Hidden behind two symmetrical arched grills at the west end of the Great Hall are over 1,400 organ pipes of great variety. As such they comprise a unique instrument which is a treasure for the university as well as the state. Students attending Iowa State, especially in the late 1930s through the 1950s, have fond memories of hearing this majestic organ played for fall convocations, dances, noontime concerts, banquets, reunions, silent film showings, radio broadcasts, and Sunday services. Its warm, emotional tones completely fill the hall as nothing else can.

When the Great Hall was built in 1928, two chambers for a future pipe organ were included in the design, one on each side of the stage. That organ didn't materialize until eight years later through a gift of two alumni of the class of 1910. As Harold Pride relates in his history of the Memorial Union, W.I. Griffith, director of WOI radio station, heard in 1935 that an organ was available for purchase from a theater in Madison, Wisconsin. Recent research reveals that this was in fact the 1300-seat Parkway Theatre, which started out as the Fuller Opera House in 1890, and was remodeled in 1921 for use as a legitimate theater and movie house. After a stage fire damaged the original organ, a new 3/11 (i.e. 3 manual, 11 rank) Barton theatre organ made in Oshkosh, Wisconsin was installed in 1926. Parkway Theatre received less than ten year's use of their new Barton organ before it was placed in storage after the introduction of the "talkies." Dan Barton was one of the top five suppliers of organs to theaters in the silent era, and built over 300 theatre organs from about 1918 to 1935. His most famous installation was the 6/51 Chicago Stadium organ of 1929 boasting over 3,000 pipes.

In the spring of 1936, Union Director Harold Pride passed on knowledge of this organ and the need for one in Great Hall to Wilfred G. "Bill" Lane who was visiting campus and prepared to present a sizable check to Iowa State. In 1932 this engineer had entered partnership with classmate Walter T. "Prep" Wells in the Lane-Wells Company which took over the old Pacific Oil Tool Company of Los Angeles, specializing and developing technical oil field services. Their first success was the invention of a gun perforator to pierce holes in oil well steel casings and cement liners to increase oil flow. This device proved to be a significant contribution to production in over 30,000 oil wells in the U.S.

Their successful venture launched a series of gifts to the university beginning with their 25th annual class reunion. Later gifts included the memorial entrance gate to Clyde Williams Field, completion of the fourth and fifth floors of the Memorial Union, land for the college golf course clubhouse , and scholarships in Engineering and English. When told of the bargain price of the organ in Madison and shown the chambers that the architect had provided in the Great Hall, Lane immediately became interested, especially since he was himself an organ music buff and organist. After phoning his partner "Prep" Wells in California, he told Director Pride to "go ahead and buy that box of whistles, Walter and I will pay for it." The organ was valued at $18,000 at the time of its installation.

Employees of the Physical Plant drove a truck to Madison to pick up the organ from a warehouse where it had been stored. Once back in Ames, all pipes and parts were laid out on the floor of Great Hall which was closed to the public throughout the summer of 1936. Finally, on the 6th of October the organ was ready and a dedicatory recital was played by Frederick Fuller, music director of University of Wisconsin radio station WHA in Madison, showcasing the resources of the instrument to over 1,000 people packed into the Great Hall. The secret donors were announced by their former teacher, Dean Maria Roberts, and presented to the audience. Bill Lane dedicated the organ "to the loving memory of those instructors of our college years whose early training did much toward making this gift possible." A bronze plaque set into the oak paneling to the right of the stage preserves this statement for posterity. Wilfred Lane retired in 1938 and died in 1949, while Walter Wells continued as Chairman of the Board of Directors of their corporation and remained active in charities until his death in 1964.

H. Frederick Fuller originally came from Chicago where he followed a musical career as had his father, Henry Frederick Fuller, who was an organist and student of Sir John Stainer in London. He entered radio in its infancy, broadcasting features regularly over midwestern stations. Besides performing, Fuller also taught organ and did maintenance for church, theater, radio and concert hall organs as well as planning and installing area organs. After World War II he operated an organ business for ten years, using the name Maxcy-Barton (no connection to Barton Organs). As WHA musical director he planned and wrote scripts for "Music of the Masters," an eight-week "Music Appreciation" course, and "The Noon Musical," a dinner program of salon and chamber music. His church post in Madison was as organist and choirmaster at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. While in Ames, Fuller played over WOI radio two days after the dedication following the inauguration of President Charles E. Friley.

