Stage 1 complete (almost) !

Yesterday, a number of volunteers assembled to pick up all of the organ parts, load them on the truck or into other vehicles, bring them over to the new building and put them in the auditorium.

It took us most of the morning, but everything went according to plan. There's just a pick up load of pipes to get yet and then the storage facility will be empty. Everything is now ready to have the organ builders inspect it and tell us where it all has to be placed on the organ loft and behind the pulpit.

Stairs were built yesterday to get us onto the loft - another important step.

We have a meeting scheduled for Monday evening at 7:30 pm at the new church building to introduce the organ builders, have them meet volunteers and outline what jobs there are to do as well as what each person can do to help out. Please show up if you want to learn more - we can use whatever help is available.

Thanks to the volunteers who helped out with the move yesterday - we really appreciate it.

It's showtime!

Arrangements are being made for Northern Organs' principals, John Kotlan and Michael Sergi, to arrive in Aldergrove on May 17th. They plan to put in 60 hours of work during the week that they're here. Here's what needs to happen next:

1. Get the organ parts out of storage and bring them to the new church building next Friday or Saturday (or both). We're looking for some trucks and strong hands and backs to help move the equipment into the auditorium.

2. Work together to lift equipment onto the platform and into place according to the plan provided by the organ builders.

3. Work with organ builders to start connecting pieces of the organ - we're particularly needing some people who are able to connect wiring. This would save a lot of time and work for the organ builders and mostly routine. Who will step up to help with this?

4. At the end of the week, the volunteers will be left with a series of instructions on things to do before they organ builders return for another week.

Please let me know if you're willing and able to help.

Thanks.

hjl

Cell: 778-808-1121

It's Official -Project to start on May 17th

After further discussions with the builder at the church this morning, we agreed that the builders would be able to come on the 17th of May. That means preparations have to be made to get all of the pieces of the organ out of storage and into the auditorium, ready for assembly.

We'll be looking for some help to get that process underway - truck(s), movers, etc. Please let me know if you're willing and able to volunteer.

In the meantime, Ed Onderwater has spray painted one of the facade pipes to see what it would look like and the verdict is very positive. We hope to have a whole bunch of spiffy looking pipes ready for installation as part of the facade in due time. A thank you now already for all the help with this project. May things continue to go well.

Pictures of the Organ Loft during construction

Here are some pictures to show what the organ loft looks like before anything is put in there. It still needs some work before it's ready to lift the various parts of the organ in place.

P.S. According to the contractor, we'll now have to wait until the third week of May before we can begin.

hjl

When will the installation process begin?

I took a tour of the building today and discussed the progress being made with the builder. I even had a trip up on the lift truck to take some pictures of the organ loft for the organ builder. If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to start the work of installation during the first week of May, DV. We'll start coordinating plans with the organ builders and volunteers to see how best to manage all of the many tasks involved. Exciting and challenging times ahead as we try to complete this project - something most of us have never done before.

Anyone feeling like helping out (no expertise required), please contact me or any member of the organ committee. You can also just post a comment here.

Thanks.

hjl

The pipes are here - for the facade that is!

The pipes to be used in our facade have arrived at our church building and are sitting there waiting to be used and installed into the facade once we're ready for that. Thanks to the Marissens' for picking them up from Edmonton and thanks to the Providence CanRC for letting us have them at such an unbeatable price! We promise to put them to good use. We'll be looking for some help to get them spiffed up and ready to install in due time.

Here are a few excerpts from Jack's email describing the 'adventure' they had in picking them up, etc.

"Well, the pipes were off-loaded last evening. Aubrey & I used the fork lift and some muscle power to get them into the multi-purpose room of the church. The off-loading went well with no difficulties.

Loading up on Monday evening was quite an experience. All the pipes, except for the 4 biggest ones, were all still mounted in the front of the church. However at 7:00 PM, the appointed time, about 10 volunteers showed up and the dismantling began. It quickly became evident that I was over prepared in all the materials I needed to pack the pipes. The Styrofoam was useless as it added too much thickness to the packing. Cutting slots for the pipes in the Styrofoam proved unmanageable and unnecessary. The pipes were very light and simply wrapping them in bubble wrap proved to be sufficient for packing. The upper pipes in each shipping carton would not be too heavy as to cause problems with the lower pipes. (Of course I haven’t opened the boxes here in Aldergrove to see if my theory proved right)

The 10 volunteers proved to be very efficient at dismantling and inundating Wilma & I with pipes. The loading process, with the buttoning up the shipping crates and tying down the crates, proved to take about an hour. Boy, did Wilma & I work to keep up with the volunteers.

Several of the pipes proved to be longer than the shipping crates so some modifications of the crate had to be done as well … we simply removed an end of the crate and the pipes stuck out for the trip back. Rest assured they were wrapped well with bubble wrap.

The trip there and back was uneventful. The truck was a pleasure to drive and proved to be not too costly on fuel."

We may have some pictures up soon to show you part of the dismantling process at least. Stay tuned.

More pipes are coming!

Yes, it's true. We've been able to secure pipes to put into our facade from the Providence church in Edmonton. Since they're replacing their organ and will no longer need them, they've let us have them. We thank them for their generosity. We have someone willing to go there in a couple of weeks to pick them up and bring them back here in a crate (to be built yet). It will truly be a pan-Canadian organ. Originally built in Ontario and transported here, assembled (soon) in BC with a facade mostly from Alberta.

We're eagerly awaiting the start of the assembly process (somewhat delayed due to the building not being quite ready for it).

hjl