Folks, if we decided on Jean's birthday, the first National Mountain Dulcimer Day would fall exactly on the 100th anniversary of her birth. That's too cool a coincidence to ignore.
Another vote here for Dec 8. I understand the significance of the earliest dulcemore, and Uncle Ed; but IMHO Jean did so much for the dulcimer across the country and across the world...
Well, if you want a poll, then please gather here the suggested dates and reasons for them- once i create the poll I can't change the items or add to them. Discuss this for a bit if you would and somebody make a post to organize the options... then in a day or two I can create/activate the poll from those various choices. Now's the time to make suggestions to add to the choices.
Perfect!
If you guys wanted, I could create a Poll here on fotmd to see the number of votes for each suggested date...?
I get the reasons behind the March and the August suggestions. For me, though, Jean Ritchie's birthday is THE day. She did so much to introduce the mountain dulcimer to populations of people wholly unfamiliar with the instrument.
I like Steve's idea even better. Since it is two days from our wedding anniversary I might remember it. So, Dusty, are you volunteering to set up the Wikipedia entry"
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Of course we could consider the earliest authenticated dulcimer with a date of….drum roll please…John Scales, Jr. August 28, 1832 which could also coincide with play your dulcimer on front porch day…which that dulcimer will be 190 years old this summer. In ten years it will be two hundred years old..big celebration..
I wasn't trying to start a debate about dates. Every day is dulcimer day in my life. 
I do wonder how those "national" days get formalized. I bet if we just decided on a day and then created a Wikipedia entry on National Dulcimer Day, it would become a thing. We could encourage instructors and luthiers to offer discounts. Maybe Quarantune could organize a concert on that day. Who knows?
Either date sounds good to me. Actually sounds as good as a dulcimer...Robert
I agree with Ken. I like Thomas' birthday of March 19 (1850).
Not to detract from Jean's fame as a popularizer of the dulcimer, I suggest March 19 as that is the birthdate of James Edward (Uncle Ed) Thomas who built the early hourglass style mountain dulcimer. Didn't Jean's father play one of Thomas's dulcimers?
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
February 11 is National Guitar Day. When is National Dulcimer Day? I vote for December 8. Anyone know why?
Thank you, FOTMD folks, for the music and your friendship!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I am so grateful that I have mountain dulcimers, mountain dulcimer music, and friends of the mountain dulcimer in my life. 
Wishing you all a peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving. Nina
Happy Thanksgiving. Among my many blessings is all