05/24/2026
Wow...you find some interesting things from time to time.
A volunteer restoring the pipe organ at a historic 1890s church in central Pennsylvania last month was cleaning the bellows chamber when he noticed an unusual wooden panel at the back.
Behind the panel was a small compartment containing original sheet music handwritten by the church’s first organist in the early 1900s.
The discovery happened three weeks ago at Grace Lutheran Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. While performing routine maintenance on the large pipe organ, 67-year-old volunteer organist Harold Becker removed a loose wooden cover inside the bellows housing and found a hidden space. Inside were several folders of handwritten sheet music, personal notes, and a small diary kept by the church’s first full-time organist, Elizabeth Hartmann, between 1898 and 1912.
Elizabeth had created the secret compartment to store her own compositions and private reflections because she was not allowed to publish music under her own name as a woman at the time. The cool, dark, and stable environment inside the organ had preserved the paper and ink beautifully for over 110 years.
Church historians and music scholars from nearby colleges were thrilled with the find. Several of the pieces are original compositions that were never performed publicly. The church plans to restore and perform some of the music during special services this year, and copies will be added to the local historical society archives.
Harold says discovering the hidden music made him feel connected to the long line of musicians who have served the church. What started as routine maintenance has given the congregation a living link to one of its earliest and most talented members.
