Minnesotans' massive antique pump organ collection spans neighboring homes

PLAINVIEW, Minn. – A hundred years ago, they could be found in homes and parlors across the state.

The popularity of the pump organ died off, but for a Wabasha County man they just might be the future.

Ron Manzow has spent most of his life in Plainview. He taught third grade for decades before retiring. But you could say his home is still full of history lessons.

Manzow has collected 75 pipe organs. His collection has gotten so big, in fact, that he bought the house next door to him for storage.

It's a hobby that began when he was a teenager. He got hooked on the music, the craftsmanship, and the fact that these organs operated without electricity. 

Before the internet, he bought them at antique stores or found them in newspaper ads. Now, he goes online. And like a do-it-yourself auto mechanic, he's a do-it-yourself organ repair man.

People even know about his hobby and are more than happy to donate their musical relics. Manzow naturally calls those people "organ donors."

"To be truthful it's kind of like the people that are in pet rescue and they see a pet and they just got to rescue it. That's the way I feel when I walk into an antique shop and I see an organ there that's neglected. And I think, 'Oh gee, I could really make that nice,'" he said.  

His tour takes visitors back to a time when this type of music was the epicenter of entertainment. Pump organs hit their peak in the late 1800s. They began dying off during The Great Depression.

His oldest organ dates back to the Civil War era. He even has one in his bathroom, and he had to make a map in his garage so he can find where all his future fixer-uppers are located.

"A lot of people think I'm crazy," he said. "My sisters just roll their eyes when I say, 'Guess what I got the other day?'"

But part of this is to prove that families once lived without iPhones, iPads and social media. They were perfectly happy pulling out all the stops and letting the good times roll. In a way, Manzow's hoping his collection gets people to change their tune.

"It was a central point to bring people together, and it still can be that today," he said.

Manzow is part of a national society of collectors called the Reed Organ Society. New Zealand is also a hotbed for collectors, and they still manufacture pump organs in India.