• Sunday-What'sUP November 29 - 10:43 am

This year Thanksgiving was sandwiched between two very appropriate Shoebox Memories about Pipe Organs in the U.P. As we offered last week, here's another Prelude and Fugue by Bach (this time in C major - either mp3 or Windows Media format) while you continue reading another article from The Diapason magazine. This one's from a couple of years ago, a historical exploration by Jan Dalquist:

Beautiful sanctuaries and organs!

Beautiful. What magnificient works of art!! Here's a Wikipedia link on pipe organs....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_organ

And...only 2 more days to vote! Like JBuck says..."No time to stop voting now"....

http://playday.kaboom.org/

Let's get that playground for Ontonagon! Thanks to all who are voting!!! Keep up the STELLAR work!

I can recall attending Midnight Mass at St Joseph and listening intently to the great Holiday music as Aunt Aurelia DuPuis was the organist. Just looking over this great picture, taken after much hard work by local citizens to refurbrish the interior a few years ago. Years ago when there were more priest to serve the parish one can see 4 alters where mass could be said. If I recall corectly at one time Fr. Raymond & Fr. Mayrand would weekly have a mass in French for the elderly locals. In the 1950's I was present for one mass said from the small alter up above the main alter.

Nice presentation and the musical interactive is nifty.

Wow! Beautiful churches!!! I go to a church with burnt orange pews and brown carpet. It was probably built in the 60s or 70s. It still does the job though! :)

The handwork of man is seen in these beautiful churches and organs that were constructed in worship of a God who is found in the essence of man's being.

Being of a Lutheran background, I want to bring to mind two organs-one at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Laurium, and the other at SS Peter and Paul Lutheran Church in Hancock. Reverend Schultz would have concerts for the members of the community and St. Paul’s. (Many Sunday mornings, my mother-in-law, Verna Brewer, would play that organ.) I do not know if SS Peter and Paul Church took the pipe organ with them when they moved to Houghton this spring.
I also recall a church in Houghton that would have concerts; Isabel Hagen, member of my Copper Country Community Arts Council Board of Directors, would play the organ. (I am sorry to say I forgot the name of the church, maybe some of you who lived there, could recall the names of some of these churches who had concerts for the community.) I know that my sons learned to appreciate fine music by attending the various concerts at these churches in the Copper Country, and I am truly thankful for that they had the opportunity to see and hear these pipe organs. It is great to hear that the children of the Copper Country are continuing to hear music from these magnificent musical instruments.

Le’Ron McClain of the Baltimore Ravens hand-selected these 5 Play Days as his favorites. Now it’s your turn to vote for which Play Days you like best. The two Play Days with the most votes will each receive a $10,000 playspace improvement grant from NFL PLAY 60.

Come back daily through 12/1/09 to vote for your favorite Play Day.

Helen..thanks for this!

I'll quit bugging everyone....It's been SUPER!!! Thank you Pasty Cammers!!! Every single person that has voted....ya'll deserve one big group hug!

And thank you Joanie too!

When I lived up there, I had the chance to play the pipe organ in St. Joe's after mass one day. I still look back fondly on that experience.

I really miss Sunday mornings at St. Joe's.

Truly Magnificent!

Aurelia Dupuis was my great grandmother. She was an orphan raised by the nuns at St. Ann's Academy. At my grandmother's funeral, David Short, the current organist at St. Joseph's, was kind enough to show me the Cassavant organ she played for more than 60 years. There is a certificate hanging nearby signed by the pope commemorating her achievement. I believe that David received lessons from Aurelia when he was young.

Daryl, those photos are AMAZING! Thank you!! That's where my mom was baptized in 1915. :)

The 1901 Haase organ at St. Peter & Pauls was dismantled and sold to the Buck Organ Co. in Grand Rapids. The 1902/1963 Schuelke/Verlinden organ at
St.Paul's Lutheran is still in fine shape and used every Sunday by organist Jan List. Isabelle Hagen was my mentor--she played at First Presbyterian in Houghton. The church was razed when Montezuma was moved. The 1933 Maxey-Barton was saved and is safely ensconced in a local private home. The Organists of Keweenaw continue to give recitals on the local pipe organs. Christina Harmon, world-reknown organist from Dallas, TX, will play a recital on St. Joe's Casavant during the Pine Mt. Music Festival this summer.

Incredible organs, and such amazing architecture in St. Joseph's. Great photos, Daryl, thanks for sharing. Question of the day: Looking at Daryl's photos, how many arch shapes, big and small, can you count in St. Joe's?