After 45 years, Grandma Carrier’s Piano Sings Again!

Today, piano technician George Knotek finished work on our new-old piano.

Lynn’s grandmother, Helen Slattery Carrier, was a piano teacher. Long after she stopped giving lessons, knowing that I was the only relative who played, she left this piano to Lynn. It spent the years since 1971 at Lynn’s mother’s house, and when the house was sold last May, we finally sent it to George for rebuilding.

This is a Wurlitzer baby grand made in 1934. At 4’6″, it’s the smallest grand I’ve played, but
after George’s expert attention, it sounds much bigger. He refinished the sound board and plate; replaced the strings; refaced the white keys and refinished the sharps; and regulated, voiced, and tuned it. Eden Finishing in Slavic Village sanded down and refinished the aged mahogany case.

I’m proud to make Grandma Carrier’s piano sing again!

Thinking Out Loud about Martin Luther King

Today I attended the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Program at the Cleveland Public Library branch that bears Dr. King’s name. It was a fine program, with excellent musical performances, a fine performance by the Distinguished Gentlemen of the Spoken Word, and a thoughtful keynote speech by Rev. Dr. Jawanza Colvin, Pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. It provided me an opportunity to reflect a bit about the legacy Dr. King left for all Americans, and that legacy’s influence on education. Continue reading “Thinking Out Loud about Martin Luther King”