Community helps save Roosevelt HS's pipe organ Volunteers repair Froula Memorial Organ for return to its rightful place in newly renovated school theater
■ Pipe Organ Foundation president Carl Dodrill (from left), Roosevelt High School (RHS) alumnus Carl Presley ‘61, Puget Sound Theater Organ Society member Warren Henderson and RHS alumnus John Butler ‘65 refinish the donor parts of another organ and the usable parts of the Froula Memorial Organ. photo/Betsy Berger
Roosevelt High School's 68-year-old pipe organ used to play every morning as students arrived at school. But for the last few decades it has been rarely played.
Neglected for many years, the fate of the Froula Memorial Pipe Organ was unknown when the school began its renovation in 2004. It seemed as though the beloved pipe organ was to be left in district storage until a group of alumni, parents and pipe organ foundations stepped in to make sure there was a place for the instrument in the new school theater.
"It was very satisfying to save some of the school's [history], and the organ was part of that," said Andrea Wilson, a former Roosevelt parent and a key fund-raiser.
With $78,000 raised through alumni and community donations and a $25,000 donation from the Seattle chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the pipe organ is now being repaired.
The Seattle-based Pipe Organ Foundation is doing the work.
REPAIRING THE ORGAN
When Pipe Organ Foundation president Carl Dodrill first saw the organ, he noticed two problems. The organ was in bad shape, and the newly carpeted school theater would create acoustic problems when the organ was played. The only way to fix these problems was to repair and expand the existing organ.
Luckily for Dodrill, a church in Palo Alto, Calif., donated parts from a bigger organ made by the same company, Moller Organ Co., in Hagerstown, Md. With these parts, the Pipe Organ Foundation expanded the original organ to correct the problems.
The original organ had 500 pipes; this will increase to 1,100 pipes, with new wiring and digital elements that were not available in the 1940s.
The organ also will increase to about 400 square feet in size, with pipe sizes ranging from 16 feet down to the size of a pencil.
ITS NAMESAKE
In 1938, Roosevelt's first principal, V.K. Froula, died of a heart attack. Froula was beloved by many students, and to show their gratitude and affection, the faculty, students and community raised money to buy and install the organ in 1940.
Organs were a common instrument at the time, and many people played them. The Froula organ was played every morning during school assemblies, and some principals even played it as Roosevelt students came to school until the 1970s, according to Dodrill.
Sentimental memories were one of the main reasons many Roosevelt alumni responded overwhelmingly to the campaign to restore and save the organ.
"It had a history with the students," Wilson said. "It was interesting [for me] to learn about the history of the school and about Mr. Froula."
NEED FOR VOLUNTEERS, DONATIONS
The restoration and expansion is no easy task, and the small group of volunteers at the Pipe Organ Foundation is desperately seeking help from the community.
Dodrill estimated the volunteer time needed for the project to be around 3,000 hours. Volunteer work would include cleaning the 1,100 pipes and bellows, helping with wiring and other repetitive tasks that the foundation needs help with.
Dodrill said that even volunteering for a few hours a week would help the foundation tremendously, and no experience with organ repair is needed.
"All of this will be done with guidance," he said. "No one will have to come in and guess."
With volunteer help, Dodrill hopes to have the organ complete by next September.
Wilson hopes to create a maintenance fund to make sure the pipe organ does not fall into such poor shape again so students and the community will be able to continue to use it.
To donate, Wilson said personal checks and money orders should go to the Alliance for Education, 509 Olive Way, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101 (go to www.alliance4ed for more information).
Donations should include a note stating the donation is for the Froula Memorial Organ Fund.
To help repair the organ, call 236-3492.
"Without volunteer help we wouldn't be able to do this," Wilson said.