Later that same week, Howard Chase (1909-1981) of the Music Department was appointed official organist of the Memorial Union Barton, and began daily noontime recitals of semi-popular and classical selections from 12:30 to 1:00. Chase, a graduate of Des Moines East High School in 1927, studied organ shortly thereafter with well-known theatre organist and teacher Henry Francis Parks of the Chicago Musical College. While in Chicago, he served as assistant organist at the Evangelical Lutheran Church and substitute organist at the United Artist Theater. At age 19 he was regular organist at the Circle Theatre in Nevada from its opening on October 17, 1928. Chase continued his musical study at Drake University and at Juilliard under Hugh Porter. In Ames, he was also organist at the First Baptist Church from 1927 to the 1940s.

For his daily concerts in the Great Hall, Chase devised a system whereby a person walking into the hall at anytime during the noon hour could know what selection was being played. The recital program for the day was posted on a large bulletin board, with each selection numbered to correspond with numbered cards displayed on the organ console on the stage. In 1939, Wednesdays featured selections programmed by Chase, and Fridays were devoted to selections left in a request box at the main desk. Besides the noon-day programs, Chase played for vesper services, twilight musicales, parties, receptions, Varieties, four commencements a year, and broadcasts over WOI. He also broadcast from the 1936 Kilgen theatre organ at radio station WHO in Des Moines. In addition to giving piano and organ lessons, teaching music appreciation, and serving as Memorial Union organist, he was music supervisor at WOI Radio and started the classical record library there. Mr. Chase took a year's leave to earn his master's degree in music theory from the University of Michigan during 1944, and left Iowa State in 1946 to become instructor in music theory at Ann Arbor. The last 25 years of his career were spent at the University of Nevada, where he started the music department. In appreciation for his many contributions there, the library's music listening room was named in his honor.

The Music Department at Iowa State persistently lobbied for a more classical organ with the result that tonal modifications were made sometime before 1944. The Kinura, a unique, raspy theatre voice, and percussions (tambourine, castanets, Chinese block, tom-tom, cymbal, drums and thunder effect) were all removed. The console did not escape the classical transformation either. Its graceful curves, molded compo decorations of candelabras, and iridescent plastered panels were removed in favor of plain, dark oak panels to match the decor of the Great Hall. Pete Bush of Cedar Rapids, and Robert Beeston and Robert Milliman of Des Moines were early servicemen of the organ. In 1944 the organ was reconditioned and ranks of pipes were added which doubled its size. A celeste harp of 37 notes and a 20 note cathedral chime were also added at this time. A special recital was given by Howard Chase in October to celebrate the occasion. During this period the organ was regularly used for Faculty Women's Club programs and for Sunday services broadcast over WOI Radio.

In 1951, Ralph Borck, a recently hired WOI-TV studio producer, began his long tenure as curator of the instrument. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Iowa in Speech and Theater, and soon discovered the Barton organ in the Great Hall upon his arrival in Ames. He serviced, tuned, added and substituted ranks to the organ for the next 43 years. With the organ as his hobby, Ralph did much of the work on his own time during weekends and vacations and at his own expense. The first major addition was in 1969 with ranks of pipes salvaged from the Des Moines Theater just before it was razed. This theater formerly stood at the corner of 6th and Grand next to the Paramount in the capitol city, and possessed a 1919 Kimball organ with an Echo division in the third balcony. Even though all the "traps" had been long since scavenged by children, the pneumatic actions were saved and moved along with the pipes and wind chests to Ames. Most of the ranks added in 1944 were removed to make room for the theatre ranks.

The Music Department used the organ for teaching and practicing from the late 1930s through the 1960s. Because classical organists were confused by the console layout of a theatre organ, the Department had the top and bottom manuals switched. Late one night in 1956 or 1957 Ralph Borck and Paul Buegel, another WOI employee, switched the manuals back to their original positions much to the shock and confusion of the female organist who came in to play it the next day. The Department never did know who perpetrated the deed.

The console was moved by Mr. Borck, with the help of eight shop employees, from the stage to the north balcony in 1971. This necessitated the removal of the pneumatic stop action in the console since a lengthy flexible wind line from the blower in the basement to the balcony was no longer feasible. As a further consequence the combination action was also disabled. During the summer of 1988 Tammy Swenson, a Computer Science major and craft hobbyist, assisted Ralph by hand painting a carved wood molding decorating the console, releathering pouches, and installing a heater in the east chamber. The last major addition came during 1979-1980 with the incorporation of twelve ranks of pipes from the 1929 Moller organ in Westminster Presbyterian Church at 4114 Allison Ave. in Des Moines. After removal by Ralph and Paul, nine of the ranks were installed in a newly created Echo chamber in the east balcony where a separate Kinetic blower provided wind pressure. Student assistants Mark Turner and Mike King were indispensable in helping with this installation, staying on to help Ralph between classes, on weekends and during vacations to repair, releather, tune, etc. Mike's tenure from January 1979 to 1985 also allowed him to gain experience setting up for Madrigal Dinner and Varieties performances. In the fall of 1995 the Union began a series of major renovation projects. A long overdue separate air handling system for the Great Hall dictated the permanent removal of the Echo Division. Renovation of the basement Commons area required expansion into the area occupied by the Spencer blower. After furnishing a stable wind supply for sixty years, it was removed in November and placed in storage awaiting future restoration of the instrument.

