I was wondering if anyone had contributed articles about Father Jim
Miller, a Greek Orthodox catholic priest, who lives in Fenton,
Michigan?  I was at his house today to begin piano lessons.

He has an extremely impressive home.  The house itself I guess to be
built in the 20's, it's a two story home.  He has the _entire_ upstairs
filled with pipes from an old theater organ.  The living room has 3
organ consoles and a spinet 88-note player from the 60's which he has
rigged into the organ by solenoids and T-tube breaks in the tracker bar
tubing.  He lacquered the hammers so it wouldn't be drowned out when
the pipes were playing.

The player still functions independently as a player, and has been
modified to play for the organ.  I didn't quite understand how it was
air and solenoid operated simultaneously while being played off the
organ, but it was because he had told me so.

He knows much about organ restoration.  After his theater organ was
being trashed by a local theater he saved it.  He recovered all the
pneumatics with white leather and hide glue.  It is all electro-
pneumatic, as it would normally be.  He did all the electrical wiring.
He built (or rather assembled?) this organ in his home.  It seemed
that he did most of it single-handedly.  I am sure there were over
a thousand pipes, I just can't recall the exact number.

Damon Atchison
Damon66@juno.com