Tell us about your VERY FIRST dulcimer
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin,
There was a connection between Morris Jethro Amburgey and the Logan, Ohio area. Here's the rest of the December 17, 1975 article from the Logan Daily News:
"Hide-A-Way Hills Man Creates Appalachian Music Instruments
By SUE CHENOWETH Daily News Staff Writer
Morris Amburgey thoroughly modern man. He’s the city engineer for Lancaster and flies his own Cessna 180 airplane. He and wife Gertrude frequently go camping in their recreational vehicle Their residence on Cardinal Lane in Hide-A-Way Hills is admirable for its beauty and originality. But Amburgey is also a Kentuckian from Hindman in Knott County, where the hills are so steep there’s no bottom land and no farms, just gardens. And remembering his mountain heritage and the songs he heard played on the dulcimer, Amburgey now makes the unique Appalachian instrument from an old pattern passed on to him by his father, Jethro Amburgey. “We try to make them with as few mechanical tools as possible,” Amburgey says. “We whittle and cut and chisel a lot of things out.” Among favorite tunes for the dulcimer are “Jackerow,” “Barbara Allen” or “Turkish Lady,” — heartbroken songs, Amburgey calls them. “If we lose our heritage of music like that, we’ll never regain it,” he says. To help keep the dulcimer and its music alive, Amburgey works about 40 hours making one dulcimer, which he’ll sell for about $50, only $10 above the costs of the materials. Amburgey’s dulcimer pattern came originally from Eddridge Thomas of Hindman, who taught Jethro how to make them. Jethro made 1,389 dulcimers, several of which are in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. Morris says his father was one of only two or three people who could make dulcimers in the decades from 1930 to 1950. Morris follows his father’s habit of distinguishing each dulcimer by etching his name, date and place completed, and number made. Since Morris owns a log cabin in Hindman, he puts that place name on the instruments. As long as Jethro lived, Morris didn’t make dulcimers, but after his father died in 1972, Morris picked up the tradition. He made his first one in 1973; the first five dulcimers were to finish his father’s orders. He has subsequently made about 40 of the instruments from either cherry or walnut. Amburgey explains that solid wood like his father used splits. His home workshop is well equipped, but Morris Amburgey carves, whittles and cuts in an old-time tradition to make the mountain dulcimer, a musical instrument native to the southern Appalachians. Amburgey makes his instruments in the same style as his late father, Jethro Amburgey. Morris’ 22-year-old son, Kenny, also is learning the techniques. (Daily News photo by Sue Chenoweth)"
It looks like Morris and his family lived on Cardinal Lane in Hide-A-Way Hills, but maintained ownership of a cabin in Hindman, Kentucky. Are Cardinal Lane and Hide-A-Way Hills near Logan, Ohio? There are a couple more interesting facts in the article. First, Morris's 22-year old son, Kenny Amburgey, was learning the techniques of dulcimer making from his father. And second, Morris refers to Ed Thomas as the man who taught his father the craft of dulcimer-making, but calls him "Edridge Thomas". It is not clear whether or not Kenny Amburgey followed through and made any dulcimers on his own, but he'd be about 65 years old now if he's still living in the Logan area.
