The Day the Music Died

Enough Already!!! We have tried for more than a year to sell or give this old piano away. Craig's list and word of mouth have brought us no takers. Since it took three very strong men to get this piano into our home,and 2 of them were paid quite well for their time, we felt that we had no alternative but to dismantle the antique. According to the iron-stamped bar the Kimball piano had been made in 1835.
It had been on display in Bologna in 1888

One would think that it would only take a little unscrewing but it was a terribly involved project which took hours of several days to accomplish.



This is how it looked when we just couldn't go any further without help. God Bless Don for offering. On Monday morning just before Don had an appointment and errands to run and Neal had to get to a Dr. appointment the two of them began the last of the tear down. This is about how it looked when Don came to help.
Don and Neal used a crowbar, drill, screwdriver, and hammers making slow progress. Neal had to hurry to his appointment. Don will not let inanimate objects beat him. And so I stood by watching in amazement as he man-handled what was left of this piano which still weighed more than 200 pounds. I was so busy watching out for my hard wood floors I forgot to take pictures.

After breaking loose the sound board which I believe is made of iron Don carried it slowly out of the door. My best guess is that it is well over a hundred pounds. When Don set one corner of it on the lawn and then let it fall the thud was so loud it made us laugh. The sound echoed off of our Harrison Street neighbor's house. That being so fun and hearing what sounded like a crack in one of the joints, Don dropped it a couple more times. That was fun.

Then he tackled the carcass of the piano. The rubber wheels had hardened and flattened over the 15 years that it sat in our living room. This piece weighed about the same as the iron piece. But Don managed with just a little help from me to get it out onto the porch. He skillfully managed to get it to slide down the steps and then pushed it over onto the sound board.

"You are a moose"! I applauded as we both laughed at yet another loud crash.

In the afternoon around 3:30 Neal broke away from work with a saw, sledge hammer, and ax. It was not easy but he was able to totally destroy the rest of the piano and get it into pieces small enough to get into the van and take to the dumpster at the shop.





And this is how it looked before Dad cleaned up the mess. I have some rearranging of furniture to do after everything is dusted, washed, and polished.

Thank you Neal, Thank you Don, Sorry you missed out on the fun Lori....We are now one step closer to Texas.