Colin Deibler plays a recently restored Melodeon Reed Organ from the 1860s to honor his great-great grandmother, Emma Mae Steely Pelger.
This melodeon reed organ from the 1860s was in my grandfather's house when I was a little kid. It didn't play but was a nice piece of rosewood furniture. Then Poppy gave it to Gene Clair and it was in his entry way for years. Then to Colin Deibler, who recently needed it out of his house for an expanding family.
We tried to give it away, but no one wanted a non-functional melodeon and we agreed it would go to the dump. Then I thought of Andy Hess, the most creative craftsman I've ever had the privilege to work with. He took on the challenge, couldn't find the bellows material but came up with something that worked, got all the pulleys and adjustments correct and voila', it works beautifully.
Colin helped me move it back to our barn and played a dedication to my grandmother: her favorite hymn "The Old Rugged Cross". Dad often told how hobos would come to their house during the Great Depression at supper time for food. His Mom always fed them, even though she sometimes then said that she wasn't hungry that night. Only later did he put it together that she had given the little food they had to a stranger and she just wouldn't eat.
I feel blessed by so much, here are a few things:
1. For a grandmother who lived the love of Jesus.
2. For Andy Hess who can make an old melodeon work.
3. For Colin Deibler and the sweet, talented soul he is.
4. For living in a world of indescribable beauty with people I adore.
16 июн 2023
