Piano holds the Keys to her Mother's Heart
CHICORA — When a piano delivery man knocked on her door about 20 years ago, Kathy Hiles was convinced he had the wrong address.
“I said, ‘Well, I didn't order a piano,'” Hiles remembers. “I was just in total shock.”
Hiles soon found out that her mother, Betty Campbell, had purchased the piano as a surprise for her three grandchildren, Carissa, Jennifer and Steven.
Campbell also had a piano delivered to her own house, where she was caring for another grandchild.
Campbell's late mother Leah Domhoff always dreamed of having a church organist in the family. Though she had nine children, none became musicians.
After saving spare change, mostly pennies, for years, Campbell was looking for a way to spend it, Hiles said.
“Something kept telling her, ‘Get those kids a piano!'” Hiles said. “It was her way of honoring her mother.”
Hiles' children were at school when the piano was delivered, and Hiles said she will never forget their reactions upon returning home.
“It is something I will always cherish, the jumping up and down, the screaming,” Hiles laughed.
“Little did they know what it was going to do to them!”
Of course, Hiles' children were immediately enrolled in piano lessons.
“We followed through with it; we couldn't let her down,” Hiles said. “Now they're glad they had a ‘mean mom' who made them practice!”
All three children are still able to play piano with Carissa advancing the furthest. She is now one of three organists at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicora.
According to Hiles, the best gift was not the piano itself, but the memories it has helped create.
“It is something that holds the family together,” said Hiles, whose now-adult children grew up playing music at family gatherings.
“Mom took the time to think of her grandkids,” Hiles said. “I wish someday I could be half as thoughtful as my mom to my grandkids.”
With her outgoing personality, people love being around Campbell, Hiles said.
“Mom's a lot of fun, and she's been a blessing in my life,” Hiles said. “She just likes to shock us every once in a while!”
