Winter Piano Company

Vince Grantano has been a fixture among traveling piano representatives. He has traveled the entire United States for several companies over the years to bring new products to retailers. His most notable job was with the Winter Piano Company where he worked for several decades. Vince joined the National Piano Traveler’s Association in the 1950s, during a time when several of the old timers could talk about the golden age of the piano in the early 1900s.

Glen Howard was the first salesman hired by the Winter Piano Company following World War II. Raised in Marshalltown, Iowa, Glen is the son of a real estate broker who fell on hard times during the Great Depression. Glen emerged from those difficult years with a strong understanding of the value of a dollar and with his friendly personality; he seemed destined to be a salesman. During his career at Winter he played a role in the re-development of the dealer relationship program that grew cold during the war.  

 Jack Javens loved the piano business and became one of the industry’s quintessential salesmen.  He worked for the Aeolian Piano Company out of East Rochester New York beginning in the 1950s and stayed for 26 years.  He witnessed the famous merger between Aeolian and the Winter Piano Company in the mid 1960s and the strong competition of the home organ boom in the 1970s.  Jack was proud of the products he sold and spoke of the rich company history of Aeolian, which went back to 1903. 

Arthur Linter had many stories to share, like the one about his real birthday. “My mother told me, ‘Your birthday is March 14, 1913, but it says April 5 on your birth certificate because the doctor put it in his pocket and carried it around for a few days before he filed it.’”