The founding events of the Hilbus chapter are receding into the mists of
time. There is some discussion about when the chapter was founded, but it
appears to have been in 1970. This makes the Hilbus chapter the second
oldest of the Organ Historical Society, as the NYC chapter was the first
chapter, founded in 1969. Among the founding members of Hilbus were Jim
Baird, Ben Faidley, Carol Fix, Pat Heflin, Cleve Fisher and others. By
1971, the membership was at 28 members and counted in its ranks many young
organ enthusiasts eager to explore the rich organ heritage of the
Washington/Baltimore area. The earliest news letter was published in July,
1971, listing among other things, that the officers were re-elected for
another year. The group had already been arranging monthly organ crawls
for some months by that time.
The first chapter newletters were created on typewriters and memograph
machines, that being the state of the art technology at the time. Here (in
two files) is a copy of the Hilbus Chapter's first newsletter:
