f DULCIMERS KITS

MOUTHBOWS SINCE 1968 SEND $1 00

FOR CATALOGUE

ALPINE DULCIMERS

BOX 566A BOULDER. CO 80306

It wasn't easy getting Grandma to play the old family heirloom mountain dulci-mer. All the days of my childhood in

south-central Kentucky I can remember its being taken down from the top of the tall cherry secretary only on three or four occa-sions.

It was a great treat for all of us when Grandma took the instrument down and played one or two old fiddle tunes. Grand-ma didn't know any tunes except dance tunes, 1 feel certain. and she didn't feel they were the sort of music a Christian lady like her should be playing.

My younger sister and a cousin of the same age would pester Grandma until they wore her resistance away. Finally she would give in and play. Usually nobody heard her but those two girls, but, thank heaven. a couple of times I got in on the performance too.

Just what she played, I'm not sure. I do remember two tunes that were played almost every time - Bonaparte's Retreat

and Sweet Sixteen. Sweet Sixteen is more commonly known as Soldier's Joy today. She sang that one. 'I'll he 16 in '92. (re-peat, repeat), I love somebody but I won't say who."

I'm now the proud possessor of not only the old cherry secretary, but also the dulci-mer which is also made of cherry. It's teardrop-shaped and the top is made from one piece of wood. The fingerboard is

CELTIC CEILI FOR DULCIMER by Padraig mac Swyney

A Collection of 50 Airs 4 Dances

Prom Ireland, Mann, Scotland, Wales,

Cornwall, Brittany & the New World;

With Kt. Dulcimer Tablature, Chords,

and Musical Notation: Send check or

money order for $6.50 + $1.00 pstg.

TO TRISKELION PRESS

2912 E. GREAT SMOKEY CT. WESTLAKE VLG, CA. 91362

raised and hollow like modern ones, with-out any cutouts under it, with two small soundholes between frets_

Although Grandpa Lee was a carpenter in the off-season between crops, he did not make this instrument. It was made at least one generation before he came along. The date on the back is 1817. The maker, we think. was Soll Guffey of Rowena, Ken-tucky on the Cumberland River some ten miles from where Grandma and her second husband, Jesse Thrasher. lived in adjoin-ing Clinton County. KY. They called the place Puny Ridge, not completely without reason.

The name, Guffey, was originally McGuffey or possibly MacGuffey. It was Scotch-Irish, as were a majority of the names of the folk in the Cumberland Foothills.

Most of this information conies from a faded inscription on the hack of the instru-ment. Since it was written in artistic. but hard-to-read Spencerian penmanship, I can't be too certain about some of the things written in small print.

The instrument itself has changed color considerably, I'm sure. The top and sides are as dark as most walnut, but the hack was not varnished. After giving it a lot of thought and consulting a few people I crusted, I finally decided to remove the several layers of crackled varnish, which improved the tone as my consultants had

suggested it would. That tone. in-cidentally. is not bad at all, but a couple of the staple-type frets under the melody str-ing do need repositioning.

This is the lightest full-sized instrument I've ever picked up, due partly to the fact that it is so old. But, in addition, it has no bracing whatever inside.

How was 1 chosen to inherit Grandma's prize possession? Several other grandchil-dren rated it as much as 1. but I happened to be the only one who was very musical. One song I sang for Grandma with my guitar wrapped it up for me. It was a song I learned from Bradley Kincaid, who was heard every day on WLW in Cincinnati when I was a 10-year-old. Methodist Pie

was my magic password. I still sing it at

area festivals from time in time.

Archie Lee is president of the Ala-Stppt Dalshner A SIOCiall011 and a regular al Birmingham. Hanisillle

and Tuscaloosa festivals

Grandma's Dulcimer Archie Lee

Red Bay, AL

15

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