CHARLOTTETOWN — While many Prince Edward Islanders mark the arrival of Fall by noticing the changing colours of the leaves, Daryl McClintock listens for the soothing sonic effects of temperature fluctuations on his house constructed solely with accordions.
“My wife Donna’s pretty jumpy,” McClintock said. “The random creaks and bangs from wooden houses startle her. Well, I’ve always believed there’s a solution to every problem. And thanks to how many people unload their old squeeze-boxes on Craigslist, this is what I came up with.”
Upon the delivery of three thousand, seven hundred and fifty melodeons, mostly from Quebec and Acadia, McLintock spent four weeks carefully arranging and securing them into a two-story, three bedroom house.
“I’ve had a bit of criticism from windbox-house purists, since there are a few other instruments involved,” McClintock said. “Our furniture’s all bagpipes. The plumbing’s made of saxophones. The toilets are tubas. Our power lines are banjo strings. We do all of our laundry with a tub and washboard. And the doorbell is a carved block of solid wood.”
The house, along with a shed made entirely from concertinas, has been the subject of numerous Instagram videos by locals and tourists alike, as it makes gentle wheezing noises while expanding and contracting to the whims of the thermometer.
“Donna loves it,” McClintock said. “Now she gets wistful when Fall comes and the dining room randomly moans a long, sad D-Minor.”
Christmas is a highlight for the McClintocks, as the extended family gathers to celebrate the new year, toast each other’s health, and play the house by pushing both sides together.
“It can be tricky coordinating that many people to shoulder the right amount of force at the right time,” McClintock said. “Especially since none of us are musicians. But we’re getting better. This year we managed a pretty respectable F sharp.”
