The Last Vestiges of M. P. Möller? Recent visits to Hagerstown spur 20-year-old recollections Randall S. Dyer
ven as Bynum Petty’s anticipated Hanson, chairman of the board, were E book on the life of Mathias Peter qualifi ed to guide Möller and set qual- Möller and the early years of the com- ity standards. pany he founded nears completion, what may have been the last chapter of or- Years of decline ganbuilding at 403 N. Prospect Street in But the union was only one of the Hagerstown, Maryland, was playing out problems at Möller. As the decade of during a cold week in March 2011. On the 1990s dawned, organ industry stat- January 5 of that year, as our crew was istician Robert Ebert would continue to working in northern Virginia, removing track a decline in overall organ industry an organ for rebuilding, I made a quick sales; there was no question that a seri- trip to Hagerstown to take pipes for re- ous recession was at hand. pair at Eastern Organ Pipes. Their busi- Internal documents would later reveal ness has always been located in a part a company frantically struggling to main- of the old Möller plant. Having visited tain the place it perceived for itself in it in bygone days, the church’s organist, the industry while trying to fi gure out a who had played Möller organs for years, way to make a profi t, something that had wanted to go along to visit what remained been elusive for a long time. In the most of the once-proud factory again. Hanging on the corner of the former office building at 403 N. Prospect, the sign for recent six-year period, losses had ranged Eastern Organ Pipes is the last reminder of organ work in the building. Just beyond from a low of $475,000 to as much as Fire the office is the Möller Company’s famous erecting room. $1.7 million. Healthcare was running Back on the job site loading our truck nearly 10% of sales. the next day, I received a late-afternoon The new owners, a consortium of busi- phone call from long-time friend Da- nessmen with backgrounds in managing vid Bottom of Lexington, Kentucky. He other companies, launched into an effort didn’t even say hello. “Are you in Hag- to bring Möller around. Meetings were erstown, watching the fi re?” His words held with mid-level management and sent cold chills down my spine because I shop foremen. As late as December 1991, knew immediately that he was referring a “Strategic Action Plan” outlined 26 to our mutual interest, the old Möller areas of potential improvement, and ex- factory, the nooks and crannies of which plored ways and timelines for dealing with we both had plied for years. Beyond the them in the new year. The vision, entitled immediate concern for the safety of our “Möller Number One,” was for Möller to friends there, my mind eventually turned be “the undisputed Number One builder to replacing the pipes I had left, which of pipe organs” in the world. must surely have been consumed; after all, the last I saw them, they were in the Obstacles to success room next to where the fi re was reported The list of obstacles to success includ- to have started. ed “trying to be all things” to a very broad During the course of the next several customer base (which included tracker days, it became apparent that the media, organs); “poor product documentation” as is typical these days, had greatly over- within the factory (resulting in rework played the seriousness of the situation. costs when details were changed after an An eventual phone call to Hagerstown organ was under construction); general revealed that my pipes were fi ne. Most “resistance to change” at all levels; and of the damage had been confi ned to the confl icts between “customization and spray booth area and the fl oor immedi- standardization” (the big organs versus ately above it, all located in a cheaply the little ones). constructed wooden addition to the back View of the burned area from the south, looking back toward the spray booth. Rick Committees were appointed to deal of the main building. Though hampered Morrison is taking notes and talking on the phone at the far end of the room. with things as mundane as open pipe by an inoperative sprinkler system, ap- seams, resulting from use of green (un- parently disabled without warning at cured) metal; diffi culty attaching reed some past date, the fi re department had barrels to blocks because of dirty sol- done a heroic job. Only smoke permeat- der; and old worn-out machinery that ed the workspace, and most of the water needed to have cutting parts adjusted damage was confi ned to a few inches of and sharpened. Apparently one very se- depth in the sub-basement casting and rious problem was inadequate fi tting in cut-out areas. the erecting room, which was resulting in diffi culties at the installation site. A Möller closing suggested solution was to appoint factory For those who may not