Perhaps it was destiny that Wally Hildebrandt's piano would end up with Brent. One of the foundations of
Brent's love of music came from this clandestine trips to Pleasant Lake Resort where he would peek through the
window and watch Wally play.

"When I was young," said Brent, "I would sneak out at night and go to Pleasant Lake Resort and watch through
the screen as Wally played. The piano was like magic in his hands. He was one of the musicians that helped mold
me into the musician I am today".

When Brent received the piano, it had been stored in an old barn for years and needed a lot of restoration.
In its beleaguered state, it took over a year for Brent to replace all the felt and mechanical mechanisms, polish all the
brass, and refinish the wood. The ivories, however, are still the originals. Many of them still have Wally's name on
the inside of the keys.

"It was a labor of love," said Brent, "I had to take it apart piece by piece and restore it, but I knew it would
be worth it.

Wally Hildebrandt was born in 1901 in Chicago, IL and became interested in the piano at the age of five.
When Wally's father purchased a Victrola, Wally would listen to the records and work out the songs on the piano.
When Wally was in grade school, he wuld play the marches while the other students marched to and from their
classes. At the age of 10 his brothers would take him to the taverns to play for the customers.

As Wally grew his skills at the piano increased. He eventually joined a band called "The Blue Devils." They
played at dance halls and clubs around Chicago and Channel Lake. Their band was the first to play over the radio
from the ballroom of the Oak Park Arms Hotel.

During the Depression, piano jobs were hard to find, but in 1932 prohibition was partially repealed and taverns
and bars (often called "speak easies") started to come back to life.

"Wally played at a "speak easy" that was often frequented by Al Capone. He used to tell stories of playing the
piano while the plaster was falling from the ceiling because the gangsters were shooting off their guns," said Brent.
"Wally never feared for his life because good entertainment was hard to find. It was an unwritten rule - you don't
shoot the piano man."

After retiring, Wally moved from Chicago to the Coloma area and, with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law,
bought Pleasant Lake Resort. Even though he had retired, his music would not be silenced. At the resort his
music would found an outlet as he played in the tavern. He also took piano jobs throughout the area at various
resorts and became a well known musician.

In 1958 Wally's wife, Lee (Elisabeth) Machesky, passed away. Wally tried to continue running the resort,
but it was too difficult for hime so he sold it. In the ensuing years Wally met Mazie Cady whom he eventually
married. He helped her enlarge her tavern on Old Hwy. 51 (now called County Road CH). This tavern is still in
business today and is called the Buddha Bulldog. Wally continued playing the piano for several years, but then
Mazie became ill so they sold the tavern and purchased a small home in Coloma where Mazie passed away two
years later.

Wally continued taking piano jobs to supplement his retirement income until his death. When Wally passed
away everyone thought his music had been silenced forever, but, because of Brent Clauson, his music has been
brought back to life and will live on.

"I purchased his remaining LP's, 'Wally at the Piano,' as well as the rights to the songs and am in the process
of having them arranged on a CD format," said Brent. "Anyone who loves ragtime will be in for a treat. We have the
records available for sale at our shows."

Ironically, Brent's grandfather, Archie Lee Woodman, also played in the Chicago and Rockford area around
the same time as Wally.

"I remember my grandfather telling stories of playing his banjo at one of the 'speak easies' and Al Capone
coming in to listen." Brent mused. "I often wonder if he and Wally played at the sme places and just didn't know it.
During the Depression, that's where the work was for musicians, so that is where they went."

That banjo is now played at the Clauson Family Music Shows by Brent and his son, Cody.

"My grandfather played his entire life and now my son, Cody, is following in his footsteps," said Brent.
"We have CD's available at our show, titled "Archie Lee Woodman Banjo," for anyone who is interested."

If pianos could talk, this piano would definitely have a story to tell. This Brambach piano was built in 1921.
It traveled with Wally Hildebrandt from the "wild and wooly" speak easies of Chicago to the sedate country life of
rural Wisconsin. Along the way it saw gangsters come and go and experienced the decline and death of its
musician. It spent years in an old barn longing to be played again. Then, it's reawakening began as another musician
with a love of music brought life back into its keys. Now this baby grand stands proudly on the stage at the Clauson
Family Barn where you can hear its sounds again.