New Location of The New England Accordion Connection & Museum Co.
August 1st 2021
Rita Davidson Barnea, Editor Accordion USA News



Paul Ramunni is proud to announce the new location of his New England Accordion Connection and Museum Co. Paul extends an invitation: “Hi Everyone……Thank you for all of your supporting comments. We’ve been open at our new location for over 10 days now and something amazing has been happening. At least 200 people have come through our doors, most of whom I never met before.
In every case, within 10 minutes we have all become friends. All it took was a little fun music, a great location, a brewery next door and a ton of interesting accordions on display. The jukebox has been cranking, I have been entertaining folks on the accordion and we have all been rediscovering how to have fun and enjoy each others’ company. It’s the power of music and the historic power of the accordion. We are open 7 days a week as long as people keep coming…..it’s definitely worth the trip from anywhere!!!”
Call if you want to visit:
Paul Ramunni
860-833-1374
Address:
75 Main street
Canaan Union Railroad Station
Canaan, Connecticut, 06018
The New England Accordion Connection & Museum Co.recently opened in the historic Canaan Union Depot railroad station alongside the railroad museum and Great Falls Brewing Co. The
large room holds hundreds of accordions from floor to ceiling.
How exactly did the oldest operating Union Station in the United States come to house one of the country’s rare galleries dedicated to keeping alive the beauty and excitement of the accordion. As Ramunni recalls, it began 12 years ago while vacationing in Vermont with his wife, Marcia. Something suddenly prompted a strong desire to start playing accordion again. It had been years, though, since he had last played, and he no longer had an instrument. Locating a local Vermont collector, they stopped in.
Among the dozens of accordions, Ramunni noticed several small concertina-style pieces, all old and rusted, many with missing pieces. His enquiry revealed that these had been the instruments of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. Ramunni was deeply moved. Suddenly, he saw the pieces as conduits of history, wondering, “What else has happened to these accordions? Where have they been?” Paul has written a fascinating book, “Accordion Stories from the Heart” which is available on Amazon.
I read the book. It was an emotional following of people’s lives and relationships with their accordions. It really makes a perfect gift for any accordion aficionado or music lover. “Accordion Stories From The Heart” provides a wealth of stunning photos and loving insights into the exceptional, and sometimes tear-evoking stories involving many featured accordions from around the world. In his book, Mr. Ramunni tenderly describes the extraordinary people who played and listened to this beautiful musical instrument over the past two centuries.
The 143-page hard-covered “Accordion Stories From The Heart” fills the reader’s heart with warm and fascinating accordion-related stories. The book features more than 70 photos of spectacularly decorated hand-built accordions of multiple colors and ivory-like keyboards. They originate from many countries around the world and date back as far as 1829.
As Paul’s intense interest in collecting accordions began, they unearthed instruments at tag sales, barns and antique shops finding that each had a unique story. “It just got ahold of us,” says Ramunni. “There’s value here, there’s history. It’s not just an object like a hammer or a saw; it’s a relationship.” As the instruments, and their stories, flowed in, the New England Accordion Connection & Museum Co. was born. The Ramunnis ran it from a building at their Cannan home, often taking exhibits on the road to senior centers, libraries, historical societies and other groups. Additionally they hosted concerts.
Recently Paul moved to Lakeville and found out that the perfect place was available…the historic Union Depot in North Canaan, CT. “This space was a miracle,” says Ramunni. Soon their collection of more than 500 accordions had a new home.
The NEAM collection follows the development of accordions from around 1900 through the height of their popularity in the 1950’s and today’s instruments. It includes button, piano and even digital accordions. Among their vintage treasures are a rare 1829 ‘Flutina’, Art Deco wonders of the 1920’s and 1930’s and Lawrence Welk’s first accordion. Visitors should be sure to look for the spectacular instrument that once belonged to Barbara O’Connell, who entertained over 300,000 troops during WWII, many of them mere hours away from deploying to the front lines.
In addition to the very impressive display, the Ramunnis offer accordion sales, servicing, repair, lessons and sheet music. They will happily organize a “Traveling Museum” to play and display pieces and tell their stories. “We’d love to go into schools,” noted Marcia Ramunni, “once that’s allowed again.”
For Paul, he Accordion Museum is a labor of love. Paul adds, “We want to do something that makes people happy and shows folks that we can enjoy one another. The accordion is an old way of doing that, but effective. I put it on and play for you and all of a sudden there’s a friendship.”
Be sure to schedule a visit to the New England Accordion Connectionand Museum Co. very soon!