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Post date: Aug 12, 2014 9:39:04 PM
6 November 1965
Berlin is quite a city. Full of contrasts. The violinist, one of the most charming girls I have met, turns out to be an avid Christian Scientist—too bad. Strange how the world divides itself.
It’s going to be frightfully cold this winter. This morning it was still below freezing at 10am. [I had never lived away from the Pacific coast.] There are no garages here. Next week I’m buying a removable radio for the car. US bands—Blaupunkt—good radio. I miss the music and I can use it in the house, too.
We started building a second organ in our department (Berlin is not finished yet) this week and in a couple of weeks it will be shipped out. Not quite so complicated as the Berlin organ. It turns out that there are five assembly departments in the factory—two are out on big jobs that require much work in the church. I will definitely go to Berlin with the organ sometime before Christmas. The other organ is for Detmold—only about 10 miles away—so I’ll probably help install it, too.
It is beginning to look like I can learn more by staying with Kleuker than by going to the school in Ludwigsburg. I don’t think I’ll be allowed to sit the Meister exam and most of the material is theory anyway. If I can learn pipe voicing (intonation) at Kleuker, I’ll stay. Several of the younger workers have said that if I get started in Seattle and need help, they would be glad to come. How nice. But first I have to do it myself. Dave and Glenn both write encouraging news, tho.
20 November 1965
We had a very busy holiday. Monday it snowed.
Wednesday a group of me and six others my age wandered through the cold Teutoburger Hills. We drank “Brudershaft” and now use the ‘du’ form of friendly verbs. One is a co-worker. This group does things together often [mostly hiking]. Saturday (tonight) we are going bowling. Wednesday night I sang in a concert, and during the concert we had freezing rain. Was that a fiasco trying to get home. I was very fortunate and followed the sand truck home, but had to park on the main street a block away and pull myself up the hill with fence-posts along the sidewalk. Cars couldn’t get into driveways, they were so slippery. Thursday it snowed again and I went to dinner five miles into the country with another of my co-workers [Bob Rave] and his wife, who live in a farmhouse. He is very smart and helps me often with my German. He loans me organ books to read.
In a couple of weeks we’ll take a Sunday and visit a relative who has an instrument museum (and concerts) in a Burg (castle). As his journeyman’s piece he built an organ for this museum.
The drum pot [“udu”] is held between the legs, more or less with the left hand over the mouth. The right hand slaps the hole in the side while the left opens and closes the hole of the normal pot mouth. It is used mostly by women’s groups as the “bass” drum. The most amazing thing is that none of the pots were made with a potter’s wheel, but all by hand and eye. The drum pot is very nearly a perfect sphere.
Next week our group goes to Detmold to install the organ we have just finished. Early in December we go to Berlin, as that organ is finished, too. Then we start our biggest organ. Our assembly group (there are four others) hasn’t much head-room, so I anticipate a bit of extra work.
My N-gauge (9 millimeter) railroad [which I built to run on the windowsill of my room] is on vacation. The radio purchase overdrew my November allotment so I have to wait to next month before I can buy the streetcar. I also have to buy Xmas presents for my German family. Have no idea what to get them.
Jim with hiking group
Udu from Nigeria
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