A Traveling Pipe Organ Finds a Home
A Lutheran church in White Bluffs receives an organ formerly owned by a Ringling brother, thanks to a chance encounter in Kennewick.
The organ installed in the new Lutheran church this week has an interesting history. It was purchased originally from the factory by one of the Ringling brothers and installed in his home. Later he bought a pipe organ, and this one was sold to a Lutheran minister in the same Michigan town. This minister eventually moved to Tacoma, purchased a piano, and the organ was stored in an upper room. During a conference of Lutheran people in Kennewick last winter, R. W. Gruenhagen mentioned the new church built at White Bluffs and inquired if the minister knew of anyone who would donate an organ. The minister promptly offered his stored instrument. It was shipped and arrived in White Bluffs on Wednesday night.
“After a moment’s thought the minister said he believed he was the man and that if the White Bluffs minister would let him know when they were ready he would ship the organ.”
This story highlights the tight-knit social and religious networks of early 20th-century Washington, where items often moved across the state based on interpersonal connections rather than commercial retail.
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