Posted: 7/18/07
For the greater glory of God
 Perched atop First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Taylors Falls is a new organ that serves not only as a bridge to the future, but a tangible reminder of a long-standing relationship between a church, a family, and tradition. |
By Patrick Tepoorten
It's not every day that a family offers to donate a pipe organ to their local church It's not everyday in the 21st century that a church dedicates what amounts to a brand new church organ. First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Taylors Falls dedicated such an organ last Sunday; it was a collision of the history of church and family, and a desire by a parish to honor a tradition that goes back almost a hundred years.
To know the Mobergs is to know that two things, faith and music, are of foremost importance. Holger (deceased since 1995) and Leonore raised eight children to have a strong relationship with both. Among their descendents are many violinists, pianists, guitarists, cellists and, of course, organists.
Leonore taught countless youths in the Taylors Falls area to play the piano for over 50 years, and Holger served as organist and choir director at First Lutheran for years upon years. But there is much more to the story.
Organs were a passion of Holger's throughout his life, player, collector, installer. For most of his life Holger was the "go-to" guy for anything organ related, and that when he wasn't working as a teacher or principal in Taylors Falls.
To understand the depth of his passion for the instrument and the role it played in the everyday lives of the Moberg family, consider this: When Holger announced in the late 1960s that he wanted to build an addition onto the house to accommodate the family organ (which would ultimately contain a 19-rank organ and over 1000 pipes), no one thought it the least bit strange. In fact, it seemed not only natural, but came as a relief to Leonore, whose home was being taken over by the organ and pipes.
"Holger always had an idea, or a way to improve something," said Leonore. "And he was always collecting used organ pipes."
Some of those pipes would end up as part of the family organ, many others did not. Over the years Holger collected countless pipes and even a few organs. And while organ storage was sometimes an issue, - sons Ward and Michael would both end up with organs in their basements - pipe storage was an altogether larger matter. The sheer volume of what Holger had collected over his life would be fully realized after he passed away.
"It took about $1,000 and four large dumpsters to get rid of it all," said Ward.
"There were pipes under every bed, and in every spare corner," added Leonore. "They were stacked against trees in the yard."
And that was just the "extra" equipment. Still remaining was the family organ, in its very own addition.
Meanwhile, Leonore (so named for the Leonore Overtures by Beethoven), had been serving on the organ committee at First Lutheran for years. The committee's task was to replace an aging organ that had become almost impossible to service, primarily because the person responsible for taking care of the organ, Holger, was no longer around to take care of it.
"Holger installed that organ and he was always making additions, and additions to additions. Dad was always tinkering," said Ward, and there was really no way for anyone not intimately familiar with it to maintain it.
But the cost of a pipe organ is staggering. When the organ, pipes, and all of the space, carpentry, etc. required to house such a behemoth, the price tag can reach up to a half a million dollars and beyond.
The committee was at a dead end and without a specific project in mind, until Ward suggested to his mother in 2004 that they donate the family organ to the church. "I'd have never thought of it," said Leonore, but she liked the idea. The offer was made, and promptly accepted.
"They told me we made the organ project ‘do-able,'" chuckled Leonore.
Even though the donation of organ and pipes, at a value of somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000, was exactly what the parish needed, it would still require a significant monetary commitment from the church to accept. To make repairs and upgrades to the organ, and accommodate and install it, the church needed to raise about $125,000 on its own. Could it do that in a modest community like Taylors Falls?
In a word, yes.
"The way money came in was amazing," said Ward. Organ committee member Peter Lindgren spearheaded the fund-raising effort and had raised $85,000 in donations and pledges in around six months, enough to enter into a contract with the Moe Piano and Organ Company to complete the project.
It took two full days and numerous volunteers to remove it from the Moberg home. When all was said and done, the organ, with clean, re-voiced pipes with new tuning slides; a new console, draw knobs, pistons, blower motor, and chest work, among other things, had been placed in First Lutheran like it belonged there all along.
On Sunday, First Lutheran celebrated the completion of the installation by throwing a recital open to all. Playing that day was Diane Moberg Aikin, daughter of Ward (the current parish organist) and Kathy, granddaughter of Holger.
It seems fitting doesn't it?
At least Ward thinks so. "Dad would be pleased that the legacy of a pipe organ at First Lutheran lives on. And he would be thrilled that his granddaughter played. Yes, he would approve."
Indeed, there were many people at the recital to hear Diane, with her long pedigree in organ studies, including a Masters Degree from Notre Dame. She filled the church with a wide range of octaves from the 1,200 organ pipes, and the church once again was bursting at the seams with organ music.
Before the concert, Pastor Marvin Palmquist said of the occasion, "This is truly a day that the Lord has made."
"This is very exciting for me," said Lindgren, whose thoughts turned to Holger just before the concert. Holger was the choir director at Taylors Falls school as well as at church. "He had a little trick. He would teach the same songs at school as he did at church. He would call up kids to sing in church. When they would say, ‘but I haven't practiced,' he would say, ‘yes, you have.'"
Diane's final piece that day was Phantasie uber den Choral by M. Reger. It was a particular favorite of Holger's. In fact, the sheet music was found in Holger's files. Holger had offered a young Ward $100 if he could play it. "He may as well have offered me $100 to run a sub-four minute mile," said Ward. "He had the right idea, but the wrong generation."
Holger could not be present at the dedication, but some would argue that his presence in the church on Sunday was as strong as if he were. Long after his passing, his passion for organ, family, and faith, together with the parish's desire to preserve its traditions, came together in a celebration of it all.
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