It was 1957. Eisenhower was President, credit cards hadn't been invented yet and gas was 29 cents a gallon.
At the age of eight life was good. Summers filled with little league, lazy days and the constant anticipation of where I was going to spend that 25 cent allowance I eagerly awaited each Friday when my father brought home his pay check.
But then, there was that fateful day my mother said to me, "Son, I want you to join the school band next year" (They actually had band in the 4th grade back then - talk about unlimited school budgets !)
SCHOOL BAND !!!!! NO WAY ! There was no way I wanted to play anything musical. Where in the world did she ever come up with that idea anyway. I certainly never mentioned it.
"Well", she continued, "If you don't want to play in the band, you have to play some instrument, what do you want to play?"
Suddenly, a fool proof plan came to mind guaranteed to get me out of this mess.
Every Friday when Dad got paid, we went downtown, drove around for what seemed like hours to find a parking place, then started the walk down main street. First the bank, where Dad cashed his check and made some payments. Off to Sears to pay that bill, then the Utility company, the newspaper, and so forth. Each week was a different set of bills to be paid.
At the end of the Street there stood two last businesses. One was a small family bar, where, if there was any money left, dad got to buy a beer. The other business was a music store.
Always, every single time, my father would stop and look into the window of the music store where an expensive piano or organ was displayed and say, "Son, if only you could play one of those." Then he would always end with the very same sentence; "But, we would NEVER be able to afford a piano or an organ."
THAT WAS IT ! All I had to do was tell my mother I wanted to play the organ and I was off the hook. After all, I had been told every Friday night for as long as I could remember they could never afford one! Case closed, back to the ball field.
You should have seen the look on my mothers face when I told her I wanted to play the organ. Boy, I knew I had her on that one.
Dad was a factory worker who barely made minimum wage, and mom, as most moms in the 50's, didn't work. There was no way they could afford an organ.
About two weeks later there was a brand new organ sitting in our living room. Not some used, mostly worn out, smelly thing, but a BRAND NEW organ.
Now, I may have only been 8 but I knew full well the sacrifice my parents made for this instrument. I had seem mom and dad sitting at the kitchen table trying to find enough money to pay all the bills. I knew this was something that was way out of their financial abilities.
I also knew I HAD to learn to play this organ. So without further complaint, well maybe some complaining, I reluctantly started my first organ lessons.
Over my life I have often thought back to that moment when parents come into one of our stores and complain they don't want to invest in an instrument because they don't know if their child is going to "stick with it." I often wonder if the child's future success will be effected by the doubts of the parents. I don't know - but I wonder.
Like most kids I went through periods of hard work and reward, followed by lazy moments of not wanting to practice at all. Through it all, my mother kept pushing me and slowly I learned.
At first I learned to make my mother happy. But eventually, I learned because I really developed a love for music. To be perfectly honest, when I was in the 6th grade and found out the girls thought it was cool, there was no way I was going to stop.
So, how did I get into the piano business? At the age of 12 I went to work for the local piano dealer helping around the store. By 14 I was teaching music and by 18 I was selling. Being the 1960's, most people got married out of high school and my wife of 41 years and I were no exception. I did try the collage thing for about a year, but as our family and responsibilities grew, there wasn't much time for more school. Again, it was different back then.
One thing lead to another and in 1973 the company I was selling pianos and organs for, went out of business. I was out of work and didn't know where to go or what to do.
At that time I partnered with a good friend and went to the Kimball Piano Company headquartered in Indiana asking for a dealership. There was an opening in Knoxville, TN. (Tennessee ??? I'd never been there) and by July of 73 we were in business.
Gas was still 29 cents a gallon, times were good and the future seemed bright. Of course, one year later gas was $1.50 a gallon (a LOT back then), and you were lucky if you could even buy it. Inflation, recessions, and tough times were hard lessons that helped up prepare for the future. Over the nearly 38 years we have been in business, we have been through a number of both good and bad times, but all in all, people always love music and the business seems to not only endure, but prosper.
To be honest, I wake up every morning and wonder how I could have been so lucky, so blessed to be able to spend my entire life making and sharing music with others. Now two of our eight children (my oldest son Robert and my youngest son, Will) work with me in the business.
What does the future hold? I have no idea, but if the past 60 years are any indication, I expect when all is said and done, we will continue to bring Music to people and joy to families who, like myself as a young man, may have never realized just how rewarding making music can be.