Aoeilian-Skinner Pipe Organ
The Aeolian Skinner organ at First United Methodist Church was originally a 32-rank instrument (Aeolian Skinner Opus 1029) in the dome church, the church facility which was located at Calder and Pearl in downtown Beaumont from 1907 to 1968. In 1968 when the present sanctuary was completed, the organ was installed in the spire church. Under the leadership of Dr. A. W. Yeats, some 33 additional ranks were added to the organ, mainly during the 1980s. During a Sunday morning worship service following the installation of the Zimbelstern, the last stop he added, Dr. Yeats brought the children of the church to the chancel to tell them about the organ and to let them hear the Zimbelstern. He explained that this unique stop was a reindeer bell just for them. Those who were present that morning remember this special moment with particular tenderness, not only for the interaction between Dr. Yeats and the children, but also because it marked the completion of what was for Dr. Yeats a dream of many years and many, many hours of work on the church's behalf.
Dr. Yeats made a generous gift to the church for the maintenance, repair and preservation of the organ he loved so much and other musical instruments owned by the church. Supported by this gift, a major project to preserve and enhance the organ was undertaken in the 1990s. Following a thorough assessment of the instrument by Mr. Jack Bethards, President of the Schoenstein firm of San Francisco, California, the firm of Steuart Goodwin & Co. was engaged for major repairs, voicing, regulating and pipe work. The organ is now a 72 rank instrument. A four-manual console was installed in 2001. Originally a Whiteford-Skinner console, it was refurbished by Garland Pipe Organ Company of Fort Worth and enhanced by Tom Martin of St. Dunstan-Art Organ Works of Houston, who maintains the organ on a regular basis and is responsible for the fine condition of the instrument.
The A. W. Yeats Committee