Besides working on the mechanics of the Union organ, Mr. Borck regularly presided at the console for events during the 1960s and 1970s. Ralph began music studies by first taking piano lessons, then during high school in the 1930s, learned theatre organ technique from theatre organist Don Miller. Lessons were on the three-manual Wurlitzer at the Great Lakes Theatre in Detroit. Through the years, many faculty, staff, students and visitors have heard Ralph play during noon hours, at alumni banquets, and other occasions. In June of 1994 Ralph retired from the university, thus ending his long association with the Union's pipe organ.
A few years after Ralph Borck joined the WOI staff, Paul Buegel was hired to assist in the studio. A part-time organ builder/organist, Paul likewise soon became intrigued with the Union organ, providing invaluable assistance, expertise, and some choice pipework during his tenure in Ames. The reconstruction of the history of this instrument would have been impossible without Paul's help. The attached analysis and derivation of ranks was largely made possible because of his excellent memory of when pipes were added and subtracted and other modifications made through the decades.

At present, the organ could best be described as a Barton hybrid totaling about 23 ranks of pipes in unplayable condition. It needs extensive restoration to be returned to its former glory. Seventy years of aging, adverse chamber conditions, and water damage have taken their toll on the instrument. The console work begun by Mr. Borck needs to be completed with a solid-state system installed providing modern switching, combination action, and record/playback. This would also allow a respecification of the tonal resources to offer more possibilities for achieving emotional sounds. Returning the console to the stage would do much to enhance audience enjoyment in viewing the performer. A secure storage shed might be logically provided on stage in the space formerly occupied by the relay room. Winding and reservoirs need overhauling, replacement ranks and traps obtained and installed, pipes repaired and revoiced, ciphers fixed, and everything given a thorough cleaning. The blower needs to be reinstalled in a new sound-proof location, and the wind lines re-connected. Environmental stabilization of temperature and humidity in the chambers is particularly critical. In brief, approximately fifty thousand dollars is needed for a restoration budget. An additional endowment for maintenance would also be desirable sometime. The foresight of original donors Bill Lane and Walter Wells deserves a lasting legacy. The Great Hall needs to reverberate again and listeners experience the incomparable power and emotion possible from a mighty theatre organ. A musical series featuring well-known performing artists could be coupled with silent film showings. New audiences could be created from the present generation of students, and the Memorial Union organ could once again be as cherished as the carillon by alumni. After all, this vintage theatre organ is one of only six surviving examples available to the public in Iowa. The other five include a 3/12 Wurlitzer in Paramount Theatre (Cedar Rapids), a 3/14 Barton in the Community Theatre, formerly the Iowa Theatre (Cedar Rapids), a 3/12 Wicks in Capitol Theatre (Davenport), a 3/12 Barton in the restored Opera House (Pella), and a 3/13 Wurlitzer in the Municipal Auditorium (Sioux City).

• Follow this link to read more about the Barton Organ Dedication

Sources

The Bomb 1938, p. 186.

Borck, Ralph. Interviews by author, Ames, Iowa, November 1994 - May 1995.

Buegel, Paul. Telephone conversations with author, November 1994 - May 1995.

Chase, Howard. File, Box 1, Dept. of Music Personnel Records, RS 13/17/2,
University Archives, Iowa State University Library.

Fladen, Jerry. Telephone conversation with Madison theater historian, April 18, 1995.

Iowa State Student September-November, 1936.

Junchen, David. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, v. 1, pp. 88, 416.

King, Mike. Interview, November 1995.

Memorial Union Records, RS 21/5/1, University Archives, Iowa State University Library.

Parkway Theatre photographs (exterior), Visual and Sound Archives, Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin.

Parkway Theatre photographs (interior), Historic Photo Service, Madison, Wisconsin.

Pride, Harold E. The First Fifty Years, Iowa State Memorial Union.
Crystal Lake, Ill. : P.P. & J.A. Sheehan, 1972. pp. 96-99.

Swenson, Tammy. Interview, November 1995.

Turner, Mark. Interview, November 1994.