The "Oh, The Memories Of That Old Organ" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sunday, July 14 and today was the last day that St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania would use their historic four-manual organ that was installed 71 years ago.  The James Hale Steinman Memorial Organ was played for the last time at the 10:30 a.m. service at St. James.  The organ has become too expensive to maintain and doesn't use the current technology that is available in today's church organs.  Mr. Steinman donated the organ to St. James in 1948 in memory of Caroline Morgan Hale Steinman.  James Hale Steinman was the publisher of Lancaster Newspapers, now LNP Media Group.  The organ was built by the Gundling Organ Company from Lancaster and was a major upgrade from the previous organ.  In 1968, the organ was rebuilt with a gift from members of the Steinman family.  The rebuild included new organ pipes that fill three rooms behind the large organ.  Then in 1994 the Steinman Foundation gifted another $50,000 to help extend the life of the organ for another 20 years.  But, now the console, mechanical pipes and analogue technology has become too hard to maintain.  

Mr. George Rodgers playing on the church organ pre-1948.

My father, Paul, used to tell me stories of the church organist and choir- master, Mr. Rodgers, who could make the keyboard come alive with music when my father was a young boy singing in the St. James Boys Choir.  Mr. George Rodgers spent 32 years at the keyboard of the old organ before the new one was installed in 1948.  

Mr. Frank McConnell at the keyboard of the
James Hale Steinman Memorial Organ.  I used
to turn the pages for Mr. McConnell as a child.

Later, Mr. Frank McConnell became the organist and choirmaster at St. James and I had the same experience that my father did as a child when I sang in the Boys Choir as well as adult choir and had the chance to watch Mr. McConnel's hands fly over those keys as he reached for stop after stop to enhance the music as well as watch his feet walk across the foot pedals to add more bass to the organ piece he was playing. I was one of the lucky choirboys who had the honor to turn pages as Mr. McConnell would play the Saturday organ recitals during the Easter season.  

The cassette tape insert of Mr. Frank
McConnell at the keyboard of the James
Hale Steinman Memorial Organ.  I took
the photo as well as printed the inserts.

My three children also had the chance to be members of the youth choir and once again watch as Mr. Mcconnell made that old organ come to life.  I still have a cassette tape that I printed the insert for that features Frank McConnell at the St. James Organ.  Oh, the memories of that old organ that will never be forgotten.  My wife and I were married at St. James Church and for the recessional Mr. McConnell played the Toccata and Fugue in d minor by Johann Sebastian Bach.  We will never forget the chills we felt when Mr. McConnell began playing and we turned to walk down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs.  The old organ was a part of my life from 1948 until a few days ago.  After Mr. McConnell retired and the choir gained a series of new choirmasters in the past several years, the one constant was that old organ.  How I will miss that old piece of wood, metal and ivory.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.