Jeremy Ratliff
Editor
Thanks to the generosity and cumulative volunteer efforts of a handful of community members spanning nearly a year, last month the AGRA Pavilion at the River Bend Trailhead received a welcomed new addition; in the form of an antique “street piano.”
As project coordinator Ernie McCarthy explains, the inspiration to bring the rather unique addition to the pavilion stems from an interest he discovered in ‘street’ or public pianos.
“Street pianos have been popular for decades. Then last summer, after seeing several street piano videos on You Tube and seeing a couple of street pianos in Wausau near the 400 block, I decided to see if one would be a good idea for the Merrill area. After placing a impromptu survey on Merrill Facebook pages, and getting an overwhelming positive response, I decided to move forward with the project,” he adds.
Encouragement in-hand, McCarthy then set about meeting with Merrill Parks and Recreation Director Dan Wendorf to discuss the idea and ultimately began his search for a piano to fill the bill.
“I spoke with Dan and found out he was very enthused and on-board with the project. We would like to thank Dan for his enthusiasm in moving the project forward. After locating a piano, the search was on to find an artist to put some artwork on the piano,” McCarthy explains.
“Around mid-July everything started coming together and we placed the street piano inside the AGRA building,”
According to McCarthy, after being set up inside the pavilion, the instrument required some tuning and a few minor repairs. Thanks to the expertise of Brenda Mamer, by the end of August the project was complete and the piano stands ready for public use. Due to recent vandalism in the area of the River Bend Trail, the current plan is to keep the piano indoors at the Pavilion. However, the long-term goal is to have the piano located outside and available for use for use at leisure.
“If this street piano goes over well with the public, we may place a second one at another location. Hopefully downtown somewhere in the future,” McCarthy said.
“A special thank you to Ernie for the very unique donation,” Wendorf adds.
“It will hopefully bring another diverse and fun experience to everyone’s experience at the AGRA Pavilion.”
“I was excited to see that a piano was donated to be used at the River Bend Trail,” comments Friends of the Riverbend Trail Chairman Greg Hartwig.
“It’s a nice addition for events and family get togethers. I can’t wait to be there when someone is tickling the ivories!”
Assisting McCarthy in bringing the street piano idea to fruition include:
• Brion Hoffman ( Generations Antique Co. – Merrill ) – Donated the piano and paint supplies.
• Sheila Saal- Performed artwork on the piano.
• Neil Zunker ( Wausau Music Service ) – Consultant and helped get the piano moved to the Agra building.
• Brenda Mamer- Performed repairs and tuned the piano
• Dan ( Nav ) Meyer, Keith Burrows and members of the Parks and Rec Dept- Assisted in moving the piano.