How we got here…

My love for the Theatre Pipe organ began when I was about 8 years old. I had a Great Aunt, Bessie Bennett, who took our family to a pizza restaurant in Murray, Utah called “Pipes & Pizza”. The highlight of the restaurant was the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ which was played while you dined. I was completely taken – not just the sound of the pipes, but by all the drums, cymbals, bells, sirens and whistles around the room, which you could watch work as the organist played. Back in those days the 40 mile trip from our home in West Point to Murray was a LONG trip…but every time I had a choice we were going to Pipes & Pizza! I used to tell my Aunt “someday I’m going to have one of those”. She has been gone for quite a few years…I hope she knows that I finally made it! Unfortunately, Pipes & Pizza closed in 1978 and I thought that was the end of it. Fast forward to 1986. I spent two years in Oregon and Vancouver Washington. I was minding my own business when I stumbled across “Uncle Milt’s Pipe Organ Pizza”! It was an amazing day…another Theatre Pipe Organ in a pizza parlor. I visited it every chance I got. I was also thrilled that across the river in Portland was another pizza restaurant called “The Organ Grinder” which boasted one of the largest Theatre Organs in a restaurant in existence at that time. After two years in that part of the country, I returned home to Utah. In about 1999 while passing through Oregon I took my wife and kids to Uncle Milt’s – only to find it closed! We went across the river and found that the Organ Grinder was also gone. In my efforts to discover what happened to these venues, I discovered that there was a Theatre Organ in Salt Lake City in a business called “The Organ Loft” , and that there was an organization called the American Theatre Organ Society. I jumped in with both feet and became involved with our local chapter. I also became aware of a huge pizza restaurant in Mesa, AZ called Organ Stop Pizza. We visited down there as often as we could!

Late in 2000 I became aware of a Wicks Theatre Organ that was for sale in Denver, CO. More than anything, I just needed to get away for a few days. Stacey and I, along with our dear friends Doug and DeAnn Gibbons piled in the car and off we went to Denver. The organ was originally from the Denver Aladdan Theatre and was removed prior to the theater’s demolition. It was being installed in Denver East High School when the project stalled, and the organ was put up for sale. I didn’t know much about the “inner workings” of an organ at that time and really had no idea what I was getting into. After inspecting the instrument, we returned to Utah. About 2 weeks later I was contacted by the owners and was offered a price that I couldn’t turn down. On January 1, 2001, we loaded up the trucks and Stacey, Doug, DeAnn and I went off to Denver to bring the organ home. It was nine days of some of the hardest work I have ever done to remove the organ and bring it home to Utah - I didn’t even know what several of the pieces were! When we arrived home Doug offered to store the organ in his 1,500 square foot shop behind his home. I called in every favor I was ever owed to get the organ unloaded into his shop. We had dreams of putting the organ in a pizza restaurant – that never happened. One day I got a call from Doug saying that they were going to sell their house. After considering moving the organ again, Stacey and I agreed that it would be an easier option to just buy Doug’s house and leave the organ there! So, we packed our stuff and moved around the corner – how many wives would do that??

Perry’s Egyptian Theater in Ogden, Utah was built in 1924. In 1984 it was shut down by the Health Department for several violations. The theater was saved and went through a multi-million-dollar restoration. I was made aware that a Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ was being installed in the building and I inserted myself into that project. I have been the “Keeper of the Organ” since it’s debut in July of 2004. By 2009 we decided that the Wicks Theatre Organ that we owned was not the right instrument to have and it was sold to a party in Florida. Through my involvement at the Egyptian Theatre, I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of great organists who have become great friends. Ken Double has played at the Egyptian multiple times. He and I had many conversations, including the possibility of me acquiring another organ. Eventually, I decided that it was perhaps time, and asked Ken about an organ that I knew was available. We determined that that particular instrument wasn’t a good option. I told Ken to keep his eyes open, and if he ever became aware of a “big” organ to let me know. It took him about two weeks…