C R A T O S

A note from CRATOS President, Darren Ferreter:

I would like to begin by thanking everyone who has taken a moment to send notes of support to CRATOS after the flooding and organ damage that occurred in Cedar Rapids.

Although the water level is dropping, the Cedar River is not anywhere near being within its banks. The water current is swift and very enraged.  CRATOS is days from accessing either theatre. The National Guard has been on hand to (thankfully) prevent looting of the downtown area.  It has been an interesting study as you learn much about a person during a crisis period.

As an update, here is what I know to this point . . .

The water level in the Paramount theatre with its original 3/12 Wurlitzer was believed to have peaked at about 9 foot above stage level which will have completely destroyed the console, blower, and lift.  We have been studying some very incomplete plans of the theatre cross section but have begun to have some serious question about water in the chambers. Nine feet is very close to being at least at floor level of both the main and solo chambers.� We trying to decide if the chambers may have taken murky water that could have created damage to regulators, tremulants, and possibly offset chests. Again, we have not had access, but we are considering the worst as the CRATOS organ crew begin to develop our plan for protecting the remaining components of the instrument. We do not expect access into the Paramount for another 4-5 days.

At the Iowa theatre, it is believed that water had entered the theatre but we are speculating the Wangerin built 3/14 Rhinestone Barton will have survived much better than the Wurlitzer. We are seeing photos of the exterior of the theatre that showed about 8-12 inches of water surrounding the building but most of us believe the stage level is a bit higher than the street. We do not expect access into the Iowa theatre for a few more days.

I would assume over time we will be looking for a new blower, blower motor, and seeing what our options would be in acquiring a three-manual Wurlitzer console.

Again, we appreciate hearing from people. I’ve not been able to take time to respond to each note as I am very busy trying to help my employer Mercy Medical Center back on its feet after we had to evacuate patients and staff because of water that was never expected anywhere near the hospital.

We are doing our best to keep the CRATOS website www.cr-atos.com updated. More updates to follow.

Darren Ferreter, President
Cedar Rapids Area Theatre Organ Society (CRATOS)
Geu30cg at aol.com
www.cr-atos.com