Horse & Wagon

[Sy Zabrocki]

>From Sy Zabrocki--Billings, Montana

Imagine having to deliver your pianos by horse and wagon.

On a Montana ranch I was tuning a fine old 1913 Janssen upright. While I'm
working the man came to me with his family photo album. He shows me a couple
photos of this piano being delivered in the winter time by horse and wagon.
It's a flat bed wagon and the lettering "Janssen Piano Co." are clearly
visible on the piano crate. His grandfather ordered the piano and had it
shipped by rail to the town train depot. Then the last 17 miles was by horse
and wagon. It must have been one cold trip for the horses, the driver and
the piano.

I then told him of the Charles Walter family who bought the last remnants of
the Janssen factory. They might be interested in this photo so why don't
make a copy and send it to them. Well he never got around to providing me
the copy.

Even today delivering pianos is no fun. Just imagine having to hitch up the
horses every time you made a sale.

Just once in my life I had to do some farm work with horses and I didn't
like it. Horses stink! I was still a pure innocent young man until I met
those horese. They made me so mad I learned to cuss.

Sy Zabrocki