History of a piano

Ah, the hours I have spent sitting at this piano practicing and playing over the last 62 years. I was probably about 5 years old when my grandma Bennion bought this Story & Clark home grand for my mother. Grandma passed away shortly after my sixth birthday and I do remember the big old upright that we had, so it had to be in about 1948 that we received this wonderful instrument.

One could never say that it ever sat and collected dust. From the day it was delivered, I would venture to guess it has been played almost every day by my mother, my brother John and I, and the hundreds of piano students that mom taught to play. If you look closely at the top picture, you will see just behind the keys, the imprint of the many fingernails that struck there as all those fingers "tickled the ivories" and inadvertently missed their mark. The Story and Clark name has pretty much been obliterated. Also, the keys are a little bit concave from the wear.

Why, if this piano could speak in words, the many tales it would tell of piano students, singing groups, and family just standing around for a sing along. Mom taught students, starting with one or two in the morning before school and several after school until sometimes 7 or 8 o'clock at night. Saturday was an all day thing with students coming from all around Carbon and Emery Counties for their lessons. In addition to her piano students, she always had several vocal students and groups of boys or girls that she would teach to sing harmony parts. She was always preparing music for a program or wedding or funeral and often used her students to perform.

For me it began at an early age playing in mom's recitals. Then when I was about 11, she got a group of my friends to come to our house once a week for singing lessons. She taught us to sing parts and had us singing in her programs, beginning in the 6th grade. In junior high, we were always in the assemblies, singing and dancing to entertain. And in many community programs and church programs, also.

Back to memories of this piano. I sat on mom's lap while she taught students and begged to learn to play. She started me at age 5, but then felt I should wait a little until I could learn the alphabet and be able to read. Patiently, (I doubt it) I waited until I was in 1st grade and then finally I started to learn. After the basics, mom felt it would be better if I took lessons from another teacher. We had a neighbor that played piano so I took lessons from her and mom taught her boy. Then when I was 12, just out of 6th grade, one of mom's students had an uncle coming to stay with his elderly mother for the summer. He taught music at a college in California and wanted a few advanced students to teach for the three months he was there. So began my lessons with Frank Magliocco. He was a great teacher and could play like noone I had heard at that point in my young life. He required 3 hours a day of practice, 1 hour of scales and exercises and 2 hours of practice on pieces. Mom and I traveled to Helper every week to have our lesson - she took from him also. He would only teach classical music, I remember asking him if I could learn Rhapsody in Blue and he said that he would teach me the classics and then I could play anything I wanted that was "popular music" on my own. A bit miffed at the time, I now know that what he said was true. I took lessons from him every summer, the last being the summer after I graduated from high school.

Well, that is why I say I have spent many hours on that piano bench playing that piano. I may be sentimental, but it evokes such memories that I have to say I dearly love the faithful and well-used old sweetheart. I truly wouldn't trade it for a brand new one, and will keep playing it for as long as I can. With loving care, it will last longer than I will.