It was fifty-seven years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. We were gathered around our family’s kitchen table visiting with Mr. Findlay. He was in the process of negotiating with my Dad for the purchase of our family home.
Dad had been forced to sell the farm and it had become the property of the Federal Wetlands. That required that all the farm buildings had to be removed and the farm relinquished back to nature.
I was torn. As a lover of the outdoors the idea that our two quarters of land would become a sanctuary for wildlife caused me to celebrate. At the same time the destruction of our farm site and the removal of our house, the only home I had ever known, left me with a deep ache in my heart.
Our Mother had died suddenly the previous year so Dad was struggling handling all the major decisions that had to be made.
He was concerned about our huge, old upright piano that had sat for many years in the hallway. The same piano that I could proudly plunk out “Twinkle, twinkle little star”. The same piano that a couple of my siblings had failed miserably at reaching even the lowest level of piano playing skills.
Dad did not want to move that huge musical machine to his small house in town.
Mr. Findlay saved the day when he suggested, “Why not leave it in the house as we move the house. I’ve got several children that might be interested in conquering those ivories.”
So a deal was struck and the piano was strapped down and made the thirty mile trip to its new farm site.
You would think that would end my relationship with the big piano but you would be wrong.
Ten years later I had become the Weed Inspector for our county. It was mostly a summer job so it was doable and worked well with my teaching position. It allowed me to become familiar with plants that I was not familiar with and made me a more knowledgeable teacher in the classroom.
One afternoon I was driving on gravel roads keeping an eye open for nasty weeds such as Canadian Thistles, Cockleburs or Sow Thistles when I passed a farm site that looked familiar. Slowing my pickup I stared at the house and immediately screamed, “That’s the house I grew up in!”
I couldn’t resist the pang of homesickness for my old house so I turned into Mr. and Mrs. Findlay’s driveway, bravely walked up to the front door and knocked.
Mrs. Findlay opened the door and graciously gave me a tour of their ‘ immigrant’ house.
What excitement I felt to be back into my old, beloved home.
They had made many changes but what a shock it was when I entered the living room and viewed the hallway. There it sat in all its glory. The ten years had changed it not one iota. Our huge, upright piano looked exactly as it did that evening when my Dad and Mr. Findlay had agreed to move the piano with the house.
That was the last time I viewed the old piano. As I thanked Mrs. Findlay I had the urge to ask her if I could try to plunk out “Twinkle, twinkle little star” one more time. 🙂
This past weekend I was selling books at the Big Stone County Fair and was again reminded of my family’s piano.
A gray haired, ninety one year old man using a cane came up to me and asked, “I bet you don’t remember me?”
How I was able to recognize him I’ll never know but immediately I replied, “You bought our house and moved it to your farm near Beardsley!”
Then he proceeded to tell me a story about that move and the adventure the piano had provided as they made the thirty mile journey to the new farm site.
The house movers began their slow trek along the highway and as evening was arriving the movers needed to park the house for the night. The little town of Collis was just up the road so the house mounted on the huge trailer was parked in a vacant lot on the outskirts of the town.
That must have caused a lot of excitement for the residents of Collis especially since the town only had a dozen homes to begin with. It was a population boom for the town. 🙂
Mr. Findlay said they returned around seven in the morning to continue the journey to their farm and mount our old home onto the newly completed foundation.
As they approached the house Mr. Findlay said they could hear piano music blasting from the building. They were puzzled and concerned so they approached very cautiously.
Our piano was not the old fashioned ‘player piano’ that could play tunes on its own so there must be someone or something performing the music. Do raccoons have musical talents?
As the movers entered the house they were relieved to discover a neighboring farmer with exceptional musical talents. While exploring the old house he had discovered the piano and couldn’t resist belting out a few tunes.
I bet if pianos could smile that piano would have had the biggest grin revealing all those black and white keys. Twinkle, twinkle little star was really humbled that morning. 🙂
Standing by my book signing table Mr. Findlay mentioned that the piano had sat in that same spot in the hallway for fifty seven years. His son and family eventually moved into the home.
Unhappily he shared with me that recently the piano was moved out into the garage. Garage pianos have a very short life expectancy. 🙁
I really enjoyed hearing about the musical adventure that took place those many years ago in the city of Collis. It becomes another memory of growing up with that wonderful, underplayed piano. I especially want to thank the ninety one year old farmer and house mover for taking the time to share that memory with me.
Hey, I just had a brilliant idea! With that piano sitting in the Findlay’s garage I bet I could negotiate a very reasonable price to purchase it.
Moving it to our house I could polish up my Twinkle, twinkle little star performance and after some practice learn to plunk out a few more tunes. Let’s see there’s “You Are My Sunshine”, “My Wild Irish Rose”, “Jingle Bells”…..why the possibilities are endless!
That old memory, although new to me, was a blessing. It has provided me the opportunity (if I so decide) to regain possession of our family’s piano and that has opened up a door to potential musical stardom for an old guy like myself. 🙂
Until next time.
