And the music plays on

This Decker & Son grand piano, built in 1903, has been in our family since before I can remember.

The piano, purchased by my parents in 1958, has graced our family living rooms in Berkeley and Atherton, California, as well as three homes in Ashland, Oregon and our current home in Woodinville, Washington, and has been witness to countless family events, both in my family or origin and in my current family.

(This is me at the piano when I was about eight.)

(This is my parents in about 2001 – one of my favorite photos of them!)

After Mom died in 2004, Dad decided that the piano was just too big and cumbersome for him so he offered it to his kids, nieces and nephews, and other family members. But it was just too big for almost everyone and, in Ashland, Oregon, was too far away for us.

Just as he was ready to sell it to a stranger, I decided that it simply must stay in the family and had it moved to our home in Woodinville, where it graced our living room for 11 years.

With our upcoming move to Suncadia, though, I decided that it was time to find a new home for the piano. Again, no family members wanted it – or wanted to move it – so I went about looking for someone local.

But first I wanted to find the current value of this beautiful antique. I was shocked to learn that there is absolutely no market for a grand piano anymore! Digital keyboards have amazing acoustics these days and no one seems to want such a huge piece of furniture. I was dismayed to learn that my only hope would be to GIVE it away!

When posting on our local Buy Nothing Facebook page gleaned no results (two people were interested, but due to size and a possible tuning issue, those didn’t pan out), I took to Craigslist:

I did receive quite a few requests for the piano and finally selected a Sustainable Energy Specialist and his elected official wife (who also works for the environment) in Seattle, whose 1927 home, which had been in their family for decades, overlooks the Puget Sound. The thought of the piano in such a beautiful location and in such an obviously loving family made me happy. It was a totally subjective decision, just as I knew it would be.

It was sad to see the piano leave…

…but I left a few items in the bench for “provenance.”

And now it has found a lovely new home and new owners who will hopefully keep in touch with me every once in a while and who, when their time comes, will continue to pass it on to people who will appreciate its history.

It looks just right in its new home, doesn’t it?

And our new spacious living room doesn’t look so bad either.