Old Concert Grand Piano Finds a Home at Renovated
Theatre
The Baldwin concert grand piano that came to Poplar Bluff with
the St. Louis Little Symphony Orchestra on May 28, 1938, has found
a new home after resting in a school gymnasium for 63 years. The
new home is the Rodgers Theatre, which has been renovated and reopened
for live performances on June 1, 2001, exactly 52 years after its
original opening as a movie theatre.
Any certificate of ownership of the piano cannot be found. However
all research points to it having been purchased by the Ozark Jubilee
Committee for the symphony concert and left in the only place where
it could be used for local affairs. The symphony program which included
three local artists was part of the diversified and extensive program
presented during the 1938 Ozark Jubilee. The local artists who performed
were were Mrs. Claude Marshall, soprano soloist, Miss Polly Hearne,
pianist and Lee Jones, baritone.
A story which appeared in the local newspaper on May 31, 1938,
stated that “the St. Louis Little Symphany Orchestra collaborating
with the Brass Sextet units of the Federal Music Project presented
a semi-symphonic program in the auditorium-gymnasium as one of the
mjaor features of the Ozark Jubliee.”
The Ozark Jubilee was an annual city celebration for a number of
years. It was a huge affair. Gov. Lloyd C. Stark attended in 1938
along with thousands of other out-of-town guests.
The gymnasium was brand new in that year and was referred to in
the Daily American Republic as the High School Gymnasium and City
Auditorium. It was in this building that all of Poplar Bluff‘s
live entertainment was held such as concerts, lectures, etc. It
was the logical place for the piano to be left and used as it was
for many years for all public events such as Civic Music and later
Community Concerts programs..While the piano has suffered some abuse
over the years, it has been found to be in remarkably good condition.
In its new home, it will again fulfill its original purpose as
an instrument to be used for public musical presentations.
The R-1 School District School Board and Administration turned
the seldom-used piano over to the Poplar Bluff Historical Preservation
Commission on May 23, 2001. The piano will be in the commission's
care and will be housed in the Rodgers Theatre at its discretion.
No record has been found to indicate that the piano ever belonged
to anyone. other than the original purchaser who research indicates
was the Ozark Jubilee Committee. Record of the piano is held by
the Baldwin Piano Factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they are able
to follow it to a St. Louis music dealer and on to the Barnett Music
Co., in Poplar Bluff. The record stops there so far as any evidence
can be found. The City Historical Preservation Commission is grateful
to the school board and administration for releasing the piano that
has been in their care for many years. The commission will seek
funds to have the piano completely restored to its original beauty
and clarity of sound.
