Material Type

Artifact

Date

1897

Materials

OAK, IVORY, CARPET, NICKEL PLATE

No. Pieces

1

Height

119.4

Length

132.1

Width

53.1

Description

HINGED MUSIC STAND OPENS TO REVEAL MUSIC STORAGE COMPARTMENT. TOP IS BROKEN. 10 STOPS. PEDAL OPERATED. NON-FUNCTIONAL. SCALLOP AND FLORAL PATTERN ON FRONT. "DOMINION ORGAN CO. MOUSE PROOF PATENTED 87" ON FOOT PEDALS. "ESTEYORGAN CO. THE BALTTEBORO U.S.A. BALTTEBORO VT." SEAL ABOVE KEYBOARD. FINISH BADLY SCRATCHED AND MARRED. BACK IS A PLYWOOD REPLACEMENT. CARPET ON PEDALS WORN THROUGH. 3 "KNOB" DECORATIONS ON EACH SIDE OF FRONT. ONE FRONT PANEL REMOVED. KEYBOARD LID IS NON-FUNCTIONAL. LEFT PEDAL DAMAGED. KEYLOCK ON KEYBOARD LID.

Subjects

MUSICAL T&E

Historical Association

RELIGION

History

USED IN COALDALE CATHOLIC CHURCH. *UPDATE* IN 2015 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. SHE DETERMINED THAT THE DONOR OF THIS ORGAN, REV. GREGORY MCLELLAN, WAS THE PRIEST AT ST. AMBROSE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN COALDALE FROM 1956 TO 1969. THE FOLLOWING BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. AMBROSE PARISH WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM THE BOOKS 'FROM THE BUFFALO TO THE CROSS: A HISTORY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CALGARY' (1973) AND 'WINDS OF CHANGE: A HISTORY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CALGARY SINCE 1968' (2004). BY 1928 THE GROWING CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN COALDALE WAS BEING SERVICED BY LETHBRIDGE PRIESTS, HOLDING MASS IN THE COALDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL. A LOT WAS SECURED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CHURCH, BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1935 WHEN THE DISUSED OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH BUILDING FROM HARDIEVILLE WAS MOVED TO COALDALE AND OPENED UNDER THE TITLE OF ST. AMBROSE. THE PARISH CONTINUED TO BE SERVED BY PRIESTS FROM LETHBRIDGE. THE STRUCTURE WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE ON JULY 21, 1942, AND A NEW CHURCH, BUILT BY VOLUNTEERS, WAS ERECTED IN 1943 AND BLESSED BY THE BISHOP IN DECEMBER 1944. FOUR YEARS LATER, COALDALE WAS DESIGNATED AS AN INDENPENDENT PARISH TO BE SERVED BY THEIR OWN PRIEST. FATHER MCLELLAN WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SEPARATE CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN 1958, AND A LARGER CHURCH IN 1960, WHICH WAS FUNDED BY DONATIONS OF LAND, MONEY, LABOUR, AND MATERIALS FROM PARISHIONERS. BY THE 1990S, A SHORTAGE OF PRIESTS IN THE CALGARY DIOCESE AND LESS LOCAL CATHOLIC FAMILIES ATTENDING THE PARISH CONTRIBUTED TO THE DIOCESE'S 1999 DECISION TO TWIN ST. AMBROSE WITH ST. CATHERINE'S CHURCH IN PICTURE BUTTE, MEANING BOTH COMMUNITIES WOULD BE SERVED BY ONE PRIEST. AT THE TIME OF THIS SURVEY, ST. AMBROSE PARISH IS STILL SERVING THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN COALDALE. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON THE DONOR, REV. GREGORY MCLELLAN, WAS EXCERPTED FROM HIS CALGARY HERALD OBITUARY AND THE BOOK 'WINDS OF CHANGE: A HISTORY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CALGARY SINCE 1968' (2004). MCLELLAN WAS BORN IN 1923 IN DEEPDALE, NOVA SCOTIA, AND GREW UP IN CALGARY, WHERE HE PLAYED BASEBALL WITH THE PURITY 99 TEAM. HE WORKED AT THE CALGARY BREWERY AND THE NACMINE COAL MINE BEFORE BEING ORDAINED AS A CATHOLIC PRIEST IN APRIL 1949. MCLELLAN HAD MANY APPOINTMENTS THROUGHOUT ALBERTA, INCLUDING MULTIPLE PARISHES IN CALGARY, MEDICINE HAT, CARDSTON, AND OKOTOKS. DURING HIS SERVICE AT ST. AMBROSE IN COALDALE, HE WAS KNOWN AS A BUILDER OF COMMUNITY VALUES, PROMOTING CROSS-DENOMINATIONAL CO-OPERATION BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND OTHER CHRISTIAN CONGREGATIONS IN THE AREA. FATHER MCLELLAN WAS ALSO A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF CALGARY CHINOOK. HE DIED ON JANUARY 30, 2013 IN CALGARY. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR HARDCOPIES OF SOURCE MATERIALS.

Catalogue Number

P19662318000

Acquisition Date

1966-11

Collection

Museum

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