Author: Angela Umphers Rueger

Hello. I am a joyful wife and mother of three, just turned loose the last of my little chicks, and getting ready to spread my own writing wings. Thirty-something years ago I earned a B.A. in English because my heart's desire was to write. Since that time I've worked as a teacher, musician, cleaning lady, tax professional, and artist, but never as a writer. In recent years, several friends have encouraged me to pick up the baton and run with it. By creating this blog, I took the first baby step toward becoming a published author. The journey will likely be longer than I can imagine, but it has finally begun, and that's all that matters.

Kohler & Campbell: King of the Industry

Piano History

A Perfect Match

Charles Kohler was only twenty years old in 1894, when he and John Calvin Campbell united forces to establish Kohler & Campbell Industries, Inc., in New York City. Though a young man, Kohler was considered a genius as a businessman and factory superintendent. His partner, J. C. Campbell, was a machinist skilled in working with both wood and iron, and he used these skills to improve the manufacturing of pianos and earn Kohler & Campbell their reputation for offering “the best value for the dollar.” These two men were a perfect match in business, and their company grew to become one of the all-time giants in the piano manufacturing industry.

Bought and Sold

Campbell died unexpectedly in 1908, and Charles Kohler took control of the company. The business continued to expand, as they absorbed less successful names, such as Autopiano (ca. 1920), Waldorf (mid-1920s), Behning (1926), and Newton (ca. 1930). During the pre-Depression era, the Standard Pneumatic Action Company, a subsidiary of Kohler & Campbell, manufactured an impressive 50,000 player piano actions, and more, per year. Kohler & Campbell grands were made by Brambach in Granite Falls, NC, and in 1954, all production was moved to Granite Falls.

For 100 years the company thrived in the United States as a supplier to major retailers across the country. However, they hit hard times in 1985 and suspended manufacturing. After negotiations, Sherman Clay bought the Kohler & Campbell name and contracted Samick USA to build Kohler grand pianos for retail stores. Later, Samick USA bought the name from Sherman Clay and expanded distribution to South Korea.

Kohler pianos are still being produced today, and the line has now been expanded to include digital pianos in both baby grand and upright cabinet styles. Once the king of the industry, Kohler is still a major presence. If you own a Kohler piano, or a Kohler & Campbell, you may be proud of its amazing history.

The One I Acquired

The Kohler & Campbell piano that was given to me was an upright grand, serial number 163634, which dates to 1902, meaning this piano was built when the company was only eight years old, and it was 113 years old when it joined the Encore! family. Unfortunately, it suffered much water damage while in storage, but I was able to use the keys and the action. I still have many pieces of the case, but have not tried to restore them. Soon I will.

A friend and fellow choir member gave me the piano, so I thought it would be appropriate to use pieces from this piano to make Christmas gifts for the choir members. And that’s exactly what I did. The choir director got a Conductor made of whippen and sticker assemblies (technically not from this piano), and each choir member received an ornament for their Christmas tree. They were able to choose from a hammer ornament or a diamond-shaped ornament cut from the soundboard. This piano had a most unusual action piece that I had never seen anywhere else. It was shaped like a bell (see photos), and I used it to decorate a second set of soundboard ornaments which we gave to the members of my daughter’s handbell choir.

All the ornaments were personalized on the back with the year and the name of the choir. I still love pulling mine out each year and hanging it on the tree, even though we’ve since moved to another state and sing in another choir. When I look at that ornament, I’m reminded of the friends whose voices used to blend with mine in praise to God. I see their faces, and I smile. That, my friends, is why I make art from these old pianos.

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Bibliography

Pierce, W. Robert. Pierce Piano Atlas. 12th Edition. Larry E. Ashley Publishing: Albuquerque, NM, 2008

antiquepianoshop.com

kohleryandcampbell.com

kohlerdigitalpianos.com

Flash Fiction: Wood Piano

Curated

What a beautiful old piano! And what a charming little story! Do take a minute to read this….

The Dark Netizen

It lay untouched by the entrance.

