As miserable a job as it was to clear out Mom and Dad’s house back in June, sweet treasures from the past continue to surface.

Among them, a cassette tape labeled “Dad playing at Ellen’s Christmas party.”

Who’s Ellen? She was Dad’s sister Jean’s husband John’s sister (got that?). Ellen Cull, a teacher, lived in Lowell, Massachusetts.

“Dad,” in this case, was Grandpa Vayo.

It took me until Thanksgiving to have the courage to listen to the tape, fearing it might break. Indeed, there are clues on the audio (it sounds like someone just turned on a cassette recorder and let it run during the family gathering) that indicate it’s 50 years old.

Grandpa Vayo played piano by ear.

Twenty-eight years after his passing, here’s his Christmas gift to us all …

… Grandpa’s rendition of Silent Night:

Below is a photo of Grandpa playing the piano in their home on Belrose Avenue in Lowell. Their piano was tucked away in the far side of the dining room. I remember my brothers and I would sit on the piano bench when they ran out of chairs around the dinner table.

Although at first glance, the children in the above photo appear to be my older brothers and me, that’s not the case. First of all, the children don’t really look like us. And secondly, the timing doesn’t work out, given that the painting on the wall was completed in 1969 (Grandpa was also an artist). We were all about five years older by then.

So we’ll wait to hear from a relative who can identify those youngsters. (Update: And, indeed, one did! Nearly two years after I posted this story, a second-cousin whom I’ve never met sent a lovely email and introduced himself as the son of Dad’s cousin Gloria – and the taller boy in the above photo! That’s his brother, Kevin, and their sister, Lori, in the picture with Grandpa. Mystery solved!)

Meanwhile, we wish you and your family a Silent Night filled with sweet memories of Christmases long past and cheerful thoughts about holidays yet to come.

Merry Christmas! And to quote Grandpa’s favorite Dickens’ novel: God bless us, every one!

Please type in your email address, below, to receive an email notice with each new story.