Sidney Chase, November 12, 2023

Item

Title
Sidney Chase, November 12, 2023
interviewee
Sidney Chase
interviewer
Lydia Althouse
Date
2023-11-12
Subject
Business Owner
Delaware County
Chase Organ Company
Construction
Cooperstown, New York
The Farmers' Museum
Historic House
House Building/Relocating
Hudson River Valley
Otsego County
Pipe Organs
Worcester, NY
Description
Sidney ("Sid") Chase has lived most of his life in Worcester, New York. Chase is the proud owner of Chase Organ Company and has been building and repairing pipe organs for over sixty years. This career combines his love of making music and the technical skills he learned at a young age. After meeting a distant relative who built pipe organs, Chase spent the summers of his teenage years working with and learning from him. After graduating from Albany Business College, Chase returned to Worcester to start his own company and builds pipe organs for the churches in Otsego County and the surrounding area.

After refurbishing a vintage pipe organ to be used at The Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown and watching the process of a church building being taken apart and rebuilt for the museum, Chase became interested in doing something similar. For much of this interview, Chase describes the trials and tribulation he faced in purchasing a neglected historic house in Harpersfield, deconstructing it piece by piece, refurbishing and replacing pieces as needed, including an entire wing, and rebuilding the house on a hill in Worcester for his family.

I interviewed Chase in his home in Worcester, New York. Throughout the interview, Chase's sentences flow together. I have included punctuation to improve comprehension. I have removed most false starts and fixed minor errors while remaining as close to the audio as possible.
Time Summary
Track 1, 0:00 - Life in Otsego County
Track 1, 2:23 - Pipe Organs
Track 1, 8:58 - House
Creator
Lydia Althouse
Publisher
Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University of New York at Oneonta
Rights
Cooperstown Graduate Association, Cooperstown, NY
Media
Chase_Photo_102823.jpg