Blissfield Church to Celebrate Historic Pipe Organ

By DOUG DONNELLY

Advance Editor

Kerwin Leaders knows history when he sees it.

Not long ago the organist at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was curious about the history of the organ that he has been playing for more than a decade at the church. That led to him to a treasure hunt that started with the Moller Organ archives in Pennsylvania and back to the church, was discovered that on Aug. 13, 1950, the Opus 8092 pipe organ was dedicated at St. Paul’s.

The 75 years of the organ at St. Paul’s will be celebrated Nov. 2 when Leader and the church host a reception and recital. Leader will play some of the same music that Dr. James Spencer, a composer and long-time chair of the music department at Adrian College, played at the first recital in 1950.

“It was quite a journey,” Leader said. “It’s fascinating, really.”

The pipe organ has six ranks, which makes it relatively small compared to some of the famous organs in the nation, but impressive nonetheless. The pipes are housed about 25 steps away from where Leader sits at the keyboard in front of the congregation at St. Paul’s, filing a room about the size of a small bedroom and extend from the floor to the ceiling.

A complex system of air and revolving wooden doors – all of which Leader controls from his post at the organ – produce beautiful music.

“It’s all by electrical connection,” Leader said. “There’s no sound that comes out of the box, the organ. All of the sound comes out of (the room).”

The organ, which was custom built for St. Paul’s, cost $8,080 in 1950. Today, such a piece would cost about $125,000. It is one of four organs in Blissfield, one of which Leader owns. Many churches have gone to an electric organ or a piano. 

“Moller had the premise that everyone should be able to own their own organ,” Leader said. 

A specialist must come regularly and tune the pipe organ.

“About 20 years ago, we had a shift in music styles,” Leader said. “That has probably occurred because it costs to upkeep an organ, to keep it tuned. It’s very costly. Organs aren’t cheap.” 

Moller, which was in Hagerstown, Maryland, produced just under 12,000 organs before going out of business. 

“The organ is considered the king of instruments. It goes back to the 14th century. I don’t think the pipe organ is dead yet,” Leader said. “In any major city you’ll find a pipe organ at the concert hall – big pipe organs that are very flashy and visually ‘Wow.’”

Leader has a special affinity for the pipe organ.

“The reason we like to sing with a pipe organ is they produce the sounds much the way we do as humans,” he said. “How we speak and sound is much like a pipe in the organ. It’s much different than what is being recreated digitally. These base pipes, you can feel it in your chest.”

The celebration and recital begin at 4 p.m.