Mary lived on a farm just outside of Belleville, Ontario. She lived with her mother, her father, her two brothers and her sister. Mary's family loved music. Her mother, Inez, played the piano beautifully.
During the holidays, Mary’s family had a tradition of singing Christmas carols. The air in her house always seemed to be filled with music. Mary's mother wanted to pass on the family’s love of music to her daughter, and decided to introduce the piano to her. Mary’s mother started to teach her daughter to play the piano when Mary was 12 years old.
Mary played on the family’s piano. Mary played hymns the best. The piano was black and 65 years old. It sat in a big room with lots of windows.
Mary spent six months playing the piano with her mother. When Mary started playing, she was not the best, but she improved because she practiced. Once Mary got better, her mother taught her the song “Beautiful Dream” and it was her favourite song. When Mary was 15 her mother decided to hire a piano teacher named Helen.
The lessons cost Mary’s mother fifty cents. The piano teacher was tall and skinny. Although the piano teacher was very strict, Mary always enjoyed her music lessons. Mary never stopped playing the piano because of how much she liked playing the piano.
Mary is able to still play the piano today!