A Firm Family Firm
Daynes Music is oldest family-owned company in Utah.
By Gregory P. Kratz Deseret News Associate Business Editor
Midvale, UT - For almost 150 years, a single music company has served as a kind of cultural glue for Utah families.
And throughout that period, the Daynes family has provided the instruments to draw people together and bind them close.
"Our company has always been involved in bringing music to Utah," said Gerald "Skip" Daynes, fourth-generation owner of Daynes Music. "In the early days, it was music for families ... We have known all these years that peace and tranquility and togetherness come from having music in the home."
That knowledge still drives Skip to keep the family business going, even as Utahns spend less time playing the piano and more time tapping the computer keyboards.
The store he bought from his dad in 1967 traces its roots to the business John Daynes founded in a log building in downtown Salt Lake City in 1862.
That makes Daynes Music, 6935 S. State, the oldest continuously operated family business in Utah, according to a recent study by the Institute for Family Enterprise at Bryant College in Smithfield R.I.
The study singled out businesses that have been in the control of a single family since inception and are located in the state where they originated.
Some of the long-standing companies are household names, like the Haas family's Levi Strauss company, found in 1853 in California. Or the Stroh Brewing Co., founded in 1850 in Michigan.
Some go back more than three centuries, like the Tuttle Market Gardens, founded in 1640 by the Tuttle family in New Hampshire.
And then there are the "newer" arrivals, like Daynes Music.
John Daynes led the company from its founding until 1901. In 1873, he started selling Steinway & Sons pianos. The store is now the oldest Steinway dealership in the United States.
In 1902, John Daynes handed over the reins to Royal W. Daynes. Royal's love of music led him to help fund the Utah Philharmonic, the forerunner of today's Utah Symphony.
When Royal's son, Gerald R. Daynes bought the business in 1950, Daynes housed the offices and scenery of the Utah Civic Ballet (Ballet West).
"We had a real strong hand in helping the ballet succeed," Skip said. "At one point, Daynes stores were all over Utah." Gerald R. Daynes retired at 60.
