The Stunning History Behind 5 Objects in Calgary Museums BY SILVIA PIKAL
PHOTOGRAPH : JASON DZIVER
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There ’ s hundreds of thousands of artifacts in Calgary museums , many of them stored where you can ’ t see them , biding their time to be on display whether as part of a new exhibit or to commemorate an occasion . They have histories just waiting to be discovered by the public .
And the ones you do see under glass in Calgary ’ s museums have stories you could never imagine — from a cigarette tin discovered recently in France that belonged to a solider who travelled from Calgary to Europe to fight in the First World War , to a 35-foot-long theatre organ that was squished into a basement with its pipes bent to fit — we give you a backstage look at the stories behind five artifacts from Calgary museums .
COULD TALK
THE JOURNEY OF THE KIMBALL THEATRE ORGAN
On a Tuesday afternoon in March , Jason Barnsley , the National Music Centre ’ s collections and exhibitions technician , is playing some movie jazz on the Kimball Theatre Organ .
Barnsley is a trained organist who plays and tunes the assemblage of pipes , valves , cables and instruments that make up the instrument , which lives on the third level of Studio Bell , home of the National Music Centre .
Using both hands and feet to control the keys and levers , he can play the pipe organ , snare drum , xylophone , glockenspiel and several other instruments to give the audience the feel of an orchestra .
While the popular theatre organ is admired and played daily at the NMC , it hasn ’ t always lived a dignified life . For years it lived in a basement with its pipes bent to accommodate an eight-foot ceiling .
The theatre organ was manufactured in 1924 by the Kimball Piano and Organ Company to accompany silent films , and was first installed in St . Helens Theatre in Chehalis , Washington .
Barnsley says playing a theatre organ requires some serious dexterity , along with a great deal of improvisation and focus . Theatre organists during the silent
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