The great pipe swap - Chapel organ gets new pipes

Since it was dedicated in 1955, the Kerr Chapel has been a familiar and much-loved venue for countless Sunday services, weddings, funerals and adult classes. The first organ installed there in 1955 was about 40 years old at the time. When I arrived in 1974, it was in poor condition and was scheduled for replacement with another re-purposed organ made in 1941.

As of this writing the Chapel organ is 80 years old and in need of a major overhaul of its mechanical systems. There are about 350 pipes in the organ, which have now seen their final days. Read on.

The First United Methodist Church in Bartlesville held their final service in their downtown location in August 2013, after moving to a new campus on the east edge of the city. Their organ, with 2,100 pipes, was left behind. I was familiar enough with the instrument to know that some very good quality pipes might be available for transplant into the Kerr Chapel organ to improve the quality of its sound.

After several years of discussion with subsequent developers of the property, I completed an agreement in November 2020, to purchase five complete sets of pipes, totaling 305 individual pipes. I organized a “salvage expedition!” I rented a U-Haul truck and drove it to Bartlesville on December 1 where our team removed, wrapped and loaded the pipes into the truck.

The process of replacing the old pipes with the newer ones took many hours of work using special tools, and some trial and error. But the “great pipe swap” is now complete and the musical results justify the cost, time and effort.

I am grateful for the many volunteers who have helped me in this effort, and I look forward to hearing the new and improved version of the Kerr Chapel organ in the future. What remains to be accomplished is a much-needed replacement of the mechanical systems, i.e. everything that makes the pipes able to speak including wind chests, air ducts, reservoirs, wiring, wood support structure, console upgrades and so on. Stay tuned for more information on how you might be able to get involved with this future project.