The Piano Teacher

Following is a story which has been posted on the back of a piano recital program for several years. The recitals are held each year in early December. Here is the musical legacy of my dear wife Judy DeMoss Middleton:

The Piano Teacher

Judy began piano lessons at age four in the small town of Independence, Kansas. She liked her first teacher very much but the lady soon moved away. After studying under another teacher, Mildred Dean, for a number of years, Judy began, at age thirteen, a long and productive time of study with Miss Regina Schicke, a highly accomplished pianist who was prominent in community music organizations and activities.

Miss Schicke was employed at Hille Music, a longtime family owned store, where musical instruments, accessories, records, and sheet music were sold and a variety of music lessons were taught. Hille Music was located in the heart of town on a prominent corner where shiny band instruments and lovely pianos were always on display in the large windows that wrapped around the entire store front. Judy loved going to the music store each week to take lessons, and a few years later, worked there part-time while a high school and college student.

Miss Schicke eventually married Bob Hille, son of the owners of Hille Music. The couple operated the business themselves and enjoyed many years as community leaders in all things musical. As Mrs. Bob Hille, Regina continued to teach Judy on piano and organ into her college and adult years.

When Judy went away to Pittsburg State University to continue her education in Accounting, she also continued to study piano and organ. A high point in her music experience came when she played the very large and beautiful pipe organ in the university music auditorium as part of the music department’s recital program.

One of her first major purchases, following college graduation, was a very nice organ which she found at Hille Music. The instrument produced such rich sound quality that Bob Hille arranged to borrow it on one occasion for use in a community production of Handel’s Messiah.

Many years later, Judy made another equally significant purchase at Hille Music. She purchased the baby grande piano on which the students in today’s program are taught in the living room of her home.

On each occasion, while shopping for and appraising the organ and the piano, Judy relied on the expert ears and advice of her parents, David and Shirley DeMoss, both skillful musicians, before making the final decision. In honor of her parents and those fine piano teachers who taught, corrected, and encouraged her in the development of strong piano and organ skills, Judy’s piano room is adorned with memorabilia from her home town, the handiwork of her parents, and a painting by Nelle Reneau, Judy’s beloved art teacher.

The opportunity to share the music and art heritage of her life with children and adults of her community brings much pride and happiness to the teacher.

By James Middleton
December 9, 2007

Garland Benton: Keeper of Special Places

For all who passed that way along the edge of town or were fortunate enough to have lived there, Kraft’s Pasture holds a special place in our hearts. Beyond the railroad track it beckoned us to come and follow the meandering paths of dairy cows across a bucolic pasture toward the distant tree line to that swimming hole on the far side of the pasture. Beneath shady trees of oak and cottonwood on banks of red and gray shale and brown sandstone the naturally formed pool lay nestled in a bend of Coal Creek at the foot of the rugged hill to the west. Many a young man of Henryetta knew the place and swam there. For all of us it was and is, no doubt, a very special place.

But for one of us, the aura and the intrigue of that place was much more. For Garland Benton, mere memories of those days were not enough. Garland always held big dreams. Owning and occupying this place was the ultimate dream. And own it he did, that and even more of the surrounding area.

What was it about the land beyond the tracks that held such appeal to Garland and so many others who grew up there during those golden days of the 1950s and 1960s? Within the boundaries of that property were many of the elements that appeal to the outdoorsman. The pasture and brush made good cover for quail, dove, and rabbits. The woods along the creek and up the hillside held coon, squirrel, and various other critters. A variety of fish, frogs, turtles, and snakes called Coal Creek home. As the seasons changed Kraft’s Pasture offered new views and new adventures. Spring was always just around the corner.

It is both heartwarming and sad to know how much Kraft’s Pasture meant to Garland. Heartwarming because he preserved that special place and sad that his time there has been cut short. Though we can never bring back those days spent beyond the tracks, we can always be grateful for this unique individual, The Keeper of Special Places.

James Middleton
December 4, 2013