One of the stories in the chapter in The Immigrant and the Outlaw about Childhood on a Farm is called The Old Upright Piano, which begins:
“It’s been in the family six decades. Most of our history with this musical instrument is good, except for one really bad one.
“Uncle Delbert found it about 1952 in someone’s shed near Perry, Iowa, while he was doing some wiring for them. He knew that Mom was looking for a piano so my sister and I could take lessons. How much did they want for it? $45. He hauled it to our farmhouse in his electrician’s van.
“He and Dad lugged it into a corner of the front room, which had a linoleum floor, a plush plum-colored davenport and chair, a blond black and white television (with a ‘TV lamp’ on it), and in the winter a tall brown heating stove.
“When she was a girl, Mom envied the kids who took piano lessons. She’d attend their recitals in Dexter, and a couple of those girls eventually became her sisters-in-law.
“Dad enjoyed hearing his sisters practice for lessons. Years later one of those sisters played for their wedding. The other one sang. Even Mom’s mother took lessons as a girl, riding a horse over dusty roads into town for lessons.
“So piano lessons were our fate. Sis Gloria and I took lessons from Elinor Chapler in Dexter, at first getting out of school once a week to walk to her house for lessons. Mrs. Chapler had a baby grand piano, a dog that licked our legs, and a parakeet that much of the time had the run of the house and plucked the feathers out of its tummy.
“Mom made sure Dad got to hear us practice pieces from our red John Thompson books. And even though piano recitals always accompanied planting season, my dad never missed one.
“When Gloria was nine years old, her recital piece was ‘Chinese Lullaby.’ Mrs. Chapler, who dressed up and wore red lipstick for recitals, with a hat on her plain bobbed hair, announced that Gloria’s piece had six flats. Gloria turned the pages but never glanced at the music. She knew it all by heart. . . . “
Montie Montgomery also produced the audio of it for Our American Stories in 2021.
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Gloria and I performed for those recitals for years, but when I was in high school, my one and only piano solo with the band was The Theme from the Apartment.
I practiced on that $45 upright piano, and the glissando at the end was hard on my thumbnail. It was hard to find an example of The Theme from the Apartment so you could hear the glissando at the end, but this will give you an idea.
Our son Dan also took lessons on this old piano, but I sure don’t remember allowing boots in the house.
The Immigrant and the Outlaw: A Collection of Stories from America’s Heartland is available in paperback, hardbound, ebook, and audiobook through Amazon.com and Amazon.uk.
How wonderful that your $45 piano created fond memories and fostered a love for music-and what sounds like a great story. The pic of Dan is adorable. You must have gotten pretty good at the piano if you could play that theme! 🙂
Even Rachmaninoff! I can’t believe it myself. Thank you, Nancy.
🎹🎶🥰
Love this post!
Thank you, Gail.
A lovely family story! I remember those red John Thompson books well.
Thank you, Liz. Yes, John Thompson!
You’re welcome, Joy.
I always wanted to learn to play the piano as some of my friends knew how. But we didn’t have room in our very small house for a piano, it was too far for lessons, and we didn’t have any money for lessons. So it was not meant to be.
That’s how it was for my mother, Darlene, so she was delighted that her daughters learned to play.
I’m reading the book now, and the upright piano was a delightful story
Thank you, John. This one sure is hodge podge, isn’t it, or potluck!
Ohhhh how I love this story. Honestly…so many favorites in one book. Thank you for giving this one a spotlight moment here, Joy!
Xo! 😘
What fun! Thank you, Vicki.
❤️😉❤️
It’s very nice that your family got an upright piano and you learned to play, Joy! I’m glad I read about it and am looking forward to reading the book. Have a great day.
Thank you so much, Tim!
My pleasure, Joy! 😍
Amazing Joy and have just begun the collection and looking forward to some wonderful stories. ♥
Thank you, Sally. It’s potluck!
I think this is one of my favorite posts!!! Wow! Such wonderful family memories and I love the photo! 🙂
Thanks so much, Linda!
You seem to have enjoyed learning piano. It was nothing but torture for me! We had an old upright, too, that someone had painted a hideous shade of off-white.
It got me through high school! There’s a boogie woogie book on the piano, but not Mom’s favorite music.