The eccentric restaurateur had purchased the wooden piano from the antique shop. He thought that it ornamentally fit in with his restaurant, The Musical Meal. After placing it by the entrance, he did not give it a second thought. He did not look at it until a few months later, when he heard a commotion outside the restaurant. He rushed outside to find a small crowd gathered. The people were all clapping and cheering for a ragged looking old man sitting at the wood piano, playing it.

As he played, flowers bloomed on it…

Word Count: 100

Prompt:

Friday Fictioneers 15 MARCH 2019

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Lyon & Healy Didn’t Just Make Pianos

Piano History

The piano that started me on my art journey was a Lyon & Healy upright grand, built in 1906. In addition to studying the parts themselves to figure out what I could do with them, I also wanted to learn all I could about who made this fine musical instrument. While I do not claim to know enough to even call myself an amateur, I will gladly share with you the snippets I have learned.

George W. Lyon and Patrick J. Healy came from Boston to Chicago in 1864 to open a store selling sheet music. Their venture proved to be extremely successful, and within a year they expanded the business and began carrying musical instruments as well. They survived the Great Fire of 1871 because they had excellent insurance coverage. While rebuilding, they acquired the piano business of another firm and became the sole representative in the Chicago area of Steinway & Sons. This was the start of a meaningful relationship with the piano icons from Germany.

Harping on Excellence

Healy noticed that his repair shops were filled with harps that needed a great deal of work, so he set about to design “the finest harp the world has ever seen.” It took years of research, but in 1889, the first Lyon & Healy harp was produced, and it was played daily at Morgan Park High School in Chicago for 90 years, until it was returned to the company to be put on display in the Museo Dell’Arpa Victor Salvi in Italy. Healy’s hard work paid off, and his company became known as the world’s leading manufacturer for concert harps.

In the late 1800s Lyon and Healy further expanded their business. They were already carrying pianos made by other manufacturers, but now they began to produce their own: uprights, players, and grands. They also produced a line of upright pianos under the name of “Washburn” as an affordable alternative to the more elite Lyon & Healy brand.

Pianos and harps were not the only instruments produced by Lyon & Healy. For a while they also built pipe organs for both home and church use, as well as a variety of brass and woodwind instruments. And they did not forget their humble beginnings, for by 1930 they were the largest distributor of sheet music. In fact, they were advertised as being “the world’s largest music house.” New upright pianos sold at that time for $125 to $290. Bear in mind that the average house sold for $4,700, you could buy a car for $1,450, and a loaf of bread cost 4 cents. Many professionals had an annual salary of $1,500 to $4,000.

The Great Pruning

During the Great Depression, the Everett Piano Company bought Lyon & Healy’s piano division, but they continued making pianos under the Lyon & Healy brand until the 1970s, when Steinway & Sons purchased all rights to the name. Steinway closed all Lyon & Healy retail stores and discontinued production of all instruments and sheet music so that the company could focus on the production of harps. It sounds harsh, but sometimes a farmer has to prune branches that are producing fruit so that the remaining branches will produce more and better fruit. After this pruning, Lyon & Healy regained their focus, and their harp industry continues to this day. If not for the hard decision that Steinway made back in the 1970s, Lyon & Healy may well have closed their doors completely by now.

After reading about the humble beginnings, the amazing accomplishments, the harsh pruning, and the incredible longevity of this great company, I have even more respect for the makers of the fine instrument that started me down the path of creating piano art.

Does It Hurt?

At craft shows I have the pleasure of meeting and conversing with a good many folk who stop by my table. Often they ask, “Does it hurt you to take the pianos apart?” My answer has always been: “No. It’s my pleasure because I am keeping them out of the landfill; I’m giving them a new purpose.” But today, after researching to write this article, I must admit that my heart is pained some—okay, more than a little—for this piano in particular. If I had known its history before we started to take it apart, I would have found the $5,000, or whatever it would have taken, to restore it. Because this one would have been worth the cost. And yes, I’m writing this through tears. It’s just a bunch of wood and metal, you say. But that hunk of wood and metal was assembled by a master craftsman, better than most of the others I’ve come across. I can only hope that the people who have purchased items made from the gorgeous tiger oak cabinet and all the action pieces within will appreciate the love that went into creating the piano in the first place, and then the love that went into creating the art.

