In early January of this year Jeffrey Metz, who is a substitute teacher, donated his family’s piano to Hamburg Area High School, adding it to a small collection of practice pianos that reside in the music hallway. However there is much more to the piano than meets the eye. Not only does it bring joy and beautiful music to the present, but it also tells a delightful story of the past.
When asked for a brief history of the piano Mr. Metz begins by introducing his mother, Jannetta Belle Christman-Metz. Her large family, ten siblings in total, lived just outside of Kutztown and she spent much of her youth playing piano after she discovered a love for it as a very young child. Throughout her teenage years and into adulthood, she even played the organ for the Maxatawny Union Church.
“She loved to laugh and was famous for her “salty” jokes,” Mr. Metz commented, reflecting on where his sense of humor most likely originates.
He continues by explaining that she was always the life of the party and would very literally brighten up the room by always beginning a selection of songs on the piano with “You Are My Sunshine”.
As her family continued to grow, Jannetta Belle became lovingly known as Sparky Grandma by her two young grandchildren who differentiated their grandmothers by the names of their respective dogs. Ultimately the name stuck and she has since been known as Sparky Grandma.
A few years ago she moved into Mr. Metz’s home to live with him, and a piano that was gifted to her by family moved in along with her. After Jannetta Belle’s death in March of 2016, the piano was left in his care, and after a few months he decided it was best to donate it to a school where it could be put to good use.
“I am so glad that the music students at Hamburg High will play the piano once played by the one, the only Sparky Grandma!” he enthuses.
The addition of the piano is much more than just another instrument to practice on, but is a new opportunity for students to create and grow not only as musicians but also as people. It is put to use nearly every day as students refine their craft and its music fills the practice room, and sometimes the hallway, with reminders of its past which includes the exciting and magnificent life of Jannetta Belle Christman-Metz especially when, after learning the history of the piano, one Hamburg Area High School student often begins their practicing with a rendition of “You Are My Sunshine.”
