Opus 5232 - Part 2

Discii

 

Here are my three new discus fish I put in the aquarium yesterday. So far, no floaters.

They are very easy-going and don't rush around a lot. I need fish like this.

The Badlands

Opus 5232 - Part 1

I’ve done a little research on the history of the M. P. Moller Pipe Organ Company which manufactured our instrument, the only pipe organ in Hood County.

Mathias Moller was born in Denmark and immigrated to the United States in 1872. Moller worked in Warren, Pennsylvania as a woodworker for a furniture manufacturing firm. In Erie, Pa., he got a job with organ builders, Derrick & Felgemaker. Moller returned to Warren, where he built his own pipe organ in 1875. A year later, he went to Philadelphia, where he manufactured and sold four pipe organs before moving his operation to Greencastle, Pa., in 1877. Moller placed an organ in the Reformed Church in Greencastle on trial.

When Moller was unsuccessful at securing financing from the Greencastle banks to expand his business, the city of Hagerstown, Maryland took notice of Moller’s early successes and induced him to move his business to Hagerstown in April 1881 to help make Hagerstown a viable business center in Western Maryland. The result was M. P. Moller, Inc. The company remained in business until 1992, with a production of over 11,000 instruments. Each instrument was assigned an Opus number. Our organ is Opus 5232, made in 1928. Moller thought that anyone who wanted a pipe organ should be able to buy one. So, prior to World War II, Moller mass-produced smaller pipe organs with fewer pipes for churches, restaurants, and private homes.

After the WWII, Moller switched to making largely custom organs. Their instruments are in some of the largest churches around the world. The company did not keep up with changing technology and after several attempts to revive the business failed, the company went bankrupt in 1992.

(More to follow ...)

All's Quiet on the Hill

Hasn't been a lot going on except the routine of days around here.
I've been finishing up the DVD of our trip to South Dakota and may post some of the shorter clips here.

Julie's been back at work, plugging away, with now less than two years until she can retire. I don't know if she actually will retire when she can, but it is something to look forward to.

My company, PsyMetrics Global, is going through a lot of changes. In the last month, we have acquired two other businesses and brought on five employees. We are gearing up for our entry into the market in India as well as expansion here in the US. Our overseas operations will probably be run through PsyMetrics Canada, a subsidiary of our main company.

We are having a major training event in Dallas next week for which I've been busy preparing training materials and reviewing the work done by our instructional designers.

Stay tuned for more developments ...

Taking Care of Erik

For the last two weeks, Julie and I have spent Monday - Wednesday taking care of grandson, Erik, while his Mommy works. He's still a week or so too young for day care, so we're filling in the gap.

Check out Michael & Cheryl's blog for some really cute pictures.

Lasagna Rocks

Our last full day in South Dakota was spent driving through the Badlands. Trevor called these "lasagna rocks" because you could see the layers (or strata) so clearly.


The wind was blowing ferociously - maybe 50 miles per hour in one place.


It was a place I wish we could have stayed longer to see how the colors in the rocks change as the sun moves across the sky. But storm clouds moved in later that afternoon and we hurried back to Rapid City.