Here are a few photos of my 1906 Lyon & Healy, as well as some of the works of art I made from it:

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Bibliography

Pierce, W. Robert. Pierce Piano Atlas. 12th Edition. Larry E. Ashley Publishing: Albuquerque, NM, 2008

antiquepianoshop.com

lyonhealy.com

answers.com

Riverwalk Arts Festival Update

I promised you an update on the arts festival from this past weekend. In a word, it was tremendous! My daughter and I picked up my packet Friday afternoon, and we set up the tent and tables that evening. Due to the inclement weather, and the sensitivity of the piano parts to humidity (especially the felt), I decided not to set out my merchandise until Saturday morning. We also helped one of our neighbors with her tent, as it was similar to ours and new to her. One of the joys of doing shows is getting to meet the neighbors.

My daughter had things to do on campus, so I took her back Friday night and went alone to the festival early Saturday morning to set up. I had made a good call, for it rained during the night. Nothing was wet except the ground, and everything was off the ground. So I pushed the puddled water off the roof of my tent, opened up the walls, and got everything in its place just in time, about fifteen minutes before time for judging.

When the judge came by, she blended herself in with the crowd, and I never knew she was there. So when she and another lady stopped by my table in the early afternoon with a blue ribbon, I was completely astounded and elated. This was my first juried event, so needless to say, I was on Cloud Nine.

I had been wondering whether or not to stay for Sunday. The Lord held off the rain for most of Saturday, with the exception of just a light sprinkle, but Sunday we were expecting a downpour. Not only that, but my family would be in church and unavailable to help me take things down. So I prayed for a particular amount in sales on Saturday as a guide to whether I should return, and the Lord gave me those sales. My husband came after work Saturday and helped me break down my tent. I had been busy helping my neighbor break hers down, so I wasn’t ready when he got there, but he was very patient with me. We went out to eat afterwards, rejoicing in the Lord and in the good day.

As it turns out, the storm did not come until after 2 p.m. Sunday, but it’s just as well that we packed up when we did. I attended the awards breakfast Sunday morning and got to meet our mayor and a few more fellow artists, including another artist who has some of her work in a gift shop in Navarre, the Sand Dollar Cottage. I’ve seen her work there and admired it, so it was a pleasure to meet her. At the breakfast, the spokeswoman said that in 31 years of hosting the Riverwalk Arts Festival, this is only the second time they’ve had rain. That’s a pretty good track record. Will I be back next year? You bet!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Dogs of Blogs

Photo Challenges, Shows and Events

Riverwalk 2019 — Guess who came to visit me at the show?

Duke, a 6-year-old German shepherd, is a relatively new addition to our family. My son adopted him a year ago in Virginia, and he just came to live with us last month. When Bobby found him, Duke was malnourished, sick, and severely underweight. With the help of a family friend, who also happens to be a veterinarian assistant, Duke got the care he needed, and now he is healthy and happy.

Duke loves to shadow me around the house. I don’t allow him in the studio because there isn’t enough room in there for the two of us, but he is right by my side in the living room and kitchen.

Duke did not go with me to the art show, but Bobby stopped by for a visit, and I asked him to take a photo of my display, with me in it. Naturally, I had to hold Duke so Bobby could hold the camera.

Getting ready (4) — Isn’t he a handsome fella?

This week I am responding to the photo challenge, Dogs of Blogs, hosted by Jessica of Sorting Life’s Issues with Jess. She has chosen a dog theme for the month of March to celebrate the birthday of her dog Oreo. I do hope you’ll hop over to her page and take a look. Her photos are absolutely adorable.

I discovered Jessica, her blog, and her challenge, on Cee Neuner’s list of challenges, so I wish to give her credit as well. Thanks, Cee, for this wonderful directory you’ve created: “For the Love of Challenges.” For the record, Cee’s directory lists not only photo challenges, but also writing and music challenges as well, and they are grouped by category. It’s very well organized.

