Free and open to the public. Donations welcome.
Join the Blakesburg Historical Preservation Society for a Christmas afternoon at the Abernathy House. The first floor will be decorated for the season, and you’re welcome to wander through and enjoy it at your own pace.
Live Christmas Piano Music by Blane Abernathy
Blane Abernathy of Temecula, California, will play two half-hour sets of Christmas music:
Noon – 12:30 p.m.
1:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Blane will be at the House from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., so stop by and say hello. He is a member of the Abernathy family, descended from George W. Abernathy, brother of Moses Abernathy.
An Ottumwa High School graduate (1972), Blane earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Drake University and a Master of Music in instrumental and vocal conducting from UNC Chapel Hill. Since 1976 he has served churches of many denominations as a music director, organist, pianist and handbell director. He has also taught school music in Colorado and California and has given private piano and voice lessons for many years.
The Restored Fritz Opera House Piano
Blane will be playing the Society’s restored Fritz Opera House piano. Once a player piano accompanying silent films at the Fritz Opera House, located above Frank Fritz’s hardware store, this instrument has a special connection to the Abernathy family. Frank was Louisa Abernathy’s brother, and his granddaughter, Barbara (Fritz) Cook, generously funded the piano’s restoration.
Antique music makers on display
Three antique instruments will be on display, and a volunteer will play any of them for you on request:
Visible Bells music box: a Swiss cylinder music box from about 1870–1900, that features small tuned bells mounted openly inside the case where you can see them.
The Criterion: a late 19th-century instrument that plays tunes by plucking a steel comb with raised pins on a rotating metal disc.
Wind-up gramophone: an antique hand-cranked record player with a flared horn
Questions? Call 641.777.5092.
