Midway University has benefited throughout the years from the generosity of thousands of individuals. Many fine gifts have been donated to the college, but perhaps the item with the most colorful and interesting history is the wooden melodeon housed in Marrs Hall on campus.
The introduction of music to religious service deeply divided early congregations of the Reform Movement which emphasized the primacy and authority of the biblical text. Since the New Testament did not explicitly permit musical instruments, some believed their use was a dangerous, unscriptural practice that would turn plain worship into farcical show. For others, the use of a musical instrument during worship was a matter of preference expressive of Christian liberty.
Dr. Lewis Letig Pinkerton, founder of the Kentucky Female Orphan School (KFOS), fell into the ‘musical’ camp. In the privacy of their homes, people sang not only popular, secular songs, but Christian hymns as well, to the accompaniment of a musical instrument. Dr. Pinkerton reasoned that if this harmless enjoyment elevated family worship, it could do the same in the formal worship of the congregation.
Dr. Pinkerton served as pastor at the Midway Christian Church from 1844 to 1860. The melodeon was introduced to the church in 1859 or 1860 (sources differ) in part to improve the quality of the singing. It is thought to be the first instrument used in a service in any congregation associated with the Campbell-Stone Reform Movement. Members practiced in someone’s home and found the melodeon helped them stay on pitch; indeed, find pitch. The melodeon was first played at the service by Thompson Parrish, son of KFOS co-founder, James Ware Parrish. The ensuing friction amongst congregants led church elder and KFOS Trustee, Adam S. Hibler, to remove it from the church late one night with the assistance of enslaved Reuben. Subsequently, another instrument was brought in and continued in use by the church.
The original melodeon’s whereabouts remained a mystery for many years until discovered by Midway historian John Rogers in 1932 at the home of Misses Mary and Elizabeth Nugent, at Nugent’s Crossroads. They inherited the old instrument from their father James Nugent who was a friend of Adam Hibler (pictured above). James Ware Parrish II, son of Thompson Parrish who first played it in the church, purchased the instrument and donated it to the school. KFOS Business Promotional Director (later its first president) Edgar C. Riley made excellent use of the famous instrument which was exhibited and played at five Christian Church conventions. The melodeon remains on display at Midway University, the descendant of that once small orphan school in Midway.
The lady playing the melodeon in the image, Mrs. Edna Starks Hicks, is the granddaughter of Adam Hibler. The image was most likely taken at the funeral service held in Marrs Hall for the KFOS president Edgar Riley in 1945.
Visitors continue to visit the campus to view the instrument that became a symbol of the division that ultimately resulted in the establishment of two separate and distinct churches: the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Church of Christ (which to this day does not use instrumental music in worship).
If you plan to visit campus to see the melodeon, please call (859) 846-5873 to ensure access.