Geo. Kilgen & Son, Inc.
1914

Updated through online information from Timothy E. Conyers.

This entry describes an original installation of a new pipe organ.
Identified by Timothy E. Conyers, based on information from Church historical records, old church photographs, old Union City newspaper articles on microfilm (1913, 1914)..
-- On Sunday morning, November 3, 1913, at the start of morning worship, a fire was discovered in the furnace room beneath the previous pipe organ. The fire soon spread to the walls and roof. A door at the rear of the organ chamber was flung open and water sprayed on the flames. Firemen soon had the fire concentrated directly beneath the organ and with four hoses turned on it were able to gain control. The pipe organ lay in ruins and beyond repair. The instrument which had been installed in 1902 by George Kilgen & Son, was no longer useable. Soon a fund raising campaign was started to restore the sanctuary and replace the pipe organ.

A new instrument was built in 1914 by the Kilgen Organ Co., and placed in the same location as the previous instrument. It consisted of 770 pipes, a dark oak cabinet, attached console, tubular pneumatic action and a pipe facade of lacquered French bronze pipes. Robert Lesher, church organist and a builder of pipe organs, assisted in the installation. Records state that Andrew Carnegie, the great industrialist and millionaire, contributed $750 to help in replacement cost. (The actual contribution may have been $1750, there is a fold in the original newspaper on the microfilm. It was difficult to determine the amount). Robert Lesher, the church organist, gave the dedication recital.