Mount Pleasant Retirement Village
07/09/2008 - 11:43am
MOUNT PLEASANT RETIREMENT VILLAGE WELCOMES 102 YEAR OLD NEW RESIDENT Monroe, Ohio. Mount Pleasant Retirement Village is busy putting the final touches on their new chapel that will open this month. The chapel will be home to the new 102-year-old resident, a completely refurbished Steinway & Sons Model A grand piano. The piano was completed in the Steinway & Sons New York Factory on June 22, 1906. It first belonged to German immigrants, Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Wolf. It was acquired by William and Fern Kenney sometime in the 1930’s. Mr. & Mrs. Kenney moved to Middletown bringing the piano along with them. Mrs. Kenney was a resident at Mount Pleasant Retirement Village for several years and donated her beloved piano upon her passing. According to Steinway & Sons Heirloom Program, Steinway pianos that qualify for the heirloom Restoration Program will be completely dismantled and all major components discarded. The piano received all new belly and action parts. The plate is completely refinished. All pianos that go through the Heirloom process will have an Heirloom seal burned into the underside of the wrestplank and the underside of the soundboard. The process took over a year and the cost was enormous. “We are certainly blessed by having our resident, Margot Marples offer this as a donation to the residents of Mount Pleasant”, said Stan Kappers, Executive Director. Ms. Marples explained, “The first time I heard the piano in 2003, I realized it needed more than tuning. To have it completely refurbished is something I wanted to do in honor of the musical contributions of Ruthanna and John Jeter to Mount Pleasant. Steinway & Sons told us that this refurbishing should give the piano another 100 years”. Ruthanna Jeter, Director of the Village Ringers said, “The newly refurbished Steinway is stunning. Margot Marples is not only generous in her donation but also in her love of music”. Ruthanna said she would never forget what Margot said as they left the meeting after discussing the expense of the refurbishment. “It is not often in one’s lifetime that you get to give a gift like this”.Indeed not, Ms. Marples. Mount Pleasant Retirement Village is one of eleven communities owned and operated by OPRS located in Columbus, Ohio.