Lynnwood Farnam Society History
The origins of the Lynnwood Farnam Society date back to Tuesday, August 25, 1931, at a meeting of the town council in Sutton, Quebec. Young town councilman C. Scott Tresham presented a motion, seconded by councilman Peter Butler, which read as follows: "Be it resolved that, out of respect for the well-known Canadian organist Lynnwood Farnam, originally of Sutton and recently deceased, the town council of Sutton shall decree that hereinafter every January 13 shall, in commemoration of the birthday of the aforementioned organist, be designated 'Annual Lynnwood Farnam Remembrance Day' in Sutton, and additionally, that the town road sign shall be amended to read 'Welcome to Sutton - birthplace of the well-known Canadian organist Lynnwood Farnam'."
When the motion came up for a vote, it was opposed by a strong anti-Farnam block whose primary objection was the high cost of changing the town road sign. After a vigorous hour-long debate during which emotions ran high on both sides, the resolution was narrowly defeated. At this point Tresham and Butler announced that they were leaving the council and forming, as of that moment, a society called the "Lynnwood Farnam Society" dedicated to celebrating Farnam's life and work. They left the meeting and soon afterwards travelled to Montreal to gather together a suitable and large enough group of people to have the Society officially incorporated.
In Montreal many people in the musical and liturgical communities expressed interest in officially forming such a society. Notable among them were Master John Grew, a young and enthusiastic organ student who would become the Society's Honorary President, and Mr. Jonathan Oldengarm, a virtuosic young organist who had already been hailed by some critics as "the next Farnam" (Westmount News, Mar. 4, 1931).
The Lynnwood Farnam Society was officially incorporated, with seven charter members of the Executive Council and nine other original members, on November 17, 1931, when a Royal Charter was granted to it by the Crown of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
While the Society was still in its gestation, it commissioned well-known Canadian sculptor Alfred Laliberté to sculpt a large bronze bust of Farnam. This bust was then presented by the Society to Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, on November 23, 1931, at a special service marking the first anniversary of Farnam's death. After the service the first meeting of the Lynnwood Farnam Society was held at the University Club in Montreal and the Society's Executive Council unanimously passed its Articles of Constitution, later unanimously ratified by the Society's membership, which, with a few amendments, are still in force today.
For the first few decades of its existence, the Lynnwood Farnam Society remained relatively small. However, it was rumoured to have a disproportionate influence in Hollywood. Many prominent directors and actors were forced to publicly disassociate themselves from the Society's aims and objectives in order to be able to find work in the late 1940's and early 1950's.
By the late 1960's the increasingly-widespread use of psychosomatic drugs bolstered the Society's membership considerably. By July 1976 the Society had become so well known that President Gerald Ford invited it to provide the entertainment at the Bicentennial celebrations in Washington. The LFS staged an original, three-hour production called Lust for Bust: The Lynnwood Farnam Story, which consisted of the portrayal of various events from Farnam's career through the expressive medium of mime. A short time later, Ford was defeated in a general election.
In August 1981 there was a special world convention of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, to commemorate its 50th anniversary, held in Montreal at Christ Church Cathedral and the University Club. The keynote speaker was the Rt. Hon. Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and his address was entitled "Welcome to the Nineteen-Eighties; Farnam ŕ Notre Epoque."
Over the years many of the Society's members have been called upon by various notable people to perform important tasks. For instance, LFS members have been: babysitter for Charles Lindbergh (1932), speechwriter for Sally Field (1985), and chief drafter of the Charlottetown Constitutional Accord (1992). Always at the vanguard of new technology, the Society released an 8-track tape recording of the complete organ work of Lynnwood Farnam in 1983, and launched a web "site" on the Inter-net in June 2001.
Today the Lynnwood Farnam Society boasts approximately 70 members divided among six chapters spanning seven countries on three continents. While it receives a $600,000 annual grant from the Canadian Ministry of Heritage, the bulk of its operating budget comes from charitable donations. It is still based in Montreal, and has half a vote at Alliance Quebec leadership conventions.
Return to the index.
The Lynnwood Farnam Society was constituted and incorporated by a Royal Charter granted November 17th, 1931, by the Crown of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Charter is as follows:-
To all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting.
WHEREAS the well-known Canadian organist Lynnwood Farnam, late of the City of New York, in the United States of America, and originally of the town of Sutton, in the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, had by his art, skill and sure knowledge of his craft, what surely shall be a lasting influence on the performace of organ works on the North American continent, as well as on the world of music more generally: And Whereas a group of sixteen British subjects residing in the Dominion of Canada who are, though without rank or title, well-known and much beloved of Us and Our Court, who shall be hereinafter styled the Petitioners, lately presented to Us in Our Council a Humble Petition representing to Us that they are desirous of obtaining the Incorporation of a Benevolent Society, based at the City of Montreal, in Our Province of Quebec, in Our Dominion of Canada, which shall have for a mandate the celebration of the life of and the promotion of public performance of the work of the aforementioned well-known Canadian organist, as well as any other such related goals or mandates as they may see fit from time to time to set for themselves:
WHEREUPON the Petitioners most humbly prayed that We might be graciously pleased to grant a Royal Charter of Incorporation for the intended Society by the name of the LYNNWOOD FARNAM SOCIETY or by such other name, and with such advantages, and subject to such conditions as to Us in Our Council might seem fit:
NOW KNOW YE that We having taken into Our Royal Consideration in Our Council the said Humble Petition, Do by Our Prerogative Royal and of Our Special Grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, will and ordain that there shall be and there is hereby constituted and founded a Society with the name of the LYNNWOOD FARNAM SOCIETY, by which name the Executive Council of the said Society, for the time being, shall be and are hereby constituted and incorporated into one body politic and corporate, with perpetual succession, with full authority and free licence to have, take, accept, purchase, and hold to and for the use of the said Society any goods, chattels, or personal property whatsoever; provided, however, that the exercise of said power shall not be repugnant to the laws of Our Province of Quebec or Our Dominion of Canada, or contrary to the objects and provisions of this Our Charter.
And We do further by these presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, will and ordain that the Executive Council of the said Society shall consist of Mr. C. Scott Tresham, Mr. Peter Butler, Master John Grew, Mr. Patrick Wedd, Mr. Jonathan Oldengarm, Miss Jennifer Loveless, and Miss Catherine Butler, and also that the Executive Council of the said Society so constituted and their successors shall exercise all the powers of the Corporation appertaining to them by law and by this Charter, and shall manage all the financial and business affairs of the said Society, including the investment of monies, and also that the Executive Council of the said Society shall henceforth and hereafter have full authority to make, and when made to alter or repeal Articles, Statutes, Regulations, Ordinances, or any other such utterances as may from time to time be deemed desirous and expedient for the more proper and efficient functioning of the said Society and for the more perfect benefit of all its members, unless it shall for reasons of expediency or desirousness abrogate or reduce such power for itself or delegate it to the membership of the said Society or to representatives thereof; provided, however, that the exercise of all or any of said powers shall not be repugnant to the laws of Our Province of Quebec or Our Dominion of Canada, or contrary to the objects and provisions of this Our Charter.
And We do further by these presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, will and ordain that the said Society may or may not be divided for its more perfect and efficient functioning into any number of Regions, Chapters, Committees, Subcommittees, or any other such groups as may be deemed desirous by the Executive Council of the said Society, provided that in the case whereby the said Society may be divided into Chapters defined by geographic area, the Chapter based at Montreal shall be distinguished with the lowest ordinal number, and also that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America be granted at least one Chapter each, except in the case of insufficient membership from the aforementioned Unions, and also that in the case whereby the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland be, through insufficient membership, part of the same Chapter as all or part of Continental Europe, that the name or appelation of said Chapter shall consist first of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and only afterward of the words "Europe" or whichever part of it may or may not be implicated, and also that, in the case wherein the said Society be divided into any kind of group, the Executive Council of the said Society shall retain full and final authority over all such groups, unless it shall for reasons of expediency or desirousness abrogate or reduce such power for itself or delegate it to the membership of the said Society or to representatives thereof; provided, however, that the exercise of said power shall not be repugnant to the laws of Our Province of Quebec or Our Dominion of Canada, or contrary to the objects and provisions of this Our Charter.
And We do further by these presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, will and ordain that the Directors of Music of Christ Church Cathedral, Saint James United Church, and Saint James the Apostle Anglican Church, all of which are at Montreal, shall ex-officio be members of the said Society, and also, that the Dean of the said Cathedral shall ex-officio be a member of the said Society and in addition shall hold the title of Chaplain thereof, and also that the Dean of the Faculty of Music of McGill University shall ex-officio be a member of the said Society, and also that the said Society shall at all times include at least one delegate from the Sweelinck Cheese Club, based at Montreal.
And We do further by these presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, will and ordain that the official motto of the said Society shall be "Solidas habet sua privilegia," and that no other phrase, sentence, word, group of words, or collection of phrases, sentences, words, or groups of words, whether in the Latin, English, or any other tongue, shall be known as the official motto thereof, nevertheless always granting that the Executive Council of the said Society may, from time to time and as may be deemed desirous and expedient, use any phrase, sentence, word, group of words, or collection of phrases, sentences, words, or groups of words, for promotional or any other reasons, provided that it is not stated or implied to be the official motto thereof.
And We do further by these presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, grant and declare that these Our Letters Patent, or the enrolment or exemplification thereof, shall be in all things valid and effectual in the Law according to the true intent and meaning of the same, and shall be taken, construed, and adjudged in the most favourable and beneficial sense for the best advantage of the said Society, and of the said Members thereof, as well as in Our Courts of Record as elsewhere, and by all and singular Judges, Justices, Officers, Ministers, and other subjects whomsoever of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, any misrecital, nonrecital, omission, imperfection, defect, matter, cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.
In witness whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent.
Witness Ourself at Our Palace at Westminster, this seventeenth day of November, in the twenty-second year of Our Reign.
By warrant under the King's Sign Manual.
(Signed) SCHUSTER.
Seal
Return to the index.
The Lynnwood Farnam Society is governed internally on the basis of twelve Articles of Constitution, passed unanimously by the Lynnwood Farnam Society Executive Council and ratified unanimously by the membership of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, at its first meeting at the University Club in Montreal on November 23, 1931.
The Articles of Constitution are as follows:-
By virtue of the authority vested in the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, under the Royal Charter, and to provide responsible management and government of the affairs of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, it was unanimously resolved that the following Articles numbered from Article One to Article Twelve inclusive be, and the same are hereby enacted and shall come into effect as at this date, subject only to their being amended by an unanimous vote of the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, followed by a majority vote of the membership of the said Society, the Articles of Constitution of the Lynnwood Farnam Society.
ARTICLE I
The aims and objectives of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall be as follows: ARTICLE II
i) The Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall be the full and final arbiter of all matters arising in the said Society, except in such case as such power may be expressly delegated elsewhere in one of the present Articles or in the preamble thereto. ARTICLE III
i) The number of Members of the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall not be more than nor shall it be less than seven in all, of whom the two Founders and one Honorary President of the said Society shall ex-officio be three, and of the remaining four one shall be the Chairman ("Chairman" amended to read "Chairperson," 1991) of the said society and shall be elected as such by the membership of the Society from amongst those persons who shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee hereinafter mentioned, who shall hold office for a period of ten years and shall not be eligible for re-election; the other three shall be Members at Large of the said Executive Council and shall be elected as such by the membership of the said Society from amongst those persons who shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee hereinafter mentioned, who shall hold office for a period of three years and shall be eligible for re-election.
ARTICLE IV
i) In addition to the positions described and enumerated in Article III, the following positions are hereby created and shall be filled by members of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, having been directly appointed thereto by the Executive Council thereof: ARTICLE V
i) The membership of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall meet at the call of the Chairman ("Chairman" amended to read "Chairperson," 1991) or, in the event of his ("or her" added, 1991) inability to act, at the call of one of the two Founders of the Society, on written notice ("or by any electronic means deemed desirous and expedient" added, 1998) at least seven clear days before the date fixed for the meeting, at least one time every year, at the University Club at the city of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada. The quorum at such meetings shall be four members of the Executive Council. At such meetings all regular elections and votes shall be held. ARTICLE VI
i) Elections to the posts of Chairman ("Chairman" amended to read "Chairperson," 1991) or Member-at-Large of the Executive Council shall take place among those who have been thus nominated by the Nominating Committee, which shall be a committee consisting of three persons appointed directly by the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society. Such elections shall be conducted by secret ballots, which shall be duly counted and compiled by the Executive Council of the said Society. ARTICLE VII
Any person so desirous may become a member of the Lynnwood Farnam Society provided he ("or she" added, 1991): ARTICLE VIII
i) Members of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may, at any time and for whatever reason, and upon communication of their intentions thereupon to the Executive Council of the said Society, withdraw from the said Society. ARTICLE IX
i) In the case wherein an elected member of the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall, for any reason, take leave of the duties prescribed therein before the natural term of the said office, as ennumerated in Article III, expires, a special general meeting of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall be called pursuant to the procedure ennumerated in Article V iii), for the purpose of electing a replacement for the said elected member, which replacement shall subsequently have the same powers and privileges, and the same natural term of office, as had the original officeholder. ARTICLE X
i) The Lynnwood Farnam Society shall hereinafter be non-political; thus it shall not officially endorse, condone, or sanction any political party or platform. ARTICLE XI
i) The Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may, from time to time and as it may see fit, make, create, inaugurate, adjust, alter or change the composition of Regional Chapters. ARTICLE XII
i) Upon the occasion of the Holy and lawful union through the Sacrament of Marriage of a member of the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, the aforementioned person and his ("or her" added, 1991) spouse shall be entitled to receive such various gifts and presents from, as may be deemed desirous by, and compliments of, the Executive Council of the said Society.
Lynnwood Farnam Society Royal Charter (1931)
Lynnwood Farnam Society Articles of Constitution (1931)
and Northern Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith.
PREAMBLE
i) To celebrate the life of and to promote public performance of the work of the well-known Canadian organist Lynnwood Farnam.
ii) To aid in the advancement of scholarship pertaining to the aforementioned person.
iii) (Repealed, 1932) To, at all times and in whatever capacity may be deemed necessary, assist in the promotion of virtue through temperance.
ii) Notwithstanding Article II i), the membership of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may pass resolutions or motions in any matter in which it may see fit, provided that such resolutions or motions are properly introduced, seconded and passed at a general meeting of the Lynnwood Farnam Society as defined in Article V.
iii) Such resolutions or motions shall come into effect upon their being ratified by a majority vote of the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, provided that a majority of the Executive Council of the said Society has the power so to do.
ii) Notwithstanding Article III i) of the present charter, the Chairman ("Chairman" amended to read "Chairperson," 1991) of the said society shall, upon completion of his ("or her" added, 1991) ten-year term of office, be eligible for election to the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society as a Member at Large.
iii) The Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may, from time to time, appoint as it may see fit an Honorary Patron of the said Society, who shall not be a member of the said Executive Council but who shall be the figurehead of the said Society and shall be eligible to vote with the Membership at Large of the said Society, said vote counting for 3 1/3 times what an ordinary vote would.
iv) The Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may, from time to time, appoint as it may see fit a Mascot of the said Society, provided that the said Mascot be mammalian, either man ("man" amended to read "person," 1991) or animal. The said Mascot shall be present at general meetings of the said Society as defined in Article V, but shall not be a member of the Executive Council thereof, nor shall the said Mascot be eligible to vote with the Membership at Large of the said Society.
ia) (Added, 1977) There will also be a Resident Disc Jockey who will provide the groovy disco tunes at all Society receptions, events and happenings.
ii) Holders of the aforementioned positions may or may not also be elected to the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society as Members at Large.
ii) All such meetings shall be immediately preceded by a festal evening service at Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, which shall be presided over by the Dean of the said Cathedral, and shall commence with a lusty rendition in hearty voice of the hymn "O Sons and Daughters" by all those in attendance who are so able, which shall be accompanied by the Director of Music of the said Cathedral on the Cathedral organ, who may, if it be deemed expedient and desirous, leave the attendant throng to sing no more than two verses of the said hymn without accompaniment, this not including the final verse, over which the said Director of Music shall play an alternate harmonization or other such festive arrangement of the hymn tune, whether it be composed or extemporized. The said service shall always conclude with a performance, under capable hands, of the Toccata on "O Filii et Filiae" composed by Mr. Lynnwood Farnam, which shall be published forthwith, in its original and unaltered state, on the said Cathedral organ.
