CEDAR RAPIDS A restoration that is breathing new life into a historic pipe organ at Coe College took a major step forward last week, when the lungs of the instrument were reinstalled after a year of repair.

The airtight maze of metal ducts and two large turbines were installed in the new environmentally controlled blower room beneath the Sinclair Auditorium stage. The blower provides the air, or wind, that makes the sounds for the Skinner organ.

Doug Cornell from Climate Engineers checks the fit of segments of pipe as he works in the organ chamber in Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

This is the lungs of the colossus, said Jeff Weiler, a 1981 Coe graduate and organ curator based in Chicago who is leading the restoration. What this represents is the first major phase of a multiphase, multiyear project that will restore this instrument to its 1929 condition.

Its important for the college and the Cedar Rapids community to understand that they are home to one of the most important pipe organs in the world, Weiler said.

Its an enormous cultural asset, he said. Its iconic in terms of its heritage value.

Constructed by esteemed builder Ernest M. Skinner, considered the best of the best in American organ building, it will be one of few Skinner organs in the country to be fully restored upon completion of this project in several years, Weiler said. And the Coe organ represents the work of the Skinner firm at the zenith of the company, he said.

Skinner organs are no longer made. To build something like this today would cost millions of dollars, and certain materials used in the instrument are no longer available, said Weiler, a Traer native.

The old blower room was located in an unsuitable environment, next to where steam entered the building, he said. Burst steam pipes on several occasions caused water and mold damage to some of the old blower components, so a few portions were rebuilt with new materials.

But the rest of the blowers original parts were restored in this project, Weiler said. The blower also will be restored to full voices, since the instruments power was tamped down in the move to Sinclair Auditorium in 1952.

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Noteworthy: Restoration of historic pipe organ reaches a milestone

MOUNT VERNON

By Betty Adams badams@centralmaine.com Staff Writer

MOUNT VERNON -- The three-story yellow wooden Oddfellows Hall just feet from Minnehonk Lake caught the eye of Dutch woodworker, craftsman and designer Erik Groenhout.

click image to enlarge

Erik Groenhout is restoring the former Odd Fellows Lodge in Mount Vernon. The Dutch woodworker is building a production space to build cabinets within the prominent structure on Minnehonk Lake.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

click image to enlarge

Erik Groenhout insects a woodworking tool he sharpened Monday in the interior of the former Odd Fellows Lodge he is restoring in Mount Vernon. The Dutch woodworker is restoring the prominent structure on Minnehonk Lake to open a cabinet making business.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

Almost two years ago, he and his wife, Rachel, were looking for a home in Maine where he could also practice his craft.

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Dutch woodworker takes on restoration project

Scout at Quarters D

Location: 2675 Rosecrans St. in Point Loma

Contact: (619) 518-8374; scout-home.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday

Background: According to a 2008 historic structures report by Johnson & Johnson Architects, the four Officers Quarters buildings were overseen by architect Lincoln Rogers, possibly designed by his associate Frank Stevenson and built by contractor R.E. Campbell in 1923. Quarters A was the home for the highest-ranking base officer and Quarters D for the second-highest.

Officers Quarters D, a 1923 house at the old Naval Training Center in Point Loma, came back to life this week as Scout at Quarters D, a home furnishings shop specializing in pre-World War II designs.

It's more than a place to buy fancy wallpaper and a vintage lamp. The $850,000 restoration of the building at 2675 Rosecrans St. signals to passersby that the former military base, now called Liberty Station, continues on its path as a new neighborhood where you can live, work, shop and play.

"This was a part of San Diego people couldn't come to," said Alan Ziter, executive director of theNTC Foundation, which oversees restoration of historic buildings on the site. "It was a forbidden kingdom with guards and gates."

Turned over to the city in 1997, the 558-acre property has become home to some of the cultural and recreational activities normally housed in Balboa Park. Unlike the park, Liberty Station is on its own budget-wise; users, residents and businesses have to cover maintenance and other costs.

Still, Paul Silvera was drawn to the setting and the opportunity to turn a military manse into a showcase for living.

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Officer's house becomes home furnishings shop at Liberty Station

Second-generation craftsman Bob Bigelow recently opened his furniture restoration business in a permanent, downtown Woodland location after seven years of operating out of his home.

Bigelow & Associates Antique Restoration and Fine Woodworking, located at 418 First St., is an outfit that restores all types of furniture, yet has masterful expertise specifically in antique rehabilitation.

"I try to take the least evasive role to preserve the value of the antique, which means I use alternative methods like colored wax and cleaning techniques," Bigelow said about his strategy. "I like things to be restored to their original condition."

Bigelow is additionally adept at the rare art of caning, or the weaving of bamboo on a chair with bamboo reed. Caning is either hand loomed or made from a press. According to the craftsman, it takes around 20 years to become proficient in the trade.

