Thanks Linda so much for the articles. They make my instrument even more special.

The music store did get back to me, but they have no memory of the C.S. Jennings. The man who responded will pass on my craftsman's name to someone else just in case it rings a bell. The store is still run by a Gorby so its a family run biz I assume that has survived so far.  

I looked up the address on Google maps and found a small house in what is now considered Charleston (between a church and a tatoo parlor). I thought it might be his shop but its a home with no outbuildings. Maybe he had a shop in the basement and sold the dulcimers out of his home and not the store, but bought a Mel Bay book from Gorby's for each customer. Or maybe #103 was his personal dulcimer. I'll never know, but being a son of an American Historian, I am pleased to play a bit of dulcimer Americana. Thanks again Linda and Ken.

Thank you, Linda.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Here is link to 2 articles I found from 1974 Charleston, WV paper ….

Very interesting man!

https://www.4shared.com/folder/XZxMd8bp/2022.html

You're welcome Scott. Do share, if you get a reply. I know it is a long shot.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks so much Ken. I emailed the shop to see if there is any memory of CS but from the website it looks like they focus on HS bands and guitars. Didnt see a dulcimer on the website. Didnt look hard either though. I’ll share the reply if anything interesting comes up. 

Nitro is west of Charleston heading toward Huntington. It is a small town of around 6,500 people at spans two counties in the western part of central West Virginia. Nitro itself has an interesting history as the place that manufactured gun powder for World War I.  As to Mr. Jennings I know nothing about him. Here is a link to https://w ww.g orbysmusic.com  so you can look for yourself. My guess is that Mr. Jennings made a few dulcimers and put them in the shop on consignment, but maybe some of our West Virginia members know more about him. Perhaps you could call the shop and someone there might know something about him.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Find a grave gave me zip.....

That is a beautiful dulcimer.

My dulcimer was a gift from my sister-in-law who found it at CA thrift shop. I call it a tear-box shaped dulcimer, mostly a long rectangular box with a tapered tear-drop styled top. I added a 6+ fret to this 1976 built dulcimer.

For anyone interested, it's an odd bird. It has 28 7/8 in. VSL to a movable bridge - sort of like a banjo. Overall length is 39 1/2 inches (The only affordable case I could find that it fit was a soft rifle case that I adorned with patches of musical notes and a Celtic knot and I keep a kazoo on the outside gun cartridge holders to avoid misidentification.) The box is 31 1/4 X 6 1/2 X 2 1/2 inches.  It has good volume and excellent sustain. 

Anyone know anything about builder? C. Swanson Jennings from Nitro, W. VA 

Or the town or region?

Or the music shop it came from?  Gorby's Music in So. Charleston, W. VA

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