Getting ready (1) — Duke waited for some attention while I worked on preparing my display.

Tomorrow I’ll give you more details about the show.

Feeling Devastated, or, What My Piano Teacher Means to Me — The Bookshelf of Emily J.

Curated

It has been a rough week at my house, for several reasons, many of which I won’t write about. But yesterday a lot of emotions overflowed when I received a letter from my piano teacher, Kris Davis, the one who guided me through my adolescent years. More accurately, I received a letter from her husband. […]

via Feeling Devastated, or, What My Piano Teacher Means to Me — The Bookshelf of Emily J.

The Bible instructs us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. This story caused me to do both. I wept for the grief that Emily, her teacher, and their families are going through, but I rejoiced in what God is doing in Emily’s life. What a vibrant testimony this young lady has for our Lord! And I am honored to share her story with you.

From the Studio: Quartet

From the Studio, Shows and Events

Strings. Every piano has them. I’ve been learning a lot about strings lately, because I’ve been cleaning them for a new project, and I came across an anomaly that prompted a bit of research. But that story is for a different day. Today I simply want to tell you about one of the many things I make with piano strings: the Quartet.

The bass strings would have to be extremely long (like 30 feet!) to achieve the necessary pitch if they were not wound by copper to make them dense. Copper is a beautiful precious metal, and soft, but the steel core inside the piano strings is strong is difficult to bend into shapes. I have found shaping piano wire to be more challenging than the wire sculpting I tried in art class, but I do love a challenge!

Just how this particular project came to be escapes me now. Why did I choose four musical symbols rather than two or three? I think it’s because I purchased a set of four canvases and then needed to do something with them, but who knows?

Why did I choose these four symbols? Okay, I know the answer to that question. Of all the possibilities, I chose the treble clef, bass clef, half note, and eighth rest because they are both easily recognizable and artistic to reproduce. The eighth rest has proven to be the most challenging of them all, due to its sharp angles and opposing curves, but there is great satisfaction when it finally comes out right.

I can create an entire set of symbols from one piano string. First I clean the string, then wearing gloves (to prevent tarnishing from the oils in my hands), I begin my work. My tools for the first part of the project include a metal file (to smooth the cut edges), bolt cutters (because wire cutters just don’t cut it), needle-nose pliers, and slip-joint pliers.

To form the soft bends, I use my bare hands; but when the curve needs to come in sharply, that’s where the two pairs of pliers come in handy. They do tend to bend the wire unevenly, however, so I go back with my hands and smooth out the finish. Arthritis is starting to set it, and I feel it after several hours of working with wire. But I’m not going to stop. Would you?

I work with the entire length of wire because I have no idea how long each piece needs to be. Perhaps I should cut off a length and experiment with it, but I’ve never done that. So instead, I simply work until I’m satisfied, then cut off the excess, sand the cut edges, and move on to the next piece.

The colors for the canvases have varied greatly over the years, as I experiment with one look after another. But just this week, while getting ready for the Riverwalk Arts Festival, I was looking at the yet unfinished canvases as they hung on the display below the clock made of piano keys. The canvases had been dark brown and teal (two of each color). I had determined that the dark brown was not to my liking, so I changed it to a cream color—dark titanium white, to be specific. As I sat there looking at the display, I noticed that the dark titanium white looked very similar to the aged white of the keys on the clock, and I wondered if maybe the other two canvases should be a brown-black to match the ebony keys. Since the piano string shapes had not yet been mounted, it was easy to repaint the canvases. So I took them down and went back into the studio. First they got a coat of burnt umber, then while the brown was still wet, I marbled black all over. At a distance they appear black, but up close, you can see the marbling. I did this because genuine ebony keys are not pure black either, but up close you can see the ebony wood grain. This is not my usual marbling technique, but it’s what I wanted to do for these particular canvases, because I didn’t want too much brown, I just wanted it to take the edge off the black.