remember, installation teams that would follow the the M. P. Möller Company abruptly organs through fi nal assembly right on ceased operation on a Wednesday in to site completion. Major remodeling to April 1992. With the business no longer the Prospect Street plant, or even a com- in family hands, the new owners had be- pletely new factory, was also suggested to come weary of the constant injections of improve manufacturing fl ow. cash required to keep it afl oat. Employ- In the sales department, new advertis- ees were called into the erecting room ing initiatives were studied. Executive at the afternoon break, and told there summaries cheered major advancements was no money in the bank to meet the in quality, but recognized the need to following day’s payroll; they were free to cover the extra cost involved while re- go home. maining competitive. At the same time, There had long been tension with the fi ascos on several high-profi le projects, union. A bitter twelve-week strike in including St. James Church in New York 1984 ended with the resignation of the City, were readily admitted to have re- president, Kevin Möller, grandson of the sulted in a loss of client base. And a two- founder. Peter Möller Daniels, another manual, 25-rank tracker organ in Texas grandson, followed in the president’s of- ran $175,000 over budget! fi ce. But sparring with the union contin- To help bring fallow territories back ued, and on 25 July 1986, Daniels asked into the fold, a strategy was detailed for them to take a 75 cent per hour pay cut, wooing a lengthy list of formerly friendly, and eliminate three paid holidays, this a well-known organists and consultants. refl ection of Möller’s 69% loss of market Proposed methods included luncheon share over the previous year. The union invitations, visits to “show organs,” and refused; the company cut the workweek trips to see the factory. Field represen- to 32.5 hours. tatives were encouraged to join as many On 13 August 1986, the board abruptly AGO chapters in their territories as pos- placed Peter Daniels on administrative sible, in order to hear of new prospects. leave, and appointed the fi rst non-fam- It didn’t help that Wicks was offering a ily member, Ronald Ellis, as president. special 10% discount on outstanding While Ellis made conciliatory offers to proposals signed before the end of 1991, the union, and was rebuffed, Daniels and Zimmer was known to be nearly 50% made his displeasure with everything View from the loading dock area facing south toward the spray booth: in the center under the Möller pricing—both fi rms known in the local newspaper, stating of the picture, the source of the January 2011 fi re. Daylight at the top of the picture were regarded as serious competition, that he didn’t believe Ellis and Henry is from an open hole burned in the ceiling of the room. particularly in the small organ market.
24 THE DIAPASON
Jan 2012 pp. 24-29.indd 24 12/13/11 9:03:58 AM Joe Frushour’s work bench in the second fl oor metal pipe area. With only a dust- ing of smoke, this space was not otherwise damaged. A picture of the same area, remarkably similar in appearance, is found in Junchen, Encyclopedia of the Theatre Organ, Vol. 1, p. 396.
Without power in the building, the elevator was unusable. By removing the railing on the second fl oor balcony, a fork truck was able to lift down heavy materials from the pipe shop area behind the camera. Brad Jones is loading a small Pexto shear. The author is operating the fork truck.
of building the parts would be farmed Eastern Organ Pipes, formed by out on a piece basis to a group of small Frederick (Rick) Morrison, Alvin (Jack) Patterns on the wall hang over the shallot-making area companies remaining in the building. Rogers, Delphin (Joe) Frushour, and These fi rms were also free to sell directly Dave Keedy, was the pipe-making arm of to the trade under their own names. the operation. All of the principals had
Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Series Jeremy Filsell, organ
Sat, Jan 21, 3pm An empty Möller pipe box on the fl oor of the erecting room. Church pews at the Verizon Hall back of the photo are stored by another renter. Attempts to revive the company mined that it would. Tempers fl ared. Un- RACHMANINOFF: Etude-Tableau Following the April dismissal in the der-the-breath remarks were exchanged. Op. 39, No. 9 in D major erecting room, several attempts were And in spite of the terms outlined in the DUPRÉ: Prelude & Fugue in E minor, made to revive the company. A letter sales brochure, the auction company did Op. 36, No. 1 from Paul Coughlin, chairman of the a poor job managing dispersion of sold BOSSI: Giga Op.73 board, to contracted clients dated 12 materials. Even bulky items, including DUPRÉ: Prelude & Fugue in A-flat, August 1992, thanked them for their pa- lumber and brass, disappeared before