“For those curious about the pipe organ we have here at St. Joseph’s church, here is a little history about the organ and the builders who made our instrument. St. Joseph’s organ is an E&G.G. Hook, Opus 405, pipe organ, completed in 1868. It has two manuals (keyboards), 28 stops, and 26 ranks, and utilizes slider chests with a mechanical key action. It was built in the German organ building tradition. The Hook brothers, Elias (1805-1881) and George Greenleaf (1807-1880), were sons of a cabinet maker and entered the organ business by apprenticing under the organ builder, William Goodrich. The Hook brothers went on to begin their own organ firm in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1871 Frank Hastings joined the firm, and the firm became known as E&G.G. Hook and Hastings. In their era, the E &G.G. Hook, and, later, E&G.G. Hook and Hastings organ company were the elite organ builders in the United States, with their organs serving over 2,000 churches and cathedrals throughout the country. Their largest work is the organ at Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston, which boasts 101 ranks over 3 manuals. Many Hook organs are still in use today, either in original condition, or with alterations over time.” For those parishioners interested in learning more about St. Joe’s organ, or may want to gather at the church for informational meetings, we hope to create an organ committee to discuss, among other things, an organ fund. This new committee, called “Friends of the Organ at St. Joseph’s Church”, or, simply, FOTO, will have its primary goal of establishing an organ fund to maintain the instrument with twice-yearly tunings, and other additional repairs that are needed; for example, the leather on the big, wooden pipes for the pedalboard which are in need of replacing, and the cost for such a procedure is quite high. Again, those interested in learning more, or want to be a part of the FOTO committee, should email their interests to our organist and choir director, Carl Bowlby, at: [email protected].