There’s a sign on a middle-aged piano here at our store that says “Ask me where I’ve been for the last 43 years?”. The piano is certainly age appropriate for it’s condition; black keys are worn through to show a little of the wood beneath, cabinet scratches here and there, a little shopworn….but the story this piano represents is one of the most amazing events I’ve ever experienced while working in my family business.
It was a chilly February afternoon last year when a lovely older couple walked through our doors. The lady said she had retired and wanted to check off one of the items on her bucket list, which was to own a beautiful baby grand piano! I proceeded to ask her some questions about what it was she was looking for in a grand; the size, cabinet finish, design, performance, etc.
I showed her a few pianos I thought would match her needs perfectly and she selected a beautiful Steinway Essex baby grand in a glossy black finish. She asked if I would be interested in her current piano as a trade in towards the grand purchase. I told her we could certainly do that and asked her to tell me about the piano.
She told me that her mother purchased it for her when she was a child and that it came from our old location on Walton Way. I asked if she was aware that we provide 100% trade up value on any piano purchased from us but she had no idea that even a possibility. In fact, she was astonished she could receive every penny her mother paid for that piano towards her baby grand! I told her if she couldn’t find the original paperwork since it was so long ago, I felt certain we could come up with a price for pianos sold during that time. She thanked me and said she’d go home and look to see if she could find it and would come back in the next day to finalize everything.
The original sales log book my mother used to track our customer sales all those years ago.
Imagine my surprise when she returned with the original sales invoice the next day. I immediately recognized my mother’s handwriting, which was a beautiful, flowing script. I was a bit in shock to find out that my mother sold the piano to her mother, 43 years ago! I told her there was no way our mothers would have ever dreamed that one day, their children would be working together on a piano purchase! What a blessing to be able to assist a family twice in securing the piano of their dreams! I gladly allowed her the entire purchase price for her first piano of $ 1,824.00 towards her beautiful baby grand!
If you’re wondering what we did with the piano she traded in, it resides in a place of honor here in our store. On the wall above and around the piano are assorted pictures of my family’s musical journey; a picture of my mom at a piano sometime in the mid-60’s, a picture for a newspaper article back in 1967 featuring yours truly with my late brother, Jeff C. Turner, at the piano, my big brother and local music legend, Ed Turner (of the infamous Ed Turner and Number 9 Band) and even the original newspaper ad about our grand opening back in August of 1955! It’s a great way for people to see the family who made the business we are today.
If you’d like to view this beautiful piece of history in person, be sure to stop by Turner’s Keyboards on Washington Road. We’d love to see you and tell you all about it and other great stories of our unique and long history.
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