Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1900

Date Range To

1910

Materials

WALNUT, IVORY, EBONY, COTTON, STEEL

No. Pieces

3

Height

147.0

Length

159.4

Width

81.3

Description

.1 ORGAN. ABOVE DIMENSIONS. 2 PIECES. HAS BEEN CONVERTED TO ELECTRICITY. 23 STOPS (1 MISSING). 2 KEYBOARDS. GREEN GRILL WORK COTTON COVER, LEAF AND FILIGREE WOOD DESIGN OVER COTTON. SOLD BY "ALBERTA & PIANO, CALGARY, ALBERTA" STAMPED ON FRONT OF ORGAN. ONE BOTTOM PANEL IS MISSING. "BELL & CO.'S VOX..MANA" LABEL ON BACK. COMPLETE WITH BASS PEDALS. PIPE AND CHAIN PROTRUDE FROM REAR OF ORGAN. DIAMOND PATTERN FABRIC ON REAR. BACK PANEL AND TOP ARE REMOVABLE. VENEER, PANELLING, AND LEAF COVERS THE SURFACE. PEDAL BOX IS COVERED WITH PIECE OF PLYWOOD. 2 METAL PEDALS PROTRUDE FROM EACH SIDE OF THE ORGAN. PEDALBOX SITS ON FLOOR IN FRONT OF ORGAN. PEDALS WORK IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH WOOD KNOBS ON FRONT BASE OF ORGAN. 30 PEDALS, 12 OF WHICH ARE RAISED. .2 BENCH. WOOD. 73.5CM (H) X 130 CM (L) X 40 CM (W). OAK BENCH WITH MEDIUM BROWN FINISH. BENCH HAS SUPPORTING BEAM BETWEEN LEGS IN MIDDLE. BENCH CONSTRUCTED WITH FLATHEAD SCREWS. RIBBED RELIEF ON LEG EDGES. WORN.

Subjects

MUSICAL T&E

Historical Association

RELIGION

History

FROM NORTH LETHBRIDGE (ST MARY'S) ANGLICAN CHURCH. *UPDATE* IN 2015 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. SHE WAS UNABLE TO FIND A LINK BETWEEN THE DONOR OF THIS ORGAN, WILLEM VANDER KOOY, AND THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF ST. MARY THE VIRGIN, BUT THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ABOUT VANDER KOOY WAS FOUND IN HIS LETHBRIDGE HERALD OBITUARY. WILLEM VANDER KOOY WAS BORN IN PYNACKER, HOLLAND IN 1909 AND MARRIED RIE WAMSTEEKER IN 1944. IN NOVEMBER 1949 HE IMMIGRATED TO CANADA, INITIALLY LIVING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, THEN HIGH RIVER, ALBERTA BEFORE MOVING TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA IN 1958. THE FAMILY SETTLED IN LETHBRIDGE IN 1967. VANDER KOOY WAS AN ACTIVE MUSICIAN, SERVING AS CHURCH ORGANIST IN ALMOST EVERY COMMUNITY WHERE HE LIVED, INCLUDING AT ST. ANDREW'S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN LETHBRIDGE FROM 1971 TO 1979, WHEN HE RETIRED. HE ALSO DIRECTED CHOIRS AND TAUGHT PIANO AND ORGAN. WILLEM VANDER KOOY DIED ON MARCH 24, 1981. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR VANDER KOOY'S OBITUARY. ST MARY’S ANGLICAN CHURCH BEGAN EARLY IN THE 1900S. THE EARLIEST ARCHIVAL RECORD IS A STATEMENT MADE IN JANUARY, 1906 THAT A GROUP OF PROMINENT MEMBERS OF ST. AUGUSTIN’S PARISHIONERS AGREED TO COVER A DEFICIT IN THE OPERATION OF ST. MARY’S MISSION UP TO $300. APPARENTLY, ST. MARY’S EXISTED BEFORE THIS DECISION, BUT IT IS UNKNOWN FOR HOW LONG. A FORMAL ORGANIZATION MEETING FOR ST. MARY’S MISSION WAS HELD ON APRIL 20. 1908. THE SEPARATE PARISH OF ST. MARY’S WAS ESTABLISHED ON FEBRUARY 1, 1910. THE “NEW” CHURCH WAS BUILT IN 1912, AND USED BY THE PARISH UNTIL IT CLOSED IN 2003. THE NORTH SIDE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP THEN RENTED THE BUILDING UNTIL 2006, WHEN THE PROPERTY WAS SOLD TO A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL. THERE WERE AT LEAST EIGHT RECTORS (PRIESTS) AT ST MARY’S BETWEEN 1910 AND 1944, INCLUDING SOME PERIODS OF TIME WHEN NO PRIEST WAS AVAILABLE (OR AFFORDABLE). IN 1944, ROBERT COWAN ARRIVED AND SERVED ST. MARY’S FOR THE NEXT 37 YEARS UNTIL 1981, A TERM UNPARALLELED IN THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF CALGARY. IT WAS DURING THIS TIME THAT ST. MARY’S BECAME KNOWN HAS ST. MARY THE VIRGIN. CANON COWAN RETURNED TO ST MARY’S AS A PARISHIONER FOR A FEW YEARS LATER, AND REMAINED UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1999. MICHAEL EBSWORTH SERVED AS RECTOR FROM 1981 UNTIL 1994, WHEN HE RESIGNED DUE TO HEALTH REASONS. FATHER EBSWORTH REMAINED A RESIDENT OF LETHBRIDGE, OFTEN SERVING AS A “VISITING” PRIEST, AND HE TOOK PART IN THE FINAL SERVICE AT ST. MARY’S HELD ON AUGUST 14, 2003. IN THE FINAL DECADE OF ST MARY’S EXISTENCE, FIVE OTHER PRIESTS SERVED THE PARISH, INCLUDING TWO FEMALE PRIESTS WHICH SOME FOUND SURPRISING DUE TO ST. MARY’S TRADITIONAL LITURGICAL PRACTICES. THE CHURCH CLOSED AND AMALGAMATED WITH THE ANGLICAN PARISH OF ST. AUGUSTINE. OTHER OBJECTS AND ARCHIVAL MATERIALS ASSOCIATED WITH ST. MARY'S OPERATION WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF CALGARY. AT THE TIME OF ITS CLOSURE, ST MARY'S WAS THE LONGEST OPERATING OF ANY LETHBRIDGE CHURCH IN THE CURRENT PREMISES. FOR COMPLETE HISTORY SEE PERMANENT FILE P20060021001.

Catalogue Number

P19662228000

Acquisition Date

1966-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail