Wicks Organ Company

The Wicks Organ Company produces pipe organs. It's based in the Illinois town of Highland. The company builds and repairs organs, as well as restores existing organs.

History

The Wicks Organ company was founded in the early 1900s in a small jewelry and watch making store in Highland. The local Catholic priest had asked John Wick to study organ so that he could become the church organist. After some time had passed, the parish decided that they wanted a pipe organ to replace the aging reed organ.

John Wick, along with his brothers Louis and Adolph, combined their skills in watching making, cabinet making, and jewelry to create a small mechanical action organ for the church. This small organ turned out to be quite successful.

Before long, others had heard of this organ, and wanted the Wicks brothers to build organs for them. In 1908, the three brothers incorporated the Wicks Organ Company. They initially produced organs for homes and churches in Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. After a while, nearly every state in the union had a Wicks organ.

Initially, the company produced mechanical action instruments. When electricity became popular, electric actions and blowers soon became available. While the company experimented with electro-pneumatic actions, they felt that because of the difficulties of these types of actions to try building organs built with pure electric actions.

In 1914, Wicks perfected the electric action. Called Direct Electric, it helped to remedy some of the shortcomings of electro-pneumatic actions. The company patented the device in 1922. In 1929 they patented an improved version.

Over the years, Wicks organs have proved to be quite durable. Opus #1 is still working, as is many of the early instruments built by the company.

The company has built a large number of organs. Wicks has built organs with a wide variety of sizes. The company has built a number of smaller instruments, such as a small organ in the chapel near the Daniel Boone homestead west of Saint Louis, Missouri. The company has built larger instruments as well. First Baptist Church in Memphis has an 82 rank organ, and Morehouse College in Atlanta has 92 ranks.

Wicks has also helped to restore a number of well known organs as well. It restored and enlarged the 118 rank Kilgen/Möller instrument at the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis the King in Saint Louis, Missouri (this is the newer Cathedral). They also rebuilt the action of the Aeolian-Skinner organ located in the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

DIRECT-ELECTRIC action

Prior to 1914, the valve action of pipe organs was limited to mechanical, pneumatic, or electro-pneumatic. As electricity was becoming more common in churches and households, Wicks founder John F. Wick with the assistance of a Dr. Katz from the University of Illinois developed a solenoid action. Requiring 15 volts of DC current, the electro-magnetic action operated a single moving armature. The small size, single moving part, and lack of perishable leather in the individual units made them more durable than the alternatives. The action is still proving itself today. The first modern style units installed in St. Mary's Church in Union City, Indiana have been working for more than 80 years. Wicks maintains a trademark on the name "DIRECT-ELECTRIC". Generically the action is referred to as electro-mechanical.

Improvements to DIRECT-ELECTRIC's design over the years include upgrading the return spring from a flat spring to a coil spring, shortening the armature, lowering the valve height and increasing the pallet thickness, removal of a wooden "stop", addition of the flux bracket to increase the unit's power, the addition of diodes to aid in closing of the valve, changing the paper coating to shrink-wrap plastic, double-coil high-pressure units, and the development of a special "bounceless" unit for use on reeds.

