The year was 1922. The man, Carl Petosa, began something that simply will not stop. Undoubtedly, he did not know that he was destined to begin a legacy that would pass to his son, Joe, and then on to his grandson, Joe, Jr who would carry on the same tradition spanning better than a Three quarters of a century of accordion manufacturing. As a child in Italy, Carl loved the accordion. He recalls, "I was crazy about accordions, and I was determined to have one. My father said, 'no they cost too much.' We argued frequently about this until finally with the first money I earned, I bought one." After Carl learned to play well, he decided to learn all about them. When he later immigrated to America, he settled in San Francisco where he served an apprenticeship at the Guerrini Accordion Company, learning every aspect of accordion manufacturing.

When Carl had learned everything about accordion building, he decided to start his own business. So, in the basement of his home in Seattle, he single-handedly devoted himself to the task of constructing high-quality instruments. Imagine him in these humble surroundings, hunched over his work-bench, completely absorbed in his work and totally oblivious to everything and anything else. Here, he meticulously and painstakingly measured, hand-cut, sawed, shaped, and molded pieces of wood, metal, and celluloid which were miraculously transformed over several months into beautiful hand-crafted accordions of the highest quality imaginable. He had no assistants; he was a one-man operation. Just how many accordions he built in this way will never be known. We know, however, that many of these accordions are still in sound, playable condition today.

Carl Petosa's son, Joe, helped in every aspect of the business. Joe began playing the accordion at age 10 under the tutelage of Joe Parente and Anthony Facciuto, his first and only teachers. By age 12, it became apparent that Joe could become a serious musician. But, he also had a keen interest in learning to build accordions, and his father was eager to teach him the trade. Joe recalls that he was faced with a difficult decision as there was not time for accordion lessons and hours of practice if he wanted to devote himself to learning the complex trade of accordion building. After much agonizing, Joe made the difficult choice to follow in his father's steps, focusing on the art of building accordions rather than playing them as a career. Reflecting on this choice, Joe has come to the conclusion that in reality he had little, if any, choice: "My brother became a school teacher and my sister got married: so, I was left to join the family business." But, regardless of the reason, we can be sure that Carl was pleased that his son, Joe, made this eventful decision.

When asked by ACCORDION WORLD if he has ever had any regrets about choosing his father's profession, Joe said, ''No, not one. Making accordions is what I love to do. I can never imagine retiring. Life would lose its meaning then. You can't stop doing the thing you love just because you've reached a certain age." It is also apparent that Joe is equally happy that his own three sons have followed him in the trade and are actively involved in the business. Not only do they play the accordion: but, they help him in every aspect of the business.

The Petosa Accordion Company is located at 313 NE 45th St., in Seattle. It has been at this location since 1955 when Carl and Joe moved from the small shop where the firm had its original beginning. At this location, Joe Petosa and his father worked together until Carl's death in 1959. They also had the foresight to expand the business in 1946 by starting a factory in Castelfidardo, Italy, where PETOSA accordions would be manufactured with the same painstaking detail to quality and craftsmanship,then shipped to Seattle for final adjustments, tuning and customized for each individual customer. When the instruments arrive in Seattle from the factory, they are taken apart and thoroughly checked and tuned to ensure every instrument with the name PETOSA on it is in perfect condition before delivery to the customer.

As in the early days, it still takes a year or longer to build an accordion. Says Joe, "You can't hurry quality. The time involved in making each accordion makes higher production impossible. The wood used in the instruments must first be aged for 20 years before it is ever cut and shaped into accordion pieces. After a case is glued up, it must dry and age another 6 weeks. A quality accordion is like a violin. You can't just stamp one out, making one on an assembly line."

A PETOSA accordion begins its life as a seasoned mahogany veneer box which is then covered with burnished celluloid and filled with some 3800 handmade parts. The parts, being handcrafted are not basically interchangeable from one instrument to another. The keys are not simply molded Plastic, but rather, they are made with fine walnut wood that is lightened, shaped, and polished to a glowing hue. Some models have a sound chamber engulfing two banks of reeds that is varnished to a mirror finish. Indeed, the interior finish gleams, indicating fine craftsmanship. With moderate care, an accordion of this quality will definitely outlive its owner or the craftsman making it. The top-of-the-line professional PETOSA models are individually handmade. Today, the professional model accordions, range from $8000 to $32,000. The Petosa company is also abreast of the current state of the art in support of the electronic accordion and MIDI. Persons seeking an electronic accordion or MIDI capability will find that Petosa can provide the most advanced electronic accordion models and the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) system.

It is interesting to hear Joe describe the accordion: "At the heart of the instrument are the 448 reeds that sing in the wind from the bellows. Swedish blue steel makes the best reeds, and we use only the top of the ten grades for PETOSA accordions." The reeds were made in the Seattle shop until around 1935: now, they are made exclusively at the factory in Castelfidardo by an employee who is totally dedicated to the art of honing the metal and cutting out the reeds. But, the fine tuning is still done at the Seattle shop. The rough tuning is done with the reed blocks outside the body of the instrument while the fine tuning must be done with the reed blocks in place. In the tuning process, Joe Petosa or Joe Petosa, Jr., file the end of the reed for a sharper note (higher tone) or scratch the base to get a slower vibration (lower tone). This is the same process that has been used for hundreds of years to obtain the precise tones needed for each individual note played on an accordion.

If Grandfather Carl Petosa were still alive, he'd be proud of the accomplishments of his son, Joe, and his grandson Joe, Jr who is continuing the petosa legacy. The company has indeed flourished, even in otherwise unfavorable circumstances for the accordion industry. The artists who play a PETOSA are proud to do so and are thankful to this Seattle family for its dedication and insistence on quality. Of course, over the years, some things have changed dramatically, such as, better materials, sophisticated and up-to-date tools and equipment, and highly refined methods and expertise. But, the original pioneering spirit and the truly insatiable desire for optimum quality and enduring excellence is still the basic credo-the long-sought dream of its founder, Carl Petosa. Now, it is no longer a dream: the dream is a manifest reality. The legacy left by Carl Petosa has continued for three generations, and it will undoubtedly continue for many generations to come in this remarkable Petosa family.