After five years, the fate of the organ in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union has finally been settled.

A donation to the Memorial Union from Ralph Borck, a former ISU employee, will be used for the restoration and maintenance of the organ as he originally planned. He also wanted the organ to be made available to students.

Borck left the donation to Iowa State in 1998.

The organ will be moved from the Memorial Union to Hoyt Sherman Place, a public museum in Des Moines.

The fate of the donation was up in the air after the Borck estate asked for the money in April 2003.

On June 11, 2003, the court funds were returned to the estate.

On July 31, 2003, District Judge William Ostlund ruled that the estate would remain open for six months while a home for the organ was found.

Borck was an organ buff, said Kathy Svec, Memorial Union program coordinator.

Svec said Borck spent his own time and money keeping the organ in good working order.

She said Borck hadn’t told anyone he would leave them the money, and she was disappointed that accepting the gift wasn’t possible.

One problem with Borck’s request, Svec said, was the remodeling of the basement of the Memorial Union. The organ’s blower had to be disconnected because it was taking up needed space.

The organ could not play without the blower, Svec said.

“Some might disagree about how much good Ralph really did,” she said. “[The organ] really has seen better days.”

However, she said he may have known that when he left the money.

Svec said decisions were made to put money into other things, like a new sound board for the Maintenance Shop.

Dennis Wendell, a former ISU faculty member, organ enthusiast and friend of Borck, worked to find a new home for the organ, she said.

Svec said Hoyt Sherman Place was an excellent choice because their current organ was the wrong type.

She said the organ currently sitting in the Great Hall is the same kind the theater originally had, but said she is unsure of how the organ will be removed from the Great Hall.

“It’s sort of like a big boat in the basement,” she said.

Leisha Barcus, executive director of Hoyt Sherman Place, said Wendell contacted her.

The funds were important to restore the organ, Barcus said. She said she worked with the estate’s attorney Donald Newbrough, and everything went smoothly.

On Jan. 20, the funds were ordered to be given to Hoyt Sherman Place.

Barcus said the estate, consisting of $143,900, will cover the restoration of the organ. She said Iowa State will help with the removal and transportation of the organ, and the rest of the money will go for programming involving the organ.

Barcus said it will take around a year for the organ to be restored and put in place, and said she would like to invite the public, including anyone from Iowa State, to come play it.

Plans for the newly remodeled Des Moines theater and the organ include silent movies, sing-a-longs, and an attempt to attract national players, she said.