRESH TOMATOES FRESH CELERY GIVE A CHRISTMAS BASKET Peanuts lb. 33c Store iniiiiiiriTiTl'-'-'"A- I" 0 Jackson & Air Raid Warning PORTLAND UP) Oregon's air raid warning system is com plete and could be alerted immed iately. Louis Starr, the state's civil de fense chief, said that the system was "activated" eight days ago. That means, he said, it is on call gan was immature. Yet how could any voice or piece of craftsman ship be immature when created through long hours of work, dis couragement, tears and grinding determination? Tonight their sing ing was reaching out across the country victoriously hecause this was music with love and heart and soul. Organ builder sk 'ptics were con vinced, and the radio audience will never forget that broadcast. And parents looked upon thjr young- -,.... ..,1,1. nau, ,nanl That fhrict. mas Eve a little bit of heavef? it-1 self crept into the church by the side of a road. 2 - 37c JOLLY TIME Ox. Cans Christmas Wrapped Cartons SYRUP Hillsdale Broken No. 2 Cans 3 lb. 19c og.e,, 19c m 10c Pound SUNKIST ORANGES Large 150 Size Dozen 69c HALF CASE $3.49 SUNSHINE A yO. y , mm MkMEATS 1 c j mtl-JW 8? GROUND I Swift'$ Pfemium X. n t- w r I run i nninr CANDIES 16-Ounce Holiday Mix 29c 16 Ounce Chocolates 35c Walnuts lb. 25c 3 WENNINGER'S ROSEBURG 5TORES No. 1 Stort Winchester 314 S. Set - Up In Oregon Readied For Algrt 24 hours a day. If alerted, It would be on duty full time. He said he had no comment on whether the warning system in the northwest would be put on the alert. But all telephones are installed, radar sqanners are functioning and personnel is available to man the observation posts, he said. The goal, he added, is to have no observation post no farther from another than eight miles but "there are some wide open spaces in central Oregon which aren't that well covered as yet." o Once the system is alerted, Starr said, "nothing low enough to be visible to the naked eye or high enough to be within reach of ra dar," could enter Oregon un noticed. He said the radar net has had 14 tests in recent weeks. 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Cholera Epidemic Takes Heavy Toll In India NEW DELHI, India W -More than 1,000 persons are re ported to have died from a cholera epidemic, apparently spread by sufferers who made a Wrimage to OriiSa state in quest of a mir acle cure for the dread disease. Reports published here said the epidemic was spread by thousands of afflicted persons returning from Rantali, a small Orissa village, where they sought treatment from a 12-year-old shepherd boy whose "wonder" herb has been banned by government order. The reports said a 400-mile area has been affected. CL1QU0T CLUB CRACKERS unshine 6-Oz. Boxes Pints Link Pound OYSTERS 63c SAUSAGE 53c U.S.'No.l U.S.No.l TURKEY TURKEY HENS TOMS lb. 53c lb. 43c ROSEBURG STORES ONLY SLICED BACON I TlrnkT STANDARD BACUN QUALITY SLICED lb. 49c lb. 59c BORDEN'S FRESH TILLAMOOK HORSERADISH CHEESE 4-OZ.JARS c 2-LB. BRICKS . 15c 1.39 o Wd Xft JSjJ SSIj f 3 5x1? m MARTS MARKET HENNINGEftdTHRIFT MARKETS OAKLAND AND SUTERLI. and RIDDLE Dayton Kaiser Plant Receives Plane Contrgc? DAYTON, O. -UPU. The Dayton Daily News Wednesday said Kai. ser-Krazer Corp., has contracted to build cargo planes for the air force ai ninow nun plant near Detroit and to assemble Boeing jet bomb ers at Marietta, Ga. The newspaper said Edgar Kai. gr, president of the automobile firm, signed final papers Tuesday in a fast visit to nearby Wright Patterson air force base. A Kaiser-Frazer spokesman at Willow Run said there was "abso lutely no foundation" to the report as it concerned Marietta and "no thing official" on the Willow Run end of the report. The newspaper said tbj contract signed by Kaiser calls Tor produc tion of Fairchild C-119 cargo planes the latest version of the "flying boxcar," at Willow Run, Kaiser s own plant. Assembly work on Boeing's six jet XB-47 bomber, said the paper, will be done at Marietta, Ga.. in I a plant now owned by the air force. Assorted Mixers Quarts 25' Scofties. 2 Boxes 200s 2 for Krispies it m mi ivzi? 3 rev S2v ssv v frxs &
