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News
Fire Spares Hook & Hastings Organ at
St. George Episcopal Church
Photos
On September 12, 2006 at fire was set at St. George Episcopal Church in Central Falls, RI. It was contained and only damaged a few rooms and a hallway outside the sanctuary. Miraculously, the fire did not damage the organ in any way. However, the organ was surrounded on two sides and the fire was literally ‘knocking on the door’ of the organ chamber of Hook and Hastings Opus 2684 (1924).
A team from BMS Catastrophe of Fort Worth, Texas was called in to clean up after the fire and reconstruct the damaged areas. Craig Martin was the on-site Project Manager. He assigned Carolyn Vasquez to work with Brian Mattias from Potter-Rathbun Organ Company to supervise the cleaning process of the entire organ. While the fire never entered the sanctuary, the smoke and soot needed to be cleaned from all areas of the building – including the organ.
All of the pipes were removed and individually cleaned with special sponges. The wooden pipes and structural components were sponged and treated with a deodorizer. The clean up of the organ was a small part of the total project which consisted of six, twelve-hour days per week and lasted for over a month. The ‘happy ending’ came when the sanctuary was completed in time for Christmas.
The team from BMS Catastrophe was friendly, professional and very meticulous. They did an outstanding job and they were a pleasure to work with. Kudos for a job well done!
Just Married!!
Wedding bells rang, the choir sang, a brass quintet played along as hundreds of organ pipes sounded forth the good news…..Heather-Rose Johnson was wed to Brian A. Mattias at Our Lady of Częstochowa Church, Coventry, RI on September 9. More than 200 guests were in attendance to witness the joyous occasion. Friend of the newlyweds, N. Peter LaMoria of the RI AGO was organist and Melissa Reynolds served as soloist and choir director ‘du jour’. The reception was held at the Meadow Brook Inn, Charlestown, RI with outdoor music provided by Your Favorite Brass Quintet and later by RI-based band Brass Attack. The couple will ‘honeymoon’ in Seattle in October at the American Institute of Organbuilders convention (poor Heather-Rose….)by taking the train home across the country.
Potter – Rathbun Organ Company announces new management
In October of 2005, Fred Whiteside announced his retirement as president of the Potter-Rathbun Organ Company. He had approached Brian Mattias in 2003 with his intentions to partially retire and ‘step down’ as president, and wondered if Brian would be interested in taking over his position. Mr. Whiteside began his tenure as president in the same way in 1993 when Arnold Rathbun retired and turned the company over to him. Earlier this spring, Mr. Mattias became the sole stockholder and new president of the corporation.
Simultaneously, Carol Rathbun has also announced her retirement as office manager. Mrs. Rathbun had performed all the duties of scheduling, bookkeeping, typing and payroll since 1957. She has been succeeded by Brian’s wife, Heather-Rose, who will be working part-time.
Fred and Carol both work part-time with the company – Carol assists Heather-Rose in the office and Fred is working approximately two days per week. Fred still loves to do organ work, now without the daily office ‘grind’ and Carol has more time to spend with her husband Arnold and her grandchildren.
Great news from 2005 Pittsburgh AIO convention!
The annual convention of the American Institute of Organbuilders was held in Pittsburgh, PA last October. It proved to be a very rewarding experience for the new president of our firm. Brian was elected by the membership to serve on the Board of Directors of the Institute. He was quite surprised because he has only been a member of the Institute since 2003. The term is for three years and Brian will serve as the board liaison to both the Convention and Exam Committees.
The AIO also has a professional certification program similar to that of the American Guild of Organists. Brian has attended the exam review session each year since his first convention in 2001 and this year he decided to try one of the professional exams. After successfully completing the four hour exam, he now holds a Colleague Certification. “When Roy Redman on the exam committee said something about people who ‘chicken out’ at the review, I felt I had to give it a shot now”, Brian said. “With taking over the business this fall, I felt it was the perfect time to challenge myself a bit more.”
Potter-Rathbun Organ Company, Inc.
520 Oaklawn Avenue
Cranston, RI 02920-3828
401-942-5410
401-942-9816 - Fax
brian@potterrathbun.com
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