Pleasantville Music Shoppe is one of the oldest mom and pop music stores in South Jersey.
My dad, Gaston Ragno, at 20 years old, purchased the business on a handshake and a promise to pay when he could from his boss who wanted to retire.
Over the years there were a few moves and some changes – but what remained constant was the belief in giving back to the community and the importance of music education in the schools.
I was lucky to work side by side with my dad for many years until his passing in 2015. Today, I am trying to continue his legacy.
We lend our support to students, music teachers and their programs. Jim and I try and attend as many of the school holiday and spring concerts as we can. We have helped with the music program, VH1 Save the Music as well as others of the like. The Food Bank of South Jersey, Veterans and the Marines Toys for Tots are other important organizations that we support by collecting food and toys and holding yearly free concerts.
I’ve been running the Pleasantville Music Shoppe for the past 12 years with the help of my husband, Jim, and two key members of our team, Luis Gonzalez and Cynthia Ivey. Our relationship with Capaldi, Reynolds and 
Pelosi has been a very important one. We have relied on their expertise in helping with all our business and tax needs.
Generations of families continue to patronize Pleasantville Music Shoppe. We love hearing all the stories of first instruments and memories of their musical journey. It still makes me happy to hand a student their first instrument and see the excitement on their face.
Our customers are important to us and we try and give them the very best customer service.
I love what I do! Whether it is finding the right piano for a student, putting a guitar in the hands of a beginning musician or fixing a broken instrument…We are here for you!
Contributed by Joanne Schilling, Pleasantville Music Shoppe
