Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling
1907

From a History of the Barckhoff organ:
Shortly after the end of World War II, Gustavus Adolphus College built a Fine Arts building just east of Myrum Memorial Fieldhouse. This Fine Arts building
housed both the Art and Music Departments. The music practice rooms were here also. This building of modest wood frame structure was initially intended to be only a short-term remedy to space needed for these departments. The building also had low ceilings so it could not house the fifteen or so feet needed to house the pipes for the pipe organ. The solution was to move the pipe organ to a small room stage left in the field house and use it as a practice organ for students. This was completed in 1948. Its use was continued until the new fine arts building was completed in 1970. Gustavus Adolphus College students can testify to practicing on this organ with the mice and rodents present in the room. The room also had a small heater so as to keep it warm and to keep the pipes working in some fashion. The organ however served its purpose as a genuine pipe organ on which students could practice.

Richard Shager (GAC '65) expressed interest in owning and preserving the organ. Dr. Allwardt told Dick to write a letter with a proposal for purchasing the organ and he would take it under advisement. Dick did just that offering to pay $100 for the organ and to remove it completely from the field house including cleaning the room so the college would not have to bear any costs with respect to its removal. About 2 months later, Dr. Allwardt called Dick and accepted his proposal. Removal of the organ was to be completed within three weeks.

The pipe organ was in the Shager's house at 14263 St. Croix Trail N. (Croixside), Stillwater, MN from 1970 until 1984. In 1984, the new sanctuary and the Heritage Chapel were being built at Trinity Lutheran Church. Dick and Kay Shager were members of Trinity Lutheran Church and decided the Heritage Chapel would be a
most appropriate place for the preservation of this pipe organ.

From a History of the Barckhoff organ:
Originally, the organ was a tracker action organ with hand pump bellows furnishing the air to the organ. Consequently, you always needed a person there to pump the bellows in order to play or practice on the organ. In 1907, to make playing the organ more efficient and modern at the time, the organ was converted to a DC current action organ and an electric blower was added as well. Votteler Holtkamp doing business as the Sparling Organ Company of Cleveland, OH did the conversion. Five of the Stopped Diapason (wooden) pipes stems where replaced with stems labeled "Patten [sic] Aug 9, 1898 and manufactured or
installed February 19, 1907". It is in this configuration the organ is in today. The present keyboard was added at that time. The Votteler Holtkamp signature plate is on the console and is also on the blower case.