Organ Donor...

We've known CSAA member Pat HarteNaus for many years and have enjoyed all her presentations at our annual conferences. She is widely known for her Belden Boy Series, Canary Song, Whistleslick Press, and her central role in the preservation of the Belden Schoolhouse in Galena, IL. Her endearing stories keep coming! Here's another for our Report Card readers...

The Eastlake Organ Finds its Way Home
Beldon School Commission members stumbled across a true find that was kept for almost 100 years in the loft of a barn on Mount Hope Road. Farmer Marv Gerlich just happened to mention that he had Belden School’s organ which was removed sometime in the 1920s The Belden School Commission was determined to bring her home!
​by P.J. HarteNaus

      It’s true that lost items often don’t travel very far from their original destination. No truer words could describe the journey of the 1859 one-room Belden School, nestled in the driftless area of historic Galena, Illinois.
       A few years ago, I was visiting Marv, a local farmer who sells eggs directly to those passing by his farm. As we chatted about the weather and the happenings at Belden School, he brought up his interest in the school. His dad was a student there long ago.  He also knew I served on the  committee and wrote the Belden Boy series.
      Then came the question that changed everything:  “Do you know I have Belden School’s organ up in my barn loft?  Would you like to see it?”
     “You betcha!”  I replied without hesitation. I had no idea the school even had an organ, let alone one tucked behind the red loft door of Marv’s barn, a barn I’ve passed a thousand times. 
      Moments later, I was climbing up the stairs to his loft, stepping carefully over decades of buckets, farm implements and just plain ‘farm stuff.’  And there it was – an ornate organ from the 1800s, remarkably well-preserved despite being coated in a layer of barn dust. It sat patiently by the loft door, waiting to return to its rightful place at Belden School. 
      It was June 2023, when Marv carefully removed the 1880 organ from his barn loft using his tractor and placed it onto a flatbed trailer. From there, it made its way to local antique restorer Duane Mitch in Schapville.  For a full year, the now 144-year-old  Eastlake walnut organ sat in Duane’s workshop as he meticulously restored it. Duane later admitted it was his favorite project because of the research involved. 
      During this time, our committee made numerous visits to witness his progress. Duane sandblasted the iron pedals, restored decorative trims, and recreated or sourced delicate wood pieces from across the country. Meanwhile, I conducted my own research to uncover how and why the organ ended up in Marv’s loft, just three miles from Belden School, for nearly a century. 
    What I discovered was fascinating!  The organ was crafted in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1880, and somehow made its way to the Midwest. In an 1886 ledger of Belden School, I found its mention on the final line, almost as an afterthought. Yet, there is was, recorded in ink on yellowed pages.  For forty years, the organ filled the school with daily songs, Christmas plays, and community events.
      But in 1926, the state regulations mandated that one-room schools add an emergency exit. At Belden School, this required converting a window into a door, which displaced the Eastlake organ.  Marv’s grandfather, the school custodian at the time, offered to haul the organ over the hills by horse and wagon to his barn, where it would stay “for the time being.”
      There it remained for approximately 25 years until the farm was sold. The organ was then moved again – this time to Marv’s father’s farm, where the elderly couple resided until their passing. Marv recalls playing on the organ with his sisters as children, never realizing its historical significance.  For nearly a century, the organ stayed within a few miles of its original home, waiting to return. 
      In June 2024, we held a grand celebration for the restored Eastlake organ. Marv and his family, Duane Mitch, a gathering of Civil War Generals from historic Galena, and local residents braved the rain to join us. Despite the deluge outside, the schoolhouse was warm and lively, buzzing with excitement! Tears of happiness flowed as Marv’s family learned new details about their grandfather and the organ’s rich history, deepening their connection to this cherished heirloom. The Eastlake organ, now back where it belongs, stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of history and community.
 
 ~P. J. HarteNaus
 Educator and Author of  the Belden Boy series
www.Whistleslickpress.com

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