The project presently in the Kegg shop is very close to home. This is Advent Lutheran Church in Uniontown, Ohio. It is located about half way between Charles Kegg's home and the Kegg shop. This organ started life in Grace Lutheran Church in Hartville OH as a Moller double Artiste cabinet organ. In 1984, Grace and St. John Lutheran of nearby Uniontown merged their congregations, formed Advent Lutheran Church, and built a new building to house the new congregation. The Schantz Organ Co moved the Moller and added a new exposed Great/Pedal division, and installed the two Artiste boxes in the new chamber. In 2015, the Kegg company built a new Swell division using mostly the pipes from the Artiste, along with two new reed stops. As wisely requested by the client, a Choir manual was provided on the console, which had all the Swell stops duplexed onto it.
With the work presently under construction, there will be a new Choir division, new Great chorus, 2 new independent Pedal stops, and twin cases. The facades will consist of pipes drawn from the new Great and Pedal principals. The existing 16' Principal was built during the infamous soft-zinc period. The 16' pipes have been straightened once and they are bending again, so replacement was the only option. This project will be complete this summer.
Many heartfelt thanks to Pastor Bob Cheyney Jr, Co-Cantors Mary Ann McNary Schwabe, Dr. John Schwandt, and all our many friends (and neighbors) at Advent!
Below you can find a photo of the organ before the Kegg work, now under way.
