Postcard History

By Sally J. Saddleton

When I was a child, my father Adam Saddleton, was stationed at the Naval Base in San Diego, California. My dad had a very keen interest in classical music, and he especially liked organ music. I never thought much about his interest in music until I was about nine years old.

Much of what I remember about being very young happened on a Sunday. It was a special day of the week for me because I got to spend most Sunday afternoons at my Pop-Pop’s house. His real name was Herbert, but I never called him that. He and my grandmother lived only a few miles from a place called Balboa Park.

For many reasons, Balboa Park is a very special place for my family. I’m going to tell you about one of the reasons Balboa Park was special. The world’s largest outdoor pipe organ is in Balboa Park!

The reason I spent most Sunday afternoons with my grandparents was even back then the Department of Recreation sponsored Sunday afternoon organ recitals. And, if it was Sunday and if there was a concert scheduled, that would be where my parents were.

Then when I was nine, my dad asked if I would like to go with them to the concert. It was a difficult decision, because Pop-Pop often took me for ice cream, but on that day, I guessed that Dad wanted me to go with them. That day changed my life!

Sunday afternoon organ concerts in Balboa Park always offered a beautiful blend of music. These free concerts feature the iconic Spreckels Organ against a backdrop of beautiful California weather in one of the state’s most popular public landscapes.

Audiences begin to gather around eleven o’clock each Sunday; for many it is a weekly “after-church” routine. Many bring a picnic lunch. The concerts begin sharply at 2 PM and every week there is a variety that includes classical, popular, and whimsical selections.  My favorites were always the boisterous and crash-bang pieces. The louder the better! As loud as hell was best!! Even louder!!!

If you ever have a possibility of hearing a concert – Be There!

I never cared much about the music. It was, “Okay,” but I realized immediately that it was the “sound” that fascinated me. I also recognized that putting that sound into the air would take a lot of skill, and THAT is what I wanted to do. And I never changed my mind. I didn’t want to learn to play an organ, I did manage a fairly competent clarinet in the high school band, but my eye toward a career was always and has been, for 34 years, on the organ.

Several universities offer pipe organ majors, primarily focusing on organ performance, organ literature, and history. Yes, I wanted all those things, but I was more interested in organ design and construction. Even my graduate degree project included an organ design; it played only eight notes, but it was ear-splittingly loud!

My career has enabled me to travel to six continents. I’ve made numerous – about 30 to 35 – trips to Europe, nine to Asia, three to Africa, six to South America, and I have worked in five Canadian provinces and 44 American states.

They call me, the organ lady!

I did not know about my nickname until the spring of 2017. My phone rang early on Tuesday morning; I picked up as the fourth ring died away. I said, hello and a timid little voice on the other end ask, “Are you the organ lady?” I replied that I was, and the voice asked if I would hold the phone for her mother, she was calling from Kansas and her mother was getting ready for work, but she needed to talk to me.

By Thursday at noon, I was in Kansas in a place they call, “the fly-over zone.” I was met at the airport, and the church’s organ was repaired by three that afternoon. God, I love my job!

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It has never been easy but when I travel, I like to photograph the instruments I work on. Some that I have worked on are on the postcards I’m sharing with you. And if there is a story that I can remember, it is with the picture.

The Kotzschmar organ is in Portland, Maine, at the Merrill Auditorium. It was built in 1911 by the Austin Company; it carries serial number 323. The Austin Company also built the organ in Balboa Park. This postcard shows the organ around 1912, just two years after it was donated to Portland by Cyrus Curtis, the founder of the Curtis Publishing Company. Curtis’s donation was intended to honor Hermann Kotzschmar, a family friend after whom he was named.

In 2014, the Kotzschmar had a multimillion-dollar façade replacement but remains the largest pipe organ in Maine.

The most difficult job I was ever assigned was the replacement of the 26-foot-long E-flat pipe in the left rank seen on this postcard. I had to work from the top of a thirty-foot ladder that was held in place by two pieces of two-by-four lumber nailed to the floor.

My favorite job ever was in Mexico, at the Cathedral of Puebla, which is a fair-sized city about 50 miles southeast of Mexico City. The work was easy, but it was in very tight quarters; nearly all the air-flow plugs had rotted in the extreme humidity. It really was enjoyable work, but I had to reach up (over my head) to complete each replacement. When I finished, each of my arms felt as if it weighed a ton.

Zoar Village is a very small village in east-central Ohio. It is the smallest organ I have repaired. Actually, all I had to do was vacuum an insect nest out of the g-flat pipe. I seem to remember it took only ten minutes. I only asked for travel expenses.

The Great Organ in the Music Hall of Cincinnati is an Albee Wurlitzer. It was not an easy instrument to work on since the original paperwork was lost many years before I arrived. This organ was built in 1927 for the RKO Albee Theatre in downtown Cincinnati. It was designed to accompany silent films. Today it is played only at special events.

The organ is one of the tallest, I’ve repaired – over 82 feet. The strain was extreme, but the sound was magnificent.

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May I anticipate your questions? Lots of people ask where is your favorite pipe organ? My obligatory answer is Balboa Park. But I really have three favorites: the first is Balboa because of the sentimental value, but the truth is, in Gdansk, Poland there is an organ on which I once heard the Sortie in e flat by Louis Lefébure-Wély, (A “Sortie” is the music played as parishioners leave mass. It’s on Youtube.)

My third favorite is in Paris at the church of Saint Sulpice. Sadly, I’ve never had the opportunity to work there but I have visited. The organ is in the balcony above the main entrance. To reach the sacristy you must walk “under” the sound. It is a total thrill! Right down to the heels of your feet. Concerts follow the eleven o’clock mass each Sunday. The day I was there only a few left after the benediction – everyone else remained seated. Some took books out of their purses, some did something on their phone, and I even saw one old man remove a sandwich from his jacket pocket.

There are lots of people who want to know how much I am paid. My answer is, “a lot!”

Questions about South America are popular. I’ve traveled to South America a few times, my favorite organ is the very notable Walcker organ in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellin, Colombia. That organ has over 3,000 pipes and it makes a big sound.

Finally, there is another organ I’ve never worked on, but in southeastern Pennsylvania at a place called Longwood Gardens there is a massive instrument called, The Longwood. It is a significant pipe organ and deserves mention. It is one of the largest Aeolian organs ever constructed in a residential setting, comprising 10,010 pipes and 146 ranks. From what I’ve been told, it can make a very loud sound.