Paul R. Marchesano on January 10th, 2026:
In 1892, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, purchased a new organ (see entry 23891) and donated their old organ (entry 60302) to the college. A local piano and organ tuner named William A. Spiegel "asked Director Bepler [Baepler] what should be done with the old organ at the college. He said that it was of little account and should be stored in the attic. Thereupon Mr. Spiegel replied that he could make better use of it than that and Director Bepler [Baepler] told him to take it." Spiegel spent the winter of 1892–1893 repairing and tuning the organ, then set it up in Emmanuel's school hall to test it, finding the repaired organ "more than satisfactory." Around that same time, Spiegel became a charter member of the newly-established English Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and he donated the organ to his church. The organ was described in a 1921 "Fort Wayne News and Sentinel" article (from which the previous quotes were also taken) as a four-stop instrument with about 240 pipes, still pumped by hand at the time of publication. Information received online from Nathan Bienz on 2025-11-24

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Nathan Bienz on November 24th, 2025:
This entry represents the installation of a used organ. Identified through online information from Nathan Bienz [November 24, 2025]: Described in a *Fort Wayne News and Sentinel* article, April 13, 1921, p. 13, as then the oldest pipe organ in northern Indiana. Its back was covered "with the initials of a score of Concordia college students of many years ago," as the organ had originally served the college from 1877 to 1892. During the winter of 1892–93, a local piano and organ tuner named William A. Spiegel "completely overhauled the instrument. He found that the plate which held the pipes in position was cracked throughout its entire length and interfered with the playing of the organ. This plate he replaced and after tuning the organ set it up in the Emmanuel [Lutheran] school hall for a test. Mr. Spiegel said that the first trial of the repaired organ was more than satisfactory and convinced him that the proper care would keep it in use for many years." Spiegel was a charter member of the English Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (now known as Redeemer Lutheran Church), founded that same winter, and he donated the repaired organ to the church. The 1921 newspaper article described it as having about 240 pipes in four stops. The organ was then still pumped by hand. In 1924, Redeemer constructed a new building and purchased a new organ. I do not know what happened to the old organ, but I suspect it was demolished with the old church building soon after.