All of us are getting older and the younger are not joining as much
as we would hope.  Almost all of my player friends are older than
I (56); only one is younger.  Fortunately, with the help of venues
like 'World Championship of Old-Time Piano Playing Contest', learning
to play ragtime is faring better than the space-consuming hobby of
collecting rolls and pianos to play them.

We all know that it has been a mainly male-oriented hobby for those
with more than average monetary means.  The current economy is the
only reason I was able to join in the fun since I am not well off.
I am having a wonderful time with two groups, ragtime and player piano.
In the player group I have such great friends as Dean Howe, Robin
Pratt, Bill Kap, Dave Smith, Tim Trager, and LN.  Don't get me wrong,
I am worried about my tuner/tech friends who are still trying to
survive this economic slump, like I am trying to still sell custom
dollhouses in my shop.

For the last six years I have spread the word that if owning a piano
is on your 'bucket list' now is the time to get one, especially when
there are ones for free on Craigslist.  But we also know that most
players are starting to need to be restored for the second or third
time after the 1950s and '60s resurgence in the "Old Piano Roll Blues"
followed by the 1973 movie 'The Sting' that brought them back in the
'70s and '80s.  That is why many are getting rid of them, due to the
expense of restoring them.

I wish more people would research the Internet for web sites like MMD
or John Tuttle's 'Player Care' and Paul Manganaro's 'Antique Mechanical
Restorations' (both were so nice and helpful!) to find that it isn't
totally out of the reach of someone with the desire to try to bring
back grandmother's old player piano.

Linda Howson