(Radio Iowa) – About 200 people gathered in downtown Lake City this week for a groundbreaking for Dobson Pipe Organ Builders. The company is building a new facility at the site of the fire in June of 2021 that destroyed its workspace and the parts of an organ destined for Australia. John Panning, the president and owner of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, says the groundbreaking is a big milestone. “We never thought it would be two years before we were at this point, but with the pandemic and all the challenges of building costs and that, it took us a quite a while to get our plans together,” he says, “but the day is here and we’re delighted by the turnout, by the support of everyone here in Lake City and beyond.”

The fire destroyed many of the highly specialized tools the company’s artisans used to create their musical masterpieces. Panning, who has worked at the company since 1984, took over as president and owner in late 2020. He says the outpouring of support from around the globe kept them operating. “We’ve built some organs overseas and people know about us because the organ community is kind of small and tight knit,” Panning says. “Obviously local people knew about us and came out pretty magnificently to support us, but we had gifts of tools and money and support and prayers just from all over the country and even internationally. It was really unbelievable to witness.”

The Dobson team has been working out of several temporary spaces in Lake City since the fire and will continue to do so until the new shop is finished. Panning says they are fortunate to have that space as they continue to receive orders for new organs. “That was really the amazing thing afterward,” Panning says. “We didn’t even have a shop and people had the confidence in us to entrust us with work, so we’ve got work through the end of 2026 at this point, which is just incredibly gratifying.”

Construction on the new building is expected to be done by August 2024.