Quartet

The canvases sat overnight to dry, and then I went to work mounting the musical symbols to the surfaces. First I tried using regular hot glue, but they popped right back off again. Forget that. Then I switched to an industrial strength adhesive called E6000. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to call it. This stuff works really well in a variety of situations. Even so, I don’t put all my eggs in the E6000 basket. As an extra measure of precaution, I “sew” each musical symbol onto the canvas, to be sure it won’t come off. Using an ice pick, or similar tool, I carefully poke a hole in the canvas in two strategic places under the piano wire, where it won’t be noticed. Then I take a 3″ length of copper wire that I’ve unwound from a smaller (treble) piano string, form a loop, and push both ends through the hole in the canvas, looping the “thread” around the wire décor and effectively fastening it onto the canvas. On the back side of the canvas, I put a dab of hot glue, thread a button onto the wire, and press it down into the hot glue, then twist the wire to hold it firmly in place, and it’s done.

Finally, I put the finishing touches on the backs of the canvases. First, I enclose them all with brown paper, then install a sawtooth hanger. Using some of the brown paper, I construct a small pocket and mount it to the back of one of the four frames. This will hold the sheet that tells the story of my piano art.

When the artwork is done, it needs a name. I have tried to give every piece of mine a name related to the field of music, for obvious reasons. 🙂 I have three different pieces that are sets of four, so naming them has gotten tricky. One of them is named “Harmony” because the pieces work together to form a cohesive whole. The second is called “Quatrain” because it has two sets of nearly identical pieces, so I think of it in terms of poetry (abba). That makes it easy to give this one the name “Quartet,” since this one is four different musical symbols that come together in one song.

And now this song is done.

Thank you for joining me on this tour of the studio. I look forward to seeing you on the next one. Until then, I invite you to check out photos of my other work in the gallery. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Music in Art on Display!

Tomorrow kicks off my very first juried art show! Here are a few photos of my display as it looked before I packed everything up, including close-ups of all the brand new items.

Setup is tomorrow, and the show runs all day Saturday and Sunday. Next week I’ll tell you all about it!

acrylic painting of girl feeding chickens

Bach Yard Chickens (2019)

Piano Bouquet III

Love Letters: “I Love Music”

Quartet

Reverie 2

Sheet Music

♫ Piano Man ♫ — Filosofa’s Word

Curated

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26fs%3D1%26autohide%3D2%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26wmode%3Dtransparent

Our friend Scottie mentioned this song in passing a few days ago, and ever since then I have had it weaving in and out of my head. So, exorcism time again … time for me to transfer the earworm from my head to yours. No no … no need to thank me … it’s my […]

via ♫ Piano Man ♫ — Filosofa’s Word

A friend of mine has taken several popular songs and written his own lyrics to their melodies. Someday I want to do that with this one, and take it out of the bar….

Riverwalk Arts Festival

Shows and Events

On March 2, 2019, the Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation, Inc., will kick off their 31st annual Riverwalk Arts Festival along the Blackwater River in Milton, Florida. Attracting about 22,000 visitors, this is one of the largest fine arts events in Milton. Artists from throughout the southern region will gather to exhibit their fine art and heritage folk art in a juried show. Not only that, but art from the youth in Santa Rosa County will also be on display here. Plenty of food vendors will also be available to satisfy appetites and quench your thirst. And a variety of talented cultural artists will perform live music throughout the two days of the festival. Children will enjoy face painting and an activity area designed especially for them. Visitors may also watch artists demonstrating their skills, participate in the 8th annual plein air “Paint Out,” or check out the antiques and classics at the car show.

My piano art has gone to many craft shows over the past eight years, but I’ve never been in an art show before, much less a juried show. I decided to try. So I sent in my application, with the required fee and sample photos of my work, and about a week ago I received a call stating that I had been accepted as one of the artists. Wow! What a privilege! My display table is set up in the living room, and each day I add a bit more to it, filling it out with items made with love and care from old pianos, praying over each one, that it will find its way to the home of a musician/music lover that needs it. I love what I do, and thank God for giving me the opportunity not only to make art from old pianos, but also to share it with my community.

