The organ was listed for sale through the Organ Clearing House beginning ca. 1982-83 with the unusually high asking price of $7,000, at a time when organs of this size were generally selling between $500 and $1,500. This price likely represented the investment by the owners in the restorative repairs made by the Bond company. I tried to purchase the organ through the Clearing House, but received no response in spite of several attempts at contact. The acquisition date of the organ from the Seattle radio station still needs confirmation as does the date of sale or transfer from private owners to the Holy Cross Lutheran Church, also in Portland, Oregon. The subsequent sale of the organ to a private individual who gifted it to the Providence Presbyterian Church in Powhatan, Virginia, (1990) was also handled through the Organ Clearing House.
After the organ was acquired from the Seattle radio station, the Bond organ company was contracted by the new owners to make restorative repairs, which included replacing several missing wood Stopped Diapason pipes. Also providing repairs while the organ was in Oregon, was Michael O'Dea, previously an associate of Ronald Sharp, builder of the organ in the Sydney Opera House.
Updated through on-line information from James R. Stettner.
From Duane mansion, Duanesburg, NY; via Middlefield Center, NY; via Radio station KRAB, Seattle, WA. Relocated to Holy Cross Lutheran, Portland, OR.
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