Longtime church organist strikes meaningful chord in Vinalhaven

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VINALHAVEN – Louise Bickford has left a lasting impression all over this small island.

Not only are her fingerprints firmly embedded in the ivory keys of the Union Church organ she has played for 70-plus years, her kindness and generosity have forever touched the hearts of islanders in a big way.

On Pentecost Sunday, parishioners pulled out all the stops to give tribute to the petite, white-haired 84-year-old native who has given scores of performances for her church and community over the years.

“She’s so special, so dedicated,” parishioner Carol Shirley said, gesturing toward Bickford, adding, “We were talking about the Holy Spirit this morning.”

Whenever Bickford has been paid for her church music, she always donates it back to the church or to a needy family, friends said.

The tribute Sunday was a complete surprise to Bickford.

Some of her family arrived Friday under the guise of having construction work done on their Connecticut home and needing a place to stay. They supposedly had left on the morning boat to return home. Instead, more relatives from New York came across by boat Sunday for the surprise celebration.

The Rev. Michelle Wiley-Arey began the service by asking the “people in the way back to come forward.” In came Bickford’s family.

During the sermon, titled “The Spirit Blows in Us All,” Wiley-Arey said, “The spirit has blown through and in Louise.”

Oftentimes, deserving people are not recognized for their goodness until a memorial service or funeral, she said, telling Bickford, “Good job, faithful spirit.”

Flowers, gifts and warm embraces were showered upon Bickford before she resumed playing “Old Rugged Cross” and “How Great Thou Art.”

Church music isn’t all she is known for.

Kind words, poems and remembrances by friends, family and parishioners told of a woman who has shared her gift of music with all. Members of the Pleasant River Grange and community members thanked Bickford for her years of playing piano and organ at various events. She played local dances, suppers and funerals, too.

“There’s an art to that,” one Grange member said of playing both instruments. “Not many are willing or able to do that. She adds so much to our organization. As with any organization, music helps us out a whole lot. And she’s a good cook.”

“On behalf of everyone who graduated from Vinalhaven High School, I thank Louise for playing the grand march,” friend Linda Lynch said.

Bickford recalls playing the more than 100-year-old Jesse Woodberry & Co. pipe organ at Union Church since she was 14 years old. Some people say she was even younger when she began “filling in” for other organists.

Nearing 85 years old, Bickford remains young at heart, but her hands show her age.

Yet her fingers, twisted from arthritis, don’t slow her down.

In the old days, more young people used to come to church, Bickford said during a luncheon that followed the service. Young boys would work the pumps for the organ, which has since been electrified. They used to carve or write their names on the wooden pumps, she noted.

“In high school, we played Sunday nights – another girl and I,” Bickford said of Ruth Brown Phillips, who now lives in Rockland. They were asked to play when the church had run out of money to pay the organists and pumpers, she said.

In all her years of playing, Bickford said, “Even if I don’t look at the music, I have to know it’s up there.”

The three-time widow has one daughter, six stepchildren, 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. The island native retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 1977. She still lives independently in her grandmother’s house, where she was born. She moved back into the home in 1950.

Friends say Bickford never says no – whether it’s making her famed pumpkin chiffon pie, chocolate-peanut bars, Grape Nut puddings or ham salad sandwiches for Grange, Eldercare dinners, or community events.

Bickford continues to visit the sick, give rides to Grange members, and tend to her younger sister and sister-in-law by delivering groceries, mail, the local newspaper, The Wind, and so on.

“One snowy Sunday morning when my car was buried in snow, [Louise] picked me up so I could get to church to play the piano with her,” church pianist Elizabeth “Betsey” Arey said. “She is one of the most remarkable women I have ever met.”

Most people don’t know Bickford practices an average of three hours a week, Arey said of their piano and organ sessions. Bickford also rehearses another two hours for choir practice and plays two hours for Sunday services, she said.

“Over 70 years, I calculate that’s 26,480 hours of playing,” Arey said. “And that doesn’t take into account weddings and funerals, baccalaureate services, and musical performances at the Pleasant River Grange, where you are a life member.”

Bickford is the reason friend Burke Lynch grew to love beautiful music, he said. “In my heart and in my mind, she’s been an anchor of stability,” Lynch said.

What keeps Bickford going?

“Probably coming to church,” she said, “and my music and family. We have a lot of fun together.”