Port Townsend: Historical church organ gets face lift

PORT TOWNSEND — Easter is the most joyous holiday in the Christian calendar.

But for this year’s Christmas Eve services, the organist at First Presbyterian Church will be pulling out all the stops.

Two sets of trumpet pipes have been installed in the church’s historic tracker pipe organ, one of the country’s oldest organs in continuous use in its original location at First Presbyterian, 1111 Franklin St.

Organist Peggy Maurer will debut the new sound at today’s Advent service and incorporate it into carols for Christmas Eve.

“Christmas music is usually quiet, but not this year,” Maurer said. “There’ll be more fanfare.”

Other than the new electric blower replacing hand bellows — previously operated by a child while the organist played — the organ still operates as built in 1889.

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The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.

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