My family loves music. I am Daphne, the daughter of Mori and Cindy who inherited this piano. Mori's uncles sang together all their lives. His dad started school to become a professional singer but chose not to continue after seeing the life that it might bring. My family growing up always enjoyed and participated in music. My mother and father sang together often when I was growing up. They expected each of their children to be in music lessons or classes. As a result, seven grandkids have taken piano lessons as well as all kids playing other musical instruments.
I started playing violin as a child and eventually decided that was how I was going to be able to pay for college. I studied music education and loved it. I graduated with an instrumental music education bachelors and then put my husband through school for music ed and then orchestral conducting at BYU. We lived in Springville while my husband was going to BYU and had Brigham tune and fix our piano probably in 2008 (a different piano than the one pictured). We are pretty sure our son (probably 4 at the time) spilled water from a fireman costume into the keys and Brigham dried it out in food dehydrators over the course of a week. We have enjoyed that piano for many years! I now live in Wyoming and teach private lessons and have two small music stores in Afton and Evanston. We are working to convert an old movie theater the Ford Theatre in Afton, Wyoming into a performing arts community center. It is so much work, but we feel strongly it will benefit our community and bring people together. We feel this is our calling in life and feel really blessed to be able to do this in rural Wyoming. We have raised our family around music lessons, our music store Mountain Music and the Ford Theatre. Our kids all play instruments and sing. Our two eldest children have been able to perform in the summers with Bar T 5 in Jackson, WY. Our kids have taken piano, violin, bass, voice, guitar, cello, viola and our daughter is starting bassoon lessons next week. She is so excited! We love making music and working with others to promote music education in Wyoming!" "Our piano was first acquired by my great grandparents Dirk and Henrietta Vonk who came to Utah from Holland. They were the first in their family to make it to America and they sponsored many family members to come to the United States. They didn't speak English very well, but there was a church that was auctioning a piano. Grandpa Dirk Vonk and a friend that could speak English went to the church auction in hopes to buy the piano. He bid on the piano but didn't think he had bought the piano because the auctioneer said sold. He was really sad he wasn't able to get it, but his friend who understood English better told him that he won the bid. It was during the Great Depression and he bought it for about $15. He was so happy when he understood that he won the auction. When they had a technician come tune it, the technician said they basically gave the piano to them because it was in great shape at that time and they felt they had been truly blessed to be able to get a piano! This piano lived at their house while they raised their children including my Grandma Ruby. His daughter Ruby wanted to update it and painted it antique gold. They put it in their basement so all the kids could take piano lessons. When they were grown, she put it outside to get rid of it and didn't know what to do with it. My mother saw it and was worried about it and asked Grandma Ruby about it. She said she could have it! She took it to our house so my brothers and I could also learn piano. My mother and father have had it at their house ever since and absolutely love it! I am positive they will have it until my mother dies or is unable to live in a place where she can have a piano. It will then be passed down to either my brothers or I. The piano has been passed down three generations so far, from Dirk and Henrietta to their daughter Ruby and then her son Mori who will then pass it to one of his children or grandchildren.
When I was young and my brother was baptized, both grandmas came to our house. Grandma Ruby said, ""it is so funny to see my piano in your house!"" Her mother Henrietta turned and said, ""Your piano! That was my piano!"" We have loved the family history that this piano holds! We hope to someday be able to restore this piano. My dad has always planned to refinish the outside but has never gotten to it and is getting older. I would love to see the piano restored for them. In order for me to use it, we would need significant work to bring it to standard pitch. Either way, I hope this piano can stay in my family forever because of its special significance in our family history. Thank you for doing this project and considering how music can be such an integral part of family histories!
