Today may have been a mostly crummy day, but right in the middle of the day (before my second failed emissions test) I had a very exciting little adventure that I will not soon forget. For years and years I heard about a guy in town named Fred Hermes who had an amazing theater organ in his home and had actually converted his basement into an old fashioned movie palace. I had talked to several different people who had been invited to his home and had seen this incredible sight with their own eyes- and I hoped for the day when I would get to see this for myself. That time finally came this afternoon, largely through the assistance of one of my Carthage voice students, Jon Habermaas, who has been a friend of Fred’s for many years. Jon helped me to arrange the taping of an interview for the morning show, in anticipation of a theater organ performance coming up at the Racine Theater Guild on March 30th. I dutifully showed up to Fred’s house on the far north side of Racine at 1:00 this afternoon- with my tried-and-true cassette recorder as well as my brand new digital recorder which Kathy gave me for my birthday. (I was not going to leave such an important interview to chance by using only one recorder.) And a little over an hour later I walked out of there with a truly fascinating interview that I will air next week.
Fred bought his first theater organ back in 1946 – and much like the proverbial guy who continues to buy and rehab pickup trucks, he has owned at least ten different organs over the years. The crowning glory of this pursuit is the organ you see pictured above- the largest theater organ made by Wurlitzer, with five manuals (keyboards) and a plethora of special effects- including, quite literally, bells and whistles – plus two xylophones, a glockenpiel, drums, cymbals, buzzers, etc. There are mutli-colored spotlights and even a large curtain which opens as the show begins. Fred even has the organ rigged so that it rises out of the floor, just like it did in the movie palace back in Michigan where it was used to accompany silent films. (The organ would be get lower and out of sight so as not to distract the audience from the film itself – but for other sorts of events the organ would rise out of the floor and be fully visible to the audience. ) And if the organ itself wasn’t amazing enough, there is also the movie palace he has created in his basement with artifacts from about fifty different movie palaces from across the country. . . complete with authentic theater seats, lighting, artwork, and much more.
The playing was done by Fred himself and also by a young friend of his who is the stadium organist for the MIlwaukee Brewers in Miller Park and who will be the soloist for the program we were seeking to publicize. But then quite surprisingly, they prevailed upon me to play as well and I obliged with a little Hallelujah Chorus. What an experience- both exciting and also deafening- and it made me anxious to come back someday and maybe get more comfortable on this mighty instrument. Someday I might even take a crack at improvising a music score to accompany a silent film. (Fred has well over a hundred of them in his own private collection.) I can imagine myself being able to do it, but actually DOING it might be a whole lot harder. But I hope someday that I’ll have the chance at least to try.
Anyway, it was really interesting how the rest of the world – car trouble, the pressures of Holy Week, money worries- all faded to absolute nothingness. That’s how thoroughly we found ourselves transported to another world altogether. What a delight to step back in time like this- and also to see what is possible when someone gives themselves so wholeheartedly to their passion. As someone who seems to have made it his mission in life to spread himself thin over a lot of different things, I am especially fascinated by anyone like Fred who is so focused in their devotion to a cause. And I am grateful beyond words that Fred allowed me – a mere amateur – anywhere near his precious Wurlitzer.