This was my grandmother’s piano. My grandmother, Edna Margaret Vail (1931-2009), was very musical and played exclusively by ear. In the 1930s, when she was 8 years old, she moved to Harvey, NB, from Timmins, Ontario, and this 1-ton Sherlock-Manning piano came with her. For nearly a century, the instrument has produced a great deal of joy, and is now a dearly cherished inherited heirloom that sits in the middle of my living room. Because of this piano, I think of Grammy often. And I think it would give her pleasure knowing her great-grandchildren are playing the same piano that she herself played as a child and her whole life.
When I received the piano, it was a rather dull, dark brown oak colour, with more than half the keys chipped, and it was filthy dirty inside. I hired “Dan the Piano Man” to give it a tune-up, and to clean and fix it up. He literally took it apart, cleaned it, set all new keys, and applied *reluctantly*, a black stain. The end result: Absolutely stunning. I couldn’t be more pleased to have Grammy’s piano restored and primed for another century and generation to come!