If you live in the area, I hope to see you at the Riverwalk Arts Festival. You will find the details below:

31st Annual Riverwalk Arts Festival

Located in Historic Milton, at Riverwalk Park

Saturday & Sunday

March 2 & 3

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬

Fine Art and Heritage Folk Art
Countywide Youth Art Exhibit
Live Music
Food & Beverages
Plein Air “Paint Out” (Saturday)
Car Show
Artist Demonstrations
Children’s Fun Zone

Photo courtesy of Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation

On the Waves of a Piano……. — Boundless Blessings by Kamal

Curated

Playing a symphony
On the waves of a Piano
Slender Fingers moving musically
Keys that danced to his touch
Creating notes of magical felicity
On rosettes and germaniums
Who sang his first song
Ecstatically flirting with joy
Rapturous love on his face
Sang to her sweet Loveliness
Every moment an upsurge
Whispering soft tunes of […]

via On the Waves of a Piano……. — Boundless Blessings by Kamal

From the Studio: The Conductor

From the Studio

The Conductor was the first creation ever made under the name Encore! Old Pianos with a New Song.

After spending days disassembling a hundred-year-old Lyon & Healy upright grand piano, cleaning away the dust, and storing the hundreds of screws in a container for future use, I began to move the pieces around this way and that to see what ideas would come to mind. When I held two sticker assemblies together, they seemed to form a man’s body—minus the head, of course.

So I cut the shank off a hammer, sanded it smooth, and voila! a head!

I decided to make him into a conductor because his hands were up in the air. So I gave him a baton (bridle wire).

Next, the conductor needed a music stand. The bottom of the stickers already looked like the base of a music stand with two feet sticking out on either side, so I simply (poor choice of words, I admit) constructed the platform on which to set the music. This platform was made from eleven flanges glued together, plus one extra flange underneath to provide stability. They were then glued to the two flanges still attached to the “coat tails” of the conductor. So the entire conductor was fully assembled before being mounted onto the canvas, although he could not be a free-standing figurine like the Don Quixote I saw in the art gallery in Florida, because he was too top-heavy.

As a sidebar, let me tell you my early process of freeing the flanges. If you’ll look in the photo above, you’ll see at the “feet” that they are attached by a small metal pin. There’s also a bushing around the pin to allow freedom of movement at the hinge. In the piano, the parts need to be able to move freely, but not too freely, in order for the piano to function properly. When they get too tight, you get “sticky keys.” To be honest, I’m not sure what the problem is when they are too loose. Perhaps they fall apart. But in my experience of taking them apart, being too loose is seldom a problem.

So, to get them apart, I pushed one end of the pin with the tip of a tiny pair of jeweler’s needle nose pliers until the pin was sticking out far enough on the other side to grab it with the pliers. Then I pulled the pin the rest of the way out and dropped it into a jar. I’ll probably never use the pins again, but I’m saving them and the springs for the fun of it, just to see how long it takes me to fill the jar with these tiny pieces. (For the record, at the rate I’m going, it may never be filled.)

As most of you know, there are 88 keys on a piano. That means inside the piano, in the action, there are 88 hammers, 88 whippens, 88 stickers (or the equivalent), about 78 dampers (the highest strings don’t need them), etc. But for every set of hammer, damper, whippen, and sticker, there could be 5 flanges. That’s a total of 440 flanges in a single piano! You can imagine the time it took me to push and pull that many pins out of their comfy spots! And let’s not say anything about how tired, sore, and dirty I was when I got finished.

On to the best part….

Conductor (11″x14″)

The Conductor needed a background. So I placed him on a stage with a crowd of listeners behind him and a spotlight which landed at his feet. I’ve made six of them so far, sometimes two at a time, and no two have turned out exactly alike. It’s time to make some more. In fact, the empty canvases are ready to go, and the photos will be added to Instagram as soon as they are finished.

My Dear Readers

The first weekend of March I will be at my very first juried art show! That said, the next couple weeks will be dedicated to the studio, with less time given to my blogs. Some posts are scheduled, and I’ll check in from time to time to respond to comments, but please excuse me if it takes a little while. Thank you so much for reading! I’ll be back!