Hallo Helen your story reminds me of my Aunt and Uncle`s Pianola which stood in their Front Room in East London near to where the Olympics are being held,like you it was great fun to play as a child,particularly that if you pedalled faster the music went faster and visa versa.
Many come up for auction in the UK for almost very little and I sat at one the other day having a pedal.
My problem is that now whenever I think of a Pianola, I think of Laurel and Hardy in "Night Owls" there they are creeping around the Police Chiefs house and Olly leans against the on switch.When I think now as I am writing this, it must have been electrically operated, but it was so funny the first time I watched it I had to turn it off as I was laughing so much.
When my Wife`s Grandmother used to talk about disposing of her Mother`s belongings when she died,lovely old lamps,paintings,jewelry
furniture etc all went as rubbish.Her reply to my wife saying she would have loved some of the items "What would you want with all that old stuff" and sadly that was the attitude.Now some of the things I threw away twenty years ago are fetching good prices at auction,so what do I know?
Have great fun Helen with your Pianola and well done for getting it going again and thank you for my little memory.
Al