A Christmas Story: "... And Now We Will Have Music"

by Francine Black

Such a grainy old photograph.

I think it must have been taken in mid- November of 1952, weeks after this family of four finally immigrated to America, the land of promise and peace. We spoke no English, of course, but as is common to all people, regardless of race, color or creed, our eyes shone with hope and the determination to build a happy future in our adopted land. 

Our little apartment in Trenton, NJ was at the back of that dark alley, the only window facing the opposite brick wall. Furnished with a table, four chairs and two mattresses, we made our first home a cozy nest, grateful that no bombs would rain down and no armed soldiers would come pounding on our door. Our blankets were the coats on our back and on the coldest nights, I could feel an extra warm weight cover me and my little sister with a familiar smell that I recognized so well. It was my father’s coat. 

Our first Christmas promised to be a bit lonely as we missed our beloved family so far away across the Atlantic. A letter written by my grandmother had arrived and we added our own tears to her dried tear stains on the thin sheet of airmail paper. Years later, my father talked about that day and how much he wanted to restore joy to us especially at Christmas time. An incredible opportunity came early in December 1952. 

My father had secured a labor job at the steel mill in Fairless Hills, PA. He walked and hitchhiked to get to and from work as usual and on this day, returning home after night shift and nearing our apartment, he saw an old upright piano on the sidewalk with a sale sign. Asking his ride to please stop, he ran back to find that piano. There was a sign indicating it was for sale for $5.00. It was a sum he could barely afford, yet emptying his pockets he put bills and change together to make the sale. Getting it home would be a challenge yet he put his back to the task and began to push that piano. 

It created rather a scene on the city sidewalk and it was almost as if the goodwill of neighbors' hearts were touched by the impossible task of moving that giant cumbersome instrument. One by one, the neighbors--Italian, Spanish, African, German, Hungarian, Jewish, block by block-- lent their arms and backs to muscle the piano to our little alley apartment. My mother, sister, and I were home anxiously waiting for the arrival of our father. Most of the day had passed and his arrival was long hours overdue, so the knock on the door was cause for alarm as we ran to open it. There before us was this enormous piano, our father’s sweating beaming face and the large grinning faces of people we’d never met. 

Soon the piano was installed in our one room and we simply stared in shock! Quickly we helped our father take off his coat after exchanging thanks and good wishes with the neighbors. Next, as was our habit, we offered our father a cup of sweet tea and helped him take off his shoes. Once he was was settled, we waited for what he would say. He said the words that would shape my life in a profound way, “Now we will have music!"

Pulling a kitchen chair over to the piano, he took me by the hand and sat me down in front of the keyboard, and placed my little hands on the keys. His beautiful baritone voice began to sing songs of his homeland. He and my mother sang carols of the Christmas season, and then he paused for a moment and said, “Play with us…hear the song and play with your heart.". 

As if on their own accord, my hands found the chords and there was music and light that day, and for many many days, in our little dark apartment. That old piano gave us joy for years, finally moving with us into our home in Pennsylvania. Even now, when the beautiful voices of my parents have faded into memory, when my child’s hands at the piano have grown into something more, “let us have music” still echoes in my heart with the same loving power it had so long ago.

In addition to writing a food blog, "Philosophizing About Food With Francine," for The Expression, Francine is a retired Boyertown Area School District music teacher. She still gives private lessons to students.

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