Music is something that unifies us all, and the familiar fluttering of piano play is something we’ve enjoyed for centuries.
Lloydminster has a famous story of a piano and a teacher who passed down her talents to many students in the border city.
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The Brew Piano is a story that began shortly after the founding of Lloydminster. Mary Ann Brew, the grandmother of our story’s protagonist, Avice Jensen, left England to come to Canada. Along with her and her son, Gordon, and daughter, Marie, came all her furniture, China and her piano. She was informed her piano wouldn’t survive the cold Canadian winter and sold it, opting for a new Heintzman-Wormwith piano.
The piano was sent by rail to North Battleford before it was taken by wagon, drawn by a team of oxen, to the homestead in the Golden Valley District.
It was a year and a half before the piano saw the light of day and was brought out from its crate. As there was no other piano around, the Brew Piano was hauled around to every concert and musical event.
In 1946, Jensen would inherit the piano. She began teaching some neighbourhood kids how to play for 25 cents a lesson.
Her husband Nels was also a keen musician. While he played his violin, Jensen provided the accompaniment on piano, participating in many functions.
Jensen gave up teaching while her children were small, but the kids inherited her musical talent.
The family ended up moving to Lloydminster taking the treasured Brew piano along with them. Despite all the moves and the piano showing its scars, it always stayed in tune.
Nels became terminally ill and died in 1963 leaving Jensen to earn a living for the family. She did what she always did, took to the famed piano and taught lessons, eventually raising the price of her lessons to $20 at the turn of the century.
Jensen passed away in 2001 marking a near century with the piano in the Brew family.
I’m not sure what happened to the piano after this but it’s an amazing story of how a piece of history can travel through decades. I’ll likely revisit this story when I find out where the piano ended up.
The story also comes back to my point that music brings us all together. Many long-time Lloydminster residents likely knew of the Brew family and their piano, and maybe were even taught by Jensen.
I think a story like this exemplifies the small-town feeling Lloyd has. It’s something that makes it, charming.
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The Brew piano is still in the family and is being played by Avice Jensens talented great grandchildren.