She's On Cloud 9



She’s On Cloud 9

Mrs. Mildred Dennis says she’s on cloud nine right now but she thinks she can play the organ from up there.

Mrs. Dennis, who has been legally blind for 10 years, has received a gift Thomas spinet organ from an anonymous donor.

“It was delivered to me by King’s Keyboard,” said Mrs. Dennis, who lives at 3423 Carpenter Rd.

“I asked Richard King who sent it and all he would say is that someone paid cash for it and wished to remain anonymous.” King’s Keyboard is located at 337 S. Main, Ann Arbor.

The former secretary for the Institute for Social Research at the U-M was an organist during World War II years and once had a local radio show before an eye disease forced her to limit her activities.

With the new organ, Mrs. Dennis plans to resume her playing for her own enjoyment.

“I’m still a little on cloud nine. You just don’t expect something like this to happen. I’m not like I used to be, but I can still feel the keys.”

Although Mrs. Dennis had both an organ and a piano as a child in Ypsilanti, she estimates that it has been at least 10 or 15 years since she has even had access to an organ as she was not able to afford one of her own.

For the past few days Mrs. Dennis has been trying to remember the tunes that she used to play. Among her favorites that she has managed to play again is “Sentimental Journey.”