iia) (Added, 1982) Notwithstanding Article V ii), the aforementioned Toccata composed by Mr. Lynnwood Farnam may be modified, altered or transposed for the aforementioned performance in accordance with any limitations, either in scope or compass of keyboard or otherwise, of the said Cathedral organ.
iii) There may also be, from time to time, additional general meetings called to discuss important issues or for any other such business as may arise; such meetings shall follow the same procedures as to their being called and shall have the same quorum as the regular general meetings discussed in Article V i), but shall not necessarily be preceeded by the festal evening service discussed in Article V ii).
iv) The Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may meet as often or as seldom as it deems it necessary so to do. The quorum at such meetings shall be four.
ii) In the event in which the results of the said elections shall be disputed by one or more of the parties implicated therein, a special Grievance Committee consisting of three persons shall be convened, having thus been directly appointed by the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, which said Committee shall investigate the matter and offer its non-binding recommendations to the said Executive Council, which shall then proceed in the matter as it shall see fit.
i) Be of sound mind;
ii) Be of a generous and hearty spirit; and
iii) Meet with the approval of the Executive Council of the said Society.
ii) Members of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may, with good reason and upon a majority vote of the Executive Council thereof, see their membership in the said Society placed under temporary review, with the understanding that at the next general meeting of the Lynnwood Farnam Society such membership shall, by majority vote of the members thereof, be either terminated or fully re-instated.
iii) Notwithstanding Article VIII ii), the review placed upon a member's status may be, by majority vote of the members of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, held in continuation until the next such vote no more than one time.
iv) Applicants for membership who do not fulfil all of the qualifications ennumerated in Article VII may, in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society, be nevertheless admitted into the said Society conditionally; in such a case their membership shall be, and shall follow the procedures of memberships which are, as enumerated in Article VIII ii) and iii), under review.
ii) In the case wherein the Honorary President or one of the Founders of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall be forced to take permanent leave of their duties at any time, the Executive Committee of the said Society shall forthwith appoint a replacement, from within the membership of the said Society, who shall thenceforth have the same powers and privileges as had the original officeholder, except that in the case of a Founder's leaving, the replacement shall hold the title of "Honorary Founder".
ii) Notwithstanding Article X i) of the present charter, any member of the Lynnwood Farnam Society may if so desirous become a member of, endorse, condone, or sanction any political party or platform of his ("or her" added, 1991) choice, provided that he ("or she" added, 1991) not do so officially on behalf of the Lynnwood Farnam Society.
iii) (Added, 1947; Repealed, 1961)
Notwithstanding Article X ii) of the present charter, no member of the Lynnwood Farnam Society shall become or otherwise be a member of the Communist Party of Canada, the Communist Party of Quebec, the Communist Party of the United States of America, or any other Red party or organisation, on pain of disqualification from the said Society, with no possibility of re-instatement.
ii) Each such Chapter shall be led by one Chairman ("Chairman" amended to read "Chairperson," 1991) or, in such a case wherein that shall not be deemed desirous, by two Co-Chairmen ("Co-Chairmen" amended to read "Co-Chairpeople," 1991, "Co-Chairpeople" amended to read "Co-Chairpersons," 1993).
iii) Such Chapters shall be semi-autonomous; that is, they shall be self-governing in local affairs, subject to what rules, regulations or statutes they may see fit to make for themselves, being subservient to the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society only in matters affecting the said Society as a whole.
iv) Notwithstanding Article XI iii), in cases judged by the Executive Council of the Lynnwood Farnam Society to be extreme, the Executive Council of the said Society may, if the membership of the said Society passes a resolution in this regard pursuant to the procedures outlined in Article II ii) and iii), intervene directly in the affairs of any Regional Chapter for whatever reason as may be deemed valid.
ii) Notwithstanding Article XII i), the said gifts shall in all cases and in all circumstances relate in some way to the well-known Canadian organist Lynnwood Farnam, to his bronze bust, to the Lynnwood Farnam Society, or to the aims and objectives thereof as enumerated in Article I.
(Return to the Lynnwood Farnam Society Home Page)