Earle Waghorne (1939)

1939-01-15 - Pipe organ construction supervised by the Rev. A. Earle Waghorne, former owner of the Waghorne (Pipe Organ) Co. of Mandaumin, Plympton Township, Ont. (Photograph from an archival source: Detroit News, Pictorial, Jan. 15, 1939, submitted by Ian Mason/Ian Mason)

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2023-09-13 - From *The Windsor Star* (December 18, 1938): "Under the critical eye of their musical minister, the three dozen laymen, at least one night a week, drop their daytime roles of mechanics, butchers, clerks and carpenters and become artisans of a finer type. As a result, by Easter, the congregation of Riverside United will sing their hallelujahs to the music of an organ that will be second to none in the city. Organ construction is novel to Mr. Waghorne's helpers, but it is an old story to him. Although he never followed it as a profession, he has aided in the building of many instruments, and the one at Riverside is the third he has personally supervised. Mr. Waghorne has made the organ his lifelong hobby. Years of experimenting and study resulted in his obtaining patents for a new principle for operating the instruments, known as the 'direct electric action.' The valves of the pipes of Mr. Waghorne's model of organs are opened by individual magnets under each one. Other organs operate with what is known as the pneumatic principle. Mr. Waghorne is not using his own principle in constructing the Riverside church organ. He admits he is a little afraid of applying it to an instrument the size of the one being built there. The plan for the Riverside organ calls for an instrument with 775 pipes. If the church were to purchase and install such an instrument, it would cost in the neighborhood of $4,500. Mr. Waghorne estimates the material for the organ will cost $750. There will be no labor bill. The organ proper will be constructed in the chancel of the church and the pipes for the 'echo' in the balcony at the rear. The pastor is confident one section will be completed and ready for use by Easter and the instrument completed six months later. Work was started three months ago and noticeable progress has already been made. Several of the pipes have been set in place and the keyboard of the manual completed. A regular workshop has been set up in the church basement. Several woodworking and other machines, the property of Mr. Waghorne, have been installed. All the metal pipes are being purchased ready for use, out the wooden tone pieces, 223 in all, are being built by Mr. Waghorne and his associates. Mr. Waghorne's 18-year-old son, Murray, a student at Walkerville Collegiate, is one of his most valuable assistants. To him and William Patterson has been given the intricate job of constructing the key contact board. The congregations of two Western Ontario churches are already enjoying organ music because of Mr. Waghorne's craftsmanship. He was responsible for the construction of instruments in the Latter Day Saints Church and the United Church at Mandaumin, near Sarnia. The pastor came to Riverside from Mandaumin last July. The Riverside church organ is by far the largest Mr. Waghorne has built, but he is confident it will turn out to be as fine an instrument as those in the Mandaumin churches, and they have been praised by the best of organists." -Andrew Henderson

2023-11-02 - *The Windsor Star* article incorrectly indicates that the Latter-Day Saints Church in which a Waghorne organ was installed was located near Sarnia. Rev. A. Earle Waghorne's model of the "Organ Triumphant" was installed in 1935 in the Latter-Day Saints Church in Chatham. The church, now closed and renovated as a business, still stands in 2023 at 90 Grand Avenue East, at the corner of James Street, Chatham, ON. -Ian Mason

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