Locations

Those Locations with an Organ Built by Wicks

• Congregational Church, Neosho, MO
• Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, St. Louis, MO
• St. Cecilia's R.C. Church, St. Louis, MO
• Linn Memorial Methodist Church, Fayette, MO
• St. Alphonsus Liguori (The Rock) Church, St. Louis, MO
• Basilica of Saint Francis Xavier, Dyersville, Iowa
• St. Mary's Cathedral, Peoria, IL
• Holy Name Church, West Roxbury, MA
• Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Louis, MO
• Bethel Lutheran, Cicero, IN
• St. Paul's Lutheran, Troy, IL
• Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, MN
• First Baptist Church, Memphis, TN
• St. Anthony's R.C. Church, Trenton, NJ
• First Presbyterian Church, Brownsville, TN
• First Methodist Church, Ocala, FL
• St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Church, St. Louis, MO
• United Church of Christ, Marine, IL
• Morningside Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA
• Asbury United Methodist Church, Little Rock, AR
• First Methodist Church, Muskogee, OK
• Aspen Community United Methodist Church, Aspen, CO
• Immanuel Lutheran Church, Jaskon, MI
• St. Peter's United Church of Christ, Frankfort, IL
• St. Angela's R.C. Church, White Oak, PA
• St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Cottleville, MO
• St Teresa's R.C. Church, Belleville, IL
• Ss. Peter and Paul, Collinsville, IL
• First Presbyterian Church, Daytona Beach, FL
• Grosse Pointe Presbyterian Church, Grosse Pointe, MI
• St. Peter's U.C.C., Okawville, IL
• Vermont Street Methodist Church, Quincy, IL
• First Baptist Church, Charleston, SC
• St. Francis Cabrini R.C. Church, Tacoma, WA
• First Presbyterian Church, Fort Smith, AR
• Church of the Incarnation, Miami, FL
• Mother Zion A.M.E. Church, New York, NY
• State University of New York, Potsdam, NY
• Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Collinsville, IL
• St. Joseph's Cathedral, Columbus, OH
• Mary Queen of Peace R.C. Church, St. Louis, MO
• St. Adalbert's Basilica, Grand Rapids, MI
• St. Francis Cabrini R.C. Church, Alexandria, LA
• Morehouse College, Atlanta GA
• First Evangelical Free Church, Fullerton, CA
• Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church, New Melle, MO
• St. Mary's R.C. Church, Belleville, IL
• Second Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
• Somang Presbyterian Church, Seoul, Korea
• St. Patrick's R.C. Church, Wentzville, MO
• Eastwood Memorial UMC, Caruthersville, MO
• First Baptist Church, Thomaston, GA
• Thalia Lynn Baptist Church, Virginia Beach, VA
• Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Chicago, IL
• First Baptist Church, Troy, AL
• First Christian Reformed Church, Oak Lawn IL
• Rivermont Presbyterian Church, Lynchburg, VA
• Sacred Heart R.C. Church, Tampa, FL
• St. Pius X Church, Granger, IN
• Arthur Gustafson Residence, St. Charles, IL
• Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.
• Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Baltimore, MD
• St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Muskogee, OK
• Church of St. David of Wales, Richmond, California
• Our Lady of Lourdes R.C. Church, Raleigh, NC
• Wicks Organ Company, Highland, IL
• First Congregational Church, Ridgefield, CT
• Vestal United Methodist Church, Vestal, NY
• St. Stephen's Catholic Student Center, Cedar Falls, IA
• Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO
• St. John's United Church of Christ, Kenton, OH
• First United Methodist Church, Charleston, MO
• St. Paul's Cathedral Rectory, Coraopolis, PA
• First Baptist Church, Bolivar, MO
• Our Lady of Mercy R.C. Church, Plainville, CT
• Christ the King Church, Quezon City, Philippines
• Martha Franks Retirement Center, Laurens, SC
• First Presbyterian Church, LaGrange, GA
• Presbyterian Theological Seminar, Kwang-Ju Korea
• Soong-Sil University, Seoul, Korea
• Sisters of Mercy Convent, Pittsburgh, PA
• St. John's Episcopal Church, Washington, CT
• Highland Presbyterian Church, Lancaster PA
• SS Peter and Paul RC Church, Hamburg NY
• First Baptist Church, Ocala, FL
• St. Timothy's - Hale Middle High School, Raleigh, NC
• Notre Dame R.C. Church, Clarendon Hills, IL
• St. Jean Baptiste R.C. Church, New York, NY
• Christ Episcopal Church, Plano, TX
• Nativity of Our Lord R.C. Church, Orchard Park, NY
• St. Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Center, NY
• Mintz Residence, Anchorage, AK
• Calvary Baptist Church, New York, NY
• St. Vincent de Paul RC Church, Charlotte, NC
• Union Church of Manila, Makati, Philippines
• Good Shepherd Lutheran, Manchester, MO
• Church of Our Lady of the Lake, Mound, MN
• Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship, Carbondale, IL
• Barrington United Methodist Church, Barrington, IL
• Lutheran Church of Webster Gardens, Webster Groves, MO
• First Presbyterian Church, Highlands, NC
• Church of St. Pius X, Loudonville, NY

Those Locations with an Organ Restored by Wicks

• Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri
• Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC

External links

• The Wicks Organ Company (http://www.wicksorgan.com)
• Morehouse College (http://www.morehouse.edu)