Schantz Organ to put on exhibit, concert at Kidron homecoming

History comes alive at Sonnenberg Village in Kidron. The homecoming event held there on Aug. 12 will be a trip back in time for the Schantz Organ Company, family and community members.

The Schantz Organ Company, which celebrated its 150th anniversary on April 29, will take over the Gerber Barn to hold a Reed Organ Festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the homecoming. The event is being hosted by the Kidron Historical Society at Sonnenberg Village, 13497 Hackett Road, Apple Creek.

“Because my great-grandfather Abraham John Tschantz (1849-1921) started the business making reed organs and he started in Kidron, we thought this would be the perfect venue,” said Victor Schantz, president of Schantz Organ, which is located in Orrville.

Visitors to the Sonnenberg Village homecoming will take a walk back in time so real that they might half expect to see Abraham Tschantz cajoling with visitors.

There will be four antique Tschantz reed organs on display. There will be exhibits from Schantz Organ Company’s history, and an old-fashioned hymn sing-along will take place.

People living in Wayne County faced many hardships in the 1800s, but life was much simpler. Vic Schantz believes the homecoming will be a chance for people to not only learn about history, but also gain a deeper appreciation for the old-fashioned values and entertainment of that era.

“The Sonnenberg Village’s purpose is to remind people of that simpler time and that lifestyle, where we lived for community,” Schantz said, “where we helped each other and had our faith and believed in America's promises.”

The Orrville Community Band was started with a donation by Abraham Tschantz, and today’s Orrville band also will play during this event.

Ann Tschantz of Smithville, who’s married to Dave Tschantz, will be a featured reed organ player in the hymn sing. Dave Tschantz will talk about the early family history.

Kidron resident John Schmid will be the song leader, and several Schantz Organ employees will join in the singing. Canton resident Robert Morrison also will be a featured organ player.

Vic Schantz and Gary Edwards often perform together, playing harmonicas and guitars, but will take a back seat at the Kidron homecoming as singers in the crowd.

“We will have some really good organ players and singers,” Vic Schantz said. “After all of that is over, because my great-grandfather started the Orrville community band, they're going to play a concert that will last for about an hour. The Orrville community band and reed organ connect everything.”

Predating Abraham Tschantz, the original Swiss family ancestors came to Wayne County in 1822 and built a log cabin when Indians were still living throughout the region. The cabin was found and has been restored to its original condition.

Abraham Tschantz grew up on a dairy farm near Kidron and learned the craft of woodworking in a workshop on the farm.

After a local church brought a reed organ to Tschantz’s shop and asked him to fix it, he took on the challenge and became fascinated by the way the instrument produced sound.

Being mechanically inclined, Tschantz saw ways to improve the instrument. He invented the Ohio Beauty Reed Organ, and that was the beginning of the Schantz Organ Co. in 1873.

Tschantz's business grew, and he soon built a factory in Orrville in order to be close to the railroad.

“The idea behind the homecoming on Aug. 12 is fundamentally that it's the microcosm story of America, where the immigrants came from all over the world to create this country,” Vic Schantz said. “Sonnenberg Village is one small story of one group’s immigration to America. We want to meet there because my ancestors came and lived there in that village.

“We have that Gerber barn, where we can honor my great-grandfather's idea to build these musical instruments.”

In those days there was no TV or even radio or electricity. The reed organ provided big-time entertainment.

“When people got together back then, they just sang together as a community,” Schantz said. “We want to remind everybody of that experience by having this Reed Organ Festival and remembering those simpler times when everybody tried to support each other and tried to be a community.”

Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at AaronDorksen24@gmail.com.