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A Gift of Music

Jul
27
2010

Ruth Robinson Auger's Piano in its new home!
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Ruth 1:16

This summer has brought a number of changes to Teeswater United Church!

In early July, the church welcomed a new pastor, The Rev. Hannah Lee. Then in late July came word of yet another new 'addition' to the church. Or should I say a complete 'circle of generations' occurred at the church.

In the early 1930's the Robinson family lived south of town, operating a foundry business. As times were hard, the family eventually moved from the area, settling near Kitchener.

But their daughter, Ruth, remembered her days at Teeswater United Church singing in the choir. In her later life she became an accomplished pianist, still able to play wonderful solos and family duets well into her 90's.

Sadly, Ruth Robinson, now Ruth Robinson Auger, recently passed on to her rest. But her memories of Teeswater were not forgotten by her family and at their request, Teeswater United Church became the proud custodian of her prized piano, to carry on the musical ministry within the church.

Family and church members gather around the piano

The piano, a rare Steinway parlour grand, was built in New York in 1911, and though keys and hammers have been replaced, retains the poetic beauty of sound that is the hallmark of a Steinway.

The Steinway piano will join Teeswater United Church's equally rare 1927 Cassavant Freres pipe organ and we can expect to hear news of upcoming recitals and concerts this fall. The Steinway dedication service will be on Thanksgiving Sunday so mark your calendars!

In The Book of Ruth can be found the famous line "For wherever you go, I will go". And indeed wherever the music from this Steinway piano goes, so shall go the memory of Ruth Robinson Auger!

 

Rev. Lee in a quiet moment at the piano

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Mark W. Law has been a writing and journalism fanatic since he was first tagged to write a 3 act ’shadow play’ – in Grade 2! Originally from the wee hamlet of Oyster Bay, BC, Mark has worked in many parts of the world, including almost all of the Canadian provinces, the United States, Europe and even a sand-filled radio station in North Africa. During that time he has written for military and local newspapers, served as editor for a number of online magazines as well as publishing his own popular ezine for new writers and artists – The ThinWire Journal. Mark has also penned more than 100 poems and essays and is an internationally known digital artist. And for anyone who lived in Northern BC during the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mark was the ‘morning weatherman’ on CBC Radio. Opinions expressed in ‘the View’ are his own and do not necessarily reflect Teeswater or Teeswater.Ca.

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This work by Mark W. Law & The Teeswater.Ca Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada.