July 30

The Weber Piano Lives on in Nanville

After selling the property in Nanville in 2022, which was part of the old Seymour and Maria Pickett land grant of 1812, I took a few pics of the items left inside of the small 3 br, 1 ba block house.  Most items were household things including pots and pans, furniture, personal times including a bed, stove, and refrigerator.

But leaving behind a Weber Piano?  Wow!  There was no date on this item but in looking up the new versions, they cost upwards, $14,000. I could not get in close enough to look for a series number but I’m sure it had one.

The Weber Piano Company was one that manufactured pianos in New York City beginning in the 19th century.  The company went out of business in 1985 and it was sold to Young Chang of South Korea and later sold again to Samsung Group.

The piano now sitting on the famous land grant property of the Pickett’s(now in a Nanville home) was a “Weber”, the lower end of the piano brand.  The other photo provided shows an upper brand called the “Albert Weber.”

Albert Weber was born in  Bavaria in 1929. At the age of 16 he emigrated to the United States holding his first job as an apprentice of Charles J. Holder, a piano builder.  

Weber went on build his own piano company selling pianos in Manhattan, NY.  Weber died in June of 1879. His piano brand lives on and yes, in Nanville.

I don’t know what will happen to the piano. I wonder if the builders will demolish the house with it inside?  I’ll try to keep you posted.

See you tomorrow,

July 30

“Dog of 9 Lives”.

Dog Gone it! The Puppy has lost her way again!

After my Father passed away, we were at the home place cleaning and straightening when a wild looking schnauzer-type dog ran up.  She was dirty, matted and frightened.  We could not catch her, yet she wanted to be caught.  There was no petting her, though she wanted to be stroked.  It took a couple of days to lure her to us.  We fed her and when I left the first day, gave food to a neighbor to keep her fed until we could figure out what to do with her.  I had 3 cats. I did not need another animal.

For the next few visits I determined to wash her and offer her to someone on Facebook.  I felt that someone had dropped her off on the long, Crystal Springs Road so giving her a new family would be great.  After I listed her photo on Facebook, a woman claimed her and gave me a tongue lashing about offering her to a general audience without trying to find her owner. That actually never crossed my mind as It was obvious (in my mind) she had been dumped.

This woman contacted the police and told them that I had her dog and would not release her.  Through a turn of events, a police woman called and we met at a vet on St. Augustine Road in my city where the dog could be checked for a chip.  There  was no chip thus the puppy did not belong to her as she indicated her puppy had a chip.   The police officer released the dog to me and I’ve had her since 2015.  It is believed she was about 6  then making her about 13 now.  She’s beginning to show signs of age, plus she’s blind and deaf. Her life is often a bit challenging.

I have an outdoor Russian Blue male cat who cannot be trusted around Puppy. Just last week, after cutting Puppy’s hair , she stepped off of the front porch to shake and stretch.  Hardly before she got down the walkway, the large and very strong cat rolled her before I could get to her causing wounds and hurt feelings.  Poor Puppy.

She has been lost twice and thankfully, both times she made way to the safe arms of a good Samaritan.  The first time was about a year ago when she went out to piddle.  Somehow, she got turned around and ended up through a long patch of woods to the neighborhood next door.  A family kept her a week and finally turned her into the animals shelter where they posted her photo and I found her and quickly got her home. At that time, I realized she cannot go outside alone at all.

The most recent loss was when I went to Augusta to spend time with family and left her with a caregiver.  She somehow got out and ended up a quarter of a mile from home where at 7 AM she was found in the middle of a busy road, lost and confused.

Even being out of town, I took to the internet posting her photo on multiple sites.  When that happens, animal lovers unite and if an animal can be found, it is… Such was the case.  By midnight, when I received a call from the vet in Mandarin, I learned she had been found and was sleeping “curled up”  and safe. She is now in her own bed…happy and safe.

See you tomorrow,