Connecticut Patch – Over 400 spectacularly-beautiful accordions have been moved into the recently-restored Canaan Union Railroad station in the heart of North Canaan, Connecticut by long-time collector Angelo Paul Ramunni.
Paul Ramunni
Canaan Collector’s Accordions Help Tell Story of the Past
The Register Citizen – Once an avid player, Canaan’s Paul Ramunni hadn’t picked up an accordion for 42 years.
“I played the instrument from age 10 to 17. When I went to Fairfield University, the accordion went into the closet. In mid-2008, I woke up one morning and inexplicably had the urge to play again,” said the 67-year-old, who had a CPA firm in Canaan for 35 years before selling it five years ago. He now teaches accounting and financial literacy courses full time for the University of Connecticut.
Professor Ramunni’s ‘Accordion Fever’
Lessons in Patriotism, Family, Perseverance Resonate in Connecticut Accordion Museum
When Paul Ramunni was just 10 years old, his mother announced that he was going to learn to play the accordion.
His reaction was instant disdain.
“No Mom! Anything but that,” he said.
But his mother insisted, and play he did. He rarely practiced and, consequently, wasn’t very good. He considered the instrument a burden. Competitions were stressful. And, worse, it didn’t boost the social status of Ramunni, a glasses-wearing, Italian kid from Long Island. A few fights broke out on the school bus because of the teasing.Continue Reading