LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - AUGUST 12, 2018 Mercygrove’s Hidden Treasure by Lynne Belluscio Last Tuesday four hundred people from the world wide Organ Historical Society made their way to LeRoy to have lunch at the LeRoyan at Mer- cygrove. Maybe you saw the signs “OHS next left – slow.” There were 8 busses coming into town, and the entrance isn’t marked, but thanks to the LeRoy police department, they all found their way. Most of the visitors did not know about the Aeolian Opus #1559 organ at Mercygrove, so they had a pleasant surprise when it was turned on and folks took turns playing. And these were not ordinary organists. I listened as Nathan Laube, who is a faculty member of the Eastman School of Music, and a co-chair of the conference, played the “William Tell Overture.” A young musi- cian from Poland, New York took a turn, as well as several others. Michael Barone, from the PBS “Pipe Dreams” talked about the treasure that they dis- covered in LeRoy. If you’ve ever been to Mer- cygrove, you probably weren’t aware that there is a huge pipe organ hidden from view because all the pipes – and there are hun- dreds of them - - are in the base- ment and a closet on the third floor, and they are connected to the console. The sound is chan- neled through sound chambers that run through the walls. None of this would have been possible last year. Jim Gombrone, who owns Mer- cygrove, decided last summer that he would have Matt Par- sons from the Parsons Pipe Organ Factory in Bristol come take a look at the organ to see if it could be fixed so it could be played. After a couple of days, Matt had the instrument playing, but it still needs a lot more work. Never the less, last Tuesday it was the center of at- tention. In 1887, the Aeolian Com- pany began building organs. These were not church or the- ater organs, but residence or “chamber” organs to provide entertainment in the homes of the rich and famous. Like the organ at Mercygrove, the pipes were often hidden in walls and in the basement. Aeolian or- gans are usually equipped with mechanisms that are like play- er pianos, with punched paper rolls. There are at least 64 rolls at Mercygrove, however the mechanism does not work, and the paper rolls are too fragile to be used. The Mercygrove organ was purchased for $27,800 in 1926 ($370,000 today) by Donald Woodward, the youngest son of Orator Woodward. (Jim Gom- brone has the original contract.) Don was certainly rich and fa- mous. He was building a huge house on the crest of the hill on the south side of the road, although he never lived there. He and his wife Florence were divorced and she and their three children lived in the house. He built another house across the street, where he and his third wife, Adelaide, lived. Inter- estingly, he had an Aeolian or- gan installed in that house too. Florence Woodward had several concerts at her house to raise money for a variety of projects. In 1937, Florence opened her home to over 600 Presbyterian women. “As they enjoyed the gardens and grounds, Marga- ret Gillette played the organ, which was heard throughout the grounds “by a system of ampli- fiers.” After Florence moved out of the house, the Woodward house became known as the Edith Hartwell Clinic, named for her sister-in-law. The clinic treated children with neuromus- cular disorders. There is no ev- idence that the organ was used during this time. Soon after, the house became a retreat house for the Sisters of Mercy and it is then that it became known as Mercygrove. The organ was used during that time and again when the house became the property of the Mercedarians. Luckily their attempt to sell the organ never came to fruition and when Jim bought the house, he bought the organ too. The largest Aeolian organ is at Longwood Gardens, built for Pierre dePont in 1930. It has 10,010 pipes which are divided into 146 ranks. It is in working condition and is often played in fund-raising concerts. Anoth- er Aeolian that I have heard is the 1000 pipe organ at Hilldene which was built in the entrance hall of Robert Todd Lincoln’s home in 1908. Lincoln was the son of Abraham Lincoln and the president of the Pullman Com- pany that manufactured passen- ger cars for the railroad. Hilld- ene has over 250 player rolls for their Aeolian. In nearby Rochester, Frank Eastman had two pipe organs in his home. He employed an organist who played for him everyday. In the 1970s, one of the organs was removed but it was replaced in 2012, when Dr. Richard Zipf donated his Opus 1345 organ. If you visit Eastman House, make sure to see the video about the repair and installation of the “new” organ.” Today the two organs have been tuned to recreate the surround-sound that George Eastman had originally intend- ed. The dual console now totals 106 ranks and more than 6000 pipes. Restoring and maintaining a huge musical instrument like Mercygrove’s Opus #1559 is intimidating and expensive, but Jim hopes to gradually share the music of this hidden treasure.