The Estey Organ Company

"The Estey Organ Company of Brattleboro, Vermont, was established by Jacob Estey in 1855, the culmination of reed instrument manufacturing that began in Brattleboro in 1846. Throughout the 19th century, the firm made many styles of melodeons and reed organs, which rapidly made the name of Estey world-famous. The building of pipe organs was added in 1901 and 3,261 of them were shipped from the Birge Street factory until the firm closed in 1961.

"The Bedford United Methodist pipe organ is Opus #133, manufactured in Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1904 by the Estey Organ Company. It is identified by the number 133 etched on its pipes. This number was used to gain access to a business folder held by the Estey Organ Museum pertaining to organ 133. From documents located in the business folder, the early history of the organ unfolded.

"On February 6, 1904, the Estey Organ Company and the Bedford Methodist Episcopal Church entered into an agreement requiring Estey to build and install a pipe organ for the church. The contracted price was $2,100. There is some evidence to indicate that the Andrew Carnegie Foundation reimbursed the church for the organ’s cost in 1905. Minutes of the Thirty-seventh Session of the [Methodist] Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference includes the following statement:


"Its value for insurance purposes in 1956 was $13,200 and in 2004 that value has increased to $320,000.

"The organ was shipped and installed in August 1904 making it nearly 100 years old today. It was installed that same month and, with relatively minor problems, has been rendering its melodious notes for over 99 years.

"An organ’s wind supply has been described as its “breath of life.” Its pipes require a supply of pressurized air in order to sound at all. Moreover, the supply of wind must be reliable, and it must be regulated in volume and pressure so that the pipes can speak properly. This pressurized air was the result of a piston connected to feeders which in turn were attached to bellows. Feeders consisted of two pieces of wood held on by leather that moved up and down opposite each other and forced air into the bellows, thereby supplying air to the organ. Feeders in the very early pipe organs were pumped by hand; however hand pumping was ultimately replaced by using a water motor and the hand pump remained on site as a back-up. It was common to have both the water motor and the hand pump, as many thought that water pressure was still too unreliable to use as a regular source of power for the bellows. The pumping action that initially powered Opus #133 came from a water motor. By the early 1920’s electric motors were becoming popular, the feeders eliminated and an air line put directly into the bellows to supply air to the organ. The water motor which ran Opus #133 was replaced by an electric motor ($215) in 1920 and the leather covered chest pneumatics were replaced in 1923. In those days, maintenance cost the church $25 for two semi-annual visits. On one occasion, after the church had complained of a particular unexplained problem, Estey quickly found the unusual answer as shown in this correspondence, as follows:


"Opus #133 was given a complete rebuild in 1966 - the console by Schantz and the organ by Kennedy - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There are two plaques on the console to that effect. The Church Council agreed in 2003 that a major renovation would be needed to preserve the organ for the years ahead. That renovation was completed in July, 2004 by the Steiner-Murphy Organ Company of Cumberland, Maryland. This was a complete renovation along with the addition of a cymbelstern and five ranks which included trumpets and mixtures.

"It is interesting to note that of the large visible pipes seen closest to the congregational area only seventeen are working pipes. The remainder are decorative in nature and have no musical function. There is some anecdotal evidence that the organ’s pipes have been painted white, lavender and the current gold tone through the years. As Steiner Murphy was disassembling the organ for transport to Cumberland, a faux art rendering was discovered on the back wall, previously hidden by the organ. It has since been painted over.

"The first organist to perform using Opus #133 was a Bedford native, Miss L. Durbin Shuck (1866 - 1948). She was a daughter of Samuel and Annie (Durbin) Shuck, was an honor student at the local high school, graduated at Chautauqua after a four-year music course, attended Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and studied pipe organ with a teacher at Woman’s College. She was a member of the Bedford Methodist Church and its organist for 58 years, from 1889 until February 1948. For 40 years she was Bedford’s best-known music teacher and had many students who took an honored place in the musical world.

"The music of Opus #133 has spiritually uplifted and thrilled literally thousands of persons, church members, visitors and other audiences as well. With this current renovation, audiences will be able to enjoy the same extraordinary music throughout another century."