📜 From the Archives: A Musical Family Although Jule did not play any musical instruments as far as we know, his wife Polly Alice played the cello, and both emphasized the importance of music in a well-rounded education. As a result, their children received private lessons and were directed to practice their instruments daily. Gilmer, the eldest, played both violin and piano, while Doré played both cello and piano. In this historic photo, taken around 1900, the family is pictured in the “orchestra pit” on the top floor of Körner’s Folly, after Jule’s billiards room was repurposed into Cupid’s Park Theatre, thought to be among the first private little theatres in America. 🎹 📖 From I Remember, written by Polly Alice Masten Körner: “I should tell the story of our orchestra…. I will only say that it was a lot of hard work and a lot of fun and that we developed it into quite an organization. Coz. [sic] Tilla Harmon was pianist; Bessie Fetter and John Greenfield played violin; Jule’s brother Joseph played bass violin; I played cello; Wyatt Mooney, clarinet; DeWitt Harmon, cornet; Carl Pepper and Herr Milch, flutes…Mr. Scanlon, the dancing teacher, he also played violin and of course so did Mr. Hobbs [Gilmer and Doré’s music instructor]. Professor [Charles] Brockman was our director. He was the head of the Brockman School of Music in Greensboro.” 📰 From a Kernersville News article on April 19, 1895 about the Kernersville Orchestra and a performance held at Körner’s Folly: “Kernersville is proud of her orchestra and rejoices at the success of this entertainment and the rapid advancement being made in the line of music by so many of our citizens, some of whom [...] we hope to see rise high in the role of music." Continue your Preservation Month celebrations and come see the Körners' piano and musical instruments in person in beautiful Cupid's Park Theatre on the 3rd floor of historic Körner's Folly! #FromTheArchives #Kernersville #PreservationMonth #HistoricHouseMuseum (fb)

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