Ettrick church holds 'baby shower' for longtime organists

Judy Byom and Vickie Baer are women of certain ages that they refuse to reveal — but both are beyond childbearing years.

So you can imagine their bewilderment about a message they received during a service at Hardies Creek Lutheran Church a couple of months back.

"They called us up in front," Byom said, "and we didn't know..."

"What was coming," Baer said, in the typical fashion in which the congregation's longtime organists are so in tune with each other — they often finish each other's sentences.

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"You're expecting a baby," a note said, Byom recalled. "We looked at each other, because our families are grown."

"Then they told us" to pick the baby of their choice from a catalog, Baer said.

Baby as in baby grand piano, a new instrument with which the church of 300 souls was presenting to celebrate the women's dedicated years of playing organ and piano during services — Byom's 45 and Baer's 40, the La Crosse Tribune reported.

"We are so overwhelmed." Byom said.

"The old one was on its last (leg)," Baer said.

The Kawai baby grand they picked is stationed at the front of the well-kept, stately little brick church nestled in a valley among the pastoral hills of Trempealeau County — just a stone's throw from the Hardies Creek from which it draws its name.

The baby was delivered a few months ago, and Byom and Bayer have been tickled pink tickling its ivories. The final steps in the congregation's honorifics for the women took place on Sunday, April 10, with a special service at 9 a.m., followed by a brunch in their honor.

The accolades are well-deserved for the native daughters of the congregation, according to member Tom Borreson.

"They have worked tirelessly over the years providing music for church services, other church activities, weddings, funerals and many other activities," said Borreson, Hardies Creek's treasurer.

The Rev. John Ashland, who has been pastor here since his ordination, echoes Borreson's assessment, saying, "They do an amazing job. I've been blessed for 25 years to have them. They never turn down a request to try something different. They have made my job easier.

"They really work hard to make every service special, creative and unique," Ashland said.

"It's not just about them playing music, but they are great at involving as many people as possible," he said, adding that the duo routinely enlists both youths and adults to sing solos and/or in groups.

Those groups include the Creek Chicks, which Byom and Baer said recently performed for an Irish gig, including a violin, banjo and guitars.

"We are very blessed to have had talented musicians over the years," said Baer, an assistant to a vice chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, who played the piano in church for a wedding at the age of 13.

Both play in the Hill and Valley Band, begun in 1999.

"It started out with 28 adults and kids," said Baer, who plays the saxophone. "Some adults dusted off their old instruments, and others bought new ones."

The numbers have dwindled, depending in part on how many collegians happen to be home for the weekend, but the enthusiasm remains, said Byom, a clarinet player who also directs the choir.

Byom and Baer alternate weekends at the keys to give each other a break.

"I like to sit back and relax and listen to the music and be with my family, which is important to me," said Byom, a dairy farmer with her husband, Dan.

They also alternate between the piano and the organ during services.

"Way back, it was entirely organ," Byom said. "In recent years, we've done preludes and postludes on the piano, with hymns on the organ."

Sometimes, they both scoot over a bit on the piano bench to play together.

"We like to do duets, for holidays and special events, and we're going to do one Sunday," said Baer, whose husband is Bob, the day before the event.

"Another unique time was for the 25th anniversary of the pastor," Byom said of the service last fall, when they invited Bette Stern, the musician from South Beaver Creek Lutheran Church, which Ashland also pastors.

In that case, they pulled a chair up next to the piano bench, and the trio played six-handed tunes.

"We had a lot of fun," Byom said.

Both praised the pastor as being very musical, with a strong singing voice to lead the congregation, and his wife, Sarah, who plays the guitar.

Ashland returns the compliments, saying Byom and Baer are part of the fabric of the church.

"It's a congregation that really, truly care about each other and the church," he said. "It's close-knit and caring."

The weaving together has been done with care for more than a century.

"Both of us were born and raised here," Byom said, "and married here, and our forefathers started the church," which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2012.

And they've got a new baby.

This is an AP Exchange feature by Mike Tighe for La Crosse Tribune.