Organs at Baldwin First

In 1930, a tragic event of a huge fire gutted the church, destroying all the contents, including the organ. Although records do not indicate what type (brand) of organ it was, the new building had an organ of some kind after the fire. In 1934, Ruth Ann Nutt, a past member, remembers attending Youth Institute worship services in the current sanctuary and remembered an organ was used. Then, under the leadership of Rev. James S. Chubb (1934-1942), a fundraiser to purchase a new organ from Reuter Organ Company in Lawrence, KS began. Due to the ongoing depression, donations came in slowly, but the church was confident the donations will continue to come and the debt for the organ was paid in full in due time.

The organ the church raised money for served the congregation well until 1963 when the decision was made to replace it. Reuter Organ Company, again, was selected for the organ project. Reuter proposed an organ with 26 ranks of pipes and a three manual console. In comparison, the previous instrument contained 13 ranks of pipes with a two-manual console. Wanting to display the new organ at a conference of 700 National Methodist Musicians at Baker University in the summer of 1963, Reuter Organ Company gave a church a generous discount along with a trade-in for the 13-rank/2-manual organ. Reuter exercised great care to assure the console conformed to the architecture and symmetry of the church interior. A single pencil holder from the back of one of the pews served as a sample finish guide for a perfect match of the finish to the sanctuary furnishings. The organ was consecrated at worship services on October 27, 1963, with Lester Groom as organist.