Opus 36, No. 2 tience, and talked of progress on an em- the true buyers were able to present ployee-sponsored buyout. But employ- their paid receipts and get their trucks SOWERBY: Prelude on “Were You ees were apparently not pleased with the backed up to the door. There?” idea of mortgaging their personal prop- Items we bought are still in use in DUPRÉ: Prelude & Fugue in C, erty to secure the necessary bank loans. our shop, including one of the swing- Op. 36, No. 3 Ultimately, no solutions were found; as arm drills from the chest department, RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Bruton Parish Church threatened le- an adjustable-height table, which works Dances, Op. 45 gal action for return of a contract down well with that drill, and several four- payment, it appeared there would be no wheel factory-style carts. The 900 wood- more work at 403 N. Prospect Street. en drawknobs were all used after being “Filsell’s astonishing interpretative turned down by Jan Rowland to a style and technical skills make for Public auction that belied their ancestry. compulsive listening…few British A four-day public auction, attended by players can match his flair.” an estimated 2,100 people from around Another revival attempt —Gramophone, London the country, commenced in the world’s Much of the equipment and stock largest pipe organ erecting room at 9 am was purchased by Paul Stuck, a Chicago on Wednesday, 13 January 1993. Like the businessman with a vision of continu- documents in the offi ce suite, personal ing to build organs in Hagerstown, us- items—tools, calendars, apparel—left by ing the available pool of talent there. On Sale Now! the employees were still in place the day Great hype was made of the fact that of the sale as if to bear evidence of their he bought the Möller name, fi les and owners’ quick departure. “trade secrets,” whatever those might kimmelcenter.org 215.893.1999 The event resembled a feeding frenzy have been, for $50,000. in a shark tank. Those whose agenda was Operating under the corporate name sponsored by: to make sure organbuilding equipment King of Instruments, his umbrella com- would not be used again in a competi- pany was to handle sales, assembly, in- tive way bid against those equally deter- stallation, and service. The actual work
JANUARY, 2012 25
JJanan 22012012 ppp.p. 224-29.indd4-29.indd 2255 12/13/11 9:04:21 AM One of the ABF pup trailers is parked at the back loading dock, adjacent to the area of the January fi re. Remnants of the spray booth exhaust fan hang out of the build- ing. The back side of the original southwest building, dating from 1896, complete with Möller sign, clearly shows the extent of deterioration.
worked in the Möller factory, either as 1995, Stuck’s operation had crashed, pipemakers or as voicers, and they were and a second, though much smaller, joined by several other former Möller auction was held to liquidate his bank’s employees as helpers. The fi rm occupied holdings. This time we bought the three fl oors in the metal pipe shop area knee-panel bending jig, but once again north of the erecting room and directly churches lost down payments, and or- behind the offi ces and engineering de- gans in process were left to be fi nished partment. Casting and cut-out remained by others. in the basement of the same building. Large pipe rolling, pipe-metal planing, Post Möller and the spray booth were on the former Eastern and the chest/console group, loading dock along the Pennsylvania Hagerstown Organ Company, fl our- Railroad spur that had brought in rough ished in their own right. Former Möller Items brought down from the second fl oor pipe shop are arranged for placement on lumber and carried off completed organs representatives and service personnel one of the ABF trailers, in the world’s largest pipe organ erecting room. The large in years past. seeking “in-style” equipment to enlarge window is visible in the picture of the front of the building. Junchen, vol. 1, has several pictures of the erecting room; in the photo on page 397, the photographer of Within 18 months, trouble was brew- or rebuild existing Möller organs, were this picture was standing near the balcony door in the center left of the picture. ing again. When Stuck failed to pay frequent clients of both fi rms, but a fol- back rent totaling $20,000, building lowing of others, including ourselves, owner Vincent Groh sued. By April also developed.
The largest piece moved, a 10-foot Pexto power shear, is pulled up a ramp from the basement, chained to the fork truck. Mounted on machinery movers (visible in the photo on the far end of the machine) it was moved past the fi re area to the trailer, by shoving with the fork truck. Once staged facing into the trailer, the fork truck had to get into a narrow corner behind it, and side shift it onto the trailer in 18-inch movements.
At the time, we were looking for an al- After the fi re ternate domestic pipe supplier, and wel- In the aftermath of the following comed a new source. Beginning almost day’s fi re, however, enthusiasm began immediately, many ranks of reed and to wane, and the owners, all nearing fl ue pipes were purchased from Eastern or past retirement age, eventually de- and installed in our organs. They also did cided to accept the insurance compa- excellent repair of existing pipes. We de- ny’s buy-out offer. The equipment and veloped a close working friendship with materials of Eastern Organ Pipes were everyone there, and got quality products sold to the highest bidder by a Geor- in return. Since our vehicles make trips gia salvage broker on Friday, 18 March up and down I-81 multiple times a year, 2011, at 12 noon. stopping in Hagerstown for a pick up or The winning bid was proffered by drop off was routine. Oyster Pipe Works, of Louisville, Ohio. During our January visit, Ed had Fred Oyster, a former reed voicer at an- rounded out a couple of large pipes other fi rm, is well known in the industry, while Lana looked up something in our and in recent years has been successful fi le. We watched Gary beat Oboe reso- in establishing his own shop. A friend nators around a mandrel, and Cindy was and colleague for many years, we had en- washing a new set of beautifully made couraged his bid, and we gladly jumped Rohrfl öte pipes she had just finished. in to help expedite removal of the con-
26 THE DIAPASON
Jan 2012 pp. 24-29.indd 26 12/13/11 9:05:34 AM Ignominous end: Replaced by Möller in the late 1980s, stripped out parts of the 1960 Reuter console from Belmont United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, litter the fl oor in the far southeast second fl oor room of the console department. The locker contains a shirt and two jackets left over from the 1992 sale. This room is pictured in Junchen, Vol. 1, p. 400, bottom right.
tents, happy to think the tooling would book, The Encyclopedia of the Ameri- still be used to make pipes. can Theatre Organ. One is immediately Beginning at 7:30 am on Tuesday, 22 taken by the organization and fl ow of March, our crew from Tennessee swept materials through the place in its hey- the broken glass from the parking lot, day. An insurance drawing of the build- made arrangements for a portable toi- ing shows the vastness of the space, at let, and backed our truck up to the dock one time totaling more than 125,000 door to unload packing materials and square feet. The quantity of completed supplies. In the darkness of the building, work that moved through the plant, at condemned and without heat or power, one time as many as 30 organs a month, we began a clean-up of fi re damage, is almost incomprehensible. wearing dust masks and hard hats, and Before leaving Hagerstown, I took one using generator-powered string lights in last trip around a decaying old building order to see. through which I will probably never walk In a room lit with one drop light, Fred Oyster explains his theory of loading a 14-foot- By the time Fred and helpers from again. That it still stands seems a minor long slab of marble onto the four-wheel truck to its right. Fred’s son Nate stands at Ohio arrived after lunch, we had also ar- miracle, given the broken windows, roof the back with a miner’s light on his helmet. An earlier view of this room is found in ranged for a forklift truck to bring heavy leaks, sagging fl oors and crumbling brick. Junchen, Vol. 1, p. 400, bottom left. items down from the second fl oor pipe- Though technically “locked,” graffi ti in making room. What followed for the next remote areas testifi es that in fact, it is Driving away in a truck laden with tute of Organbuilders. Now in its 38th year, the Institute meets regularly in conventions three days was fast and intensive work in quite open, and one suspects that shady nearly 10,000 pounds of pipe mandrels, and seminars throughout the United States a building that was leaking rainwater and people roam it at will. I was struck by the idea that the last and Canada, during which attendees have an cold wind through multiple openings in Floor after fl oor reveals organ parts chapter of active organ building at 403 opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with walls and roof. On the third morning it of various descriptions, all old, many left N. Prospect Street had probably just colleagues and suppliers, as well as to hear was 32 degrees inside and out. from the fi rst sale in 1992. Chests, pipes, closed. But until such time as the build- technical lectures, visit organ shops and see Two pup trailers were staged by ABF and disassembled consoles are strewn ing might be completely demolished and local instruments of interest. Information is Motor Freight, one in the space of the throughout the space in a helter-skelter hauled away, vestiges of M. P. Möller will available at
JANUARY, 2012 27
Jan 2012 pp. 24-29.indd 27 12/13/11 9:06:01 AM