"Caning is an artwork and there's very few of us left who do it," he said. "I'm carrying on a tradition my father started."

Bigelow's father, the late Kenneth Bigelow, taught furniture restoration and chair caning at Woodland Adult Education for 20 years. The younger Bigelow learned caning and woodworking as his father's an apprentice, and has "worked with wood his whole life."

"My dad was a real expert in caning," Bigelow said. "He could tell the difference between hand-woven and machine-woven (bamboo)."

Bigelow completed college and graduate work in Computer Assisted

When building the woodworking studio, which opened in February, Bigelow said he set out to design an "old-time workshop." The rustic-yet-modern ambiance is ideal for the intricacies of restoration such as tightening joints, filling holes, sanding, painting, spindle replacement and finish rejuvenation.

The wood artist is open to all projects, whether it's stripping down a piece and applying a new stain, or minor repairs. Bigelow is further equipped to custom design and build furniture upon a customers request and specification, such as a table and chairs set in a unique shape.

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Bigelow, a master in antique rehabilitation, opens new downtown Woodland shop

MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -04/30/12)- A safe, efficient and reliable furnace is key to a comfortable home, but heating systems cannot afford to be neglected. Although all types of furnaces are designed to run trouble-free, regular maintenance is required to keep them functioning properly and to prevent the potential for smoke damage, fire damage and even carbon monoxide issues.

Certain technical aspects of furnace maintenance require the attention of a professional, but there are steps you can take to help ensure the health of both your furnace and your home.

Furnace Filters

Replacing the furnace filter is exceptionally easy, and is crucial for your furnace's airflow - and could prevent smoke damage, fire damage and an expensive repair job further down the line. To identify if the filter needs to be replaced, remove the filter and hold it up to a light bulb. If the bulb is clearly outlined, the filter is good, but if you can't see the bulb, the filter needs replacing. Households with pets and smokers will require more regular filter changes.

Be vigilant!

Your furnace should be professionally cleaned and serviced once a year, but you can carry out your own inspections by checking for signs of smoke damage and oil leaks, and paying attention to any odd smells or soot in the furnace room. Odd noises at the beginning of the burn cycle, such as a puff or bang, could indicate that unburned oil has pooled and could cause a fire.

Heating Vents

Heating vents are designed to circulate air, so they shouldn't be blocked by furniture. Keep them clear of dirt, dust and pet hair to help your furnace run efficiently.

Furnace Room Usage

Do not use your furnace room as a storage closet: keeping flammable materials near your furnace is not recommended. Moreover, if your furnace does not have a vent leading to the exterior of your home, your furnace room needs to hold at least 50 cubic feet of air per 1,000 BTU/h.

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Smoke Damage: Furnace Maintenance Leads to a Healthier Home

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Two catalog releases dominated the second annual Home Media Magazine Awards, which honor the best DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of 2011.

Warner Home Videos Ben-Hur: Ultimate Collectors Edition captured the top prize of Title of the Year, as well as awards for Best Catalog Title and Best Restoration. For the Blu-ray release of the 1959 film, Warner conducted an 8K scan of the original 65mm negative.

Warner collected a total of six awards, including TV DVD of the Year and Best Complete-Series TV DVD Set for Smallville: The Complete Series, and Best Animation Title on Disc for Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. One.

Lucasfilms Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set, distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, won five awards, including Blu-ray Disc of the Year, Best Extras, Best Boxed Set, Best Catalog Collection and Best Title Upgrade. The Blu-ray edition marks the first collection of all six episodes of the franchise in one set and is loaded with featurettes, deleted scenes and archive materials.

Fox won a sixth award for Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings as Best Direct-to-Video Prequel.

Winners were chosen by a panel of judges in conjunction with an online consumer vote for eligible titles submitted for consideration by studios and distributors.

Paramount Home Media Distribution collected five awards, including CBS Home Entertainments Hawaii Five-O: The First Season winning Fan-Favorite Title on Disc. The remake of the classic detective drama collected the most votes in the online consumer poll. Paramount also won Best Documentary Movie for Waiting for Superman, Best Blu-ray Disc Movie for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Best Reality TV Show on Disc for MTV's Jersey Shore: Season Four, and Best Packaging for The Ten Commandments: Limited Edition.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment tallied three awards, taking Best 3D Disc for Tron: Legacy, Best Kidvid Disc for Winnie the Pooh and Best Direct-to-Video Sequel for Spooky Buddies.

A complete list of winners in all 40 categories, as well as winners from previous Home Media award events and information for future awards opportunities, such as the 2012 Reaper Awards, can be found at HomeMediaAwards.com.

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'Ben-Hur,' 'Star Wars' Top Winners List for 'Home Media' Awards

'The heart kauri, totara and black pine' LIZ MCDONALD

DEAN KOZANIC/Fairfax NZ

COMFORT ZONE: Frank Helps back home in Akaroa after his farmhouse was handed back after six months of earthquake repairs.

Of all Frank Helps' 100th birthday presents, this must be the best.

His historic Akaroa farmhouse home for nearly his whole life and shattered in the September 2010 earthquake has been handed back after six months of repairs.

The handover has come just in time for his birthday today, to be celebrated at the house with 70 friends and family coming from as far as Australia.

Helps was home alone when the early-morning quake brought three chimneys crashing through his ceilings.

"I went and put my feet on the floor but changed my mind and got back into bed," he said.

Unscathed but in shock, Helps was moved to the nearby Pompallier House rest home the same day, and when repairs began he kept a close eye on proceedings.

"I knew it could be repaired because the structure is so strong, with the heart kauri, totara and black pine," he said.

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Owner home for 100th birthday

By MARY POLETTI

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- A clock said to have belonged to the real-life Becky Thatcher returned to its home in the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum Tuesday after three months' restoration work.

However, museum officials say the work answered no questions about the 18th-century clock's mysterious origins.

Employees of the Ralls County Clock Co. moved the seven-foot-tall grandfather clock from their Main Street shop back to the museum Tuesday morning, carrying it across the street in pieces and reassembling it in its longtime home outside the museum's second-floor auditorium.

The reassembly took roughly half an hour, but it made a striking diversion for museum staff.

Executive Director Cindy Lovell, walking out of her office near the clock to take her lunch break, stopped in her tracks and said: "Wow."

Curator Henry Sweets said he had visited the clock at the shop to see how work was progressing and said it had operated well even in the repair shop.

As clock shop employees Don Morton Jr. and Matt Walden reinstalled the clock's movement and wound the clock, it began to tick and chime again without incident, as it would have in Twain's time.

"I'm looking forward to having it chiming away again," Sweets said.

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Local Headlines

Firefighters are still looking into what caused the fire that nearly destroyed this Frogtown Road home.

Photo credit: Melvin Mason

NEW CANAAN, Conn. Restoring the power after a brief outage may have caused a fire two weeks ago that severely damaged a Frogtown Road home in New Canaan.

The power being turned back on in the area is only a possibility at this time, Fire Marshal Fred Baker said Thursday. The exact cause of the blaze has not been specifically identified, he said. Baker said foul play is not suspected.

The April 11 fire nearly destroyed the home of David Stoller, director of technology at New Canaan Country School. The home is owned by the private school. Firefighters had to bring in water on tanker trucks because there were no nearby hydrants. Stoller and his family were not at home at the time of fire, and no one was injured.

New Canaan Country School has been collecting donations to assist the Stollers.

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Power Restoration May Have Caused New Canaan Fire

HOLLY HILL, FL--(Marketwire -04/26/12)- Severe weather is a common occurrence during the spring and summer months, particularly along the Florida coast. Floridians have been preparing for and cleaning up after hurricanes for hundreds of years. As a result, many of them have put together emergency kits, which are full of essential survival supplies, to help them weather storms. United Water Restoration Group agrees that these kits are important, but it asserts that a copy of the home insurance policy is a vital component of a complete emergency preparation strategy.

St. Augustine News reports that a well-stocked emergency kit contains enough food and water to last at least three days. Additionally, the kit should include an NOAA weather radio, cell phone, charger, flashlight, first aid kit, sleeping bags for each person, and a fire extinguisher. Also on the list is a copy of all important documents, including insurance policies.

Although Floridians know how to prepare their homes for severe weather, most preparations cannot withstand the power of a strong hurricane. As a result, many homeowners know that, should their homes be in the path of a severe storm, they may have to call upon their insurance companies to cover the cost of damage. When filing a claim, they should have an updated copy of their insurance policy to ensure that the damage their home has sustained is covered.

"United Water Restoration Group agrees that it is important to have a secure copy of your insurance policy," commented Amanda Hakimi, United Water Restoration Group Account Specialist.

But simply having a copy of the insurance policy is not enough. Hakimi also suggests revisiting the damages covered by the policy while preparing for a storm: "It is also very important to verify your policy coverage before the storm. Call ahead and make sure that you have flood coverage if necessary, and possibly mold coverage before a major storm. It is best to know your policy limits before a major disaster."

United Water Restoration Group has helped Floridians recover from hurricanes and other severe weather for over a decade. Over the course of the company's service, it has identified a copy of the insurance policy as one of the crucial components of a well-stocked emergency kit.

ABOUT:

United Water Restoration Group is a water, flood, fire, storm, sewage, and mold restoration company that provides around the clock service. Available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, the company has nearly 15 years of experience within the industry. To ease the restoration process, the organization works with all insurance companies and has created a network of adjusters with which it can readily communicate.

For more information about United Water Restoration Group, visit http://www.unitedwaterrestoration.com.

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United Water Restoration Group Confirms Importance of Emergency Copy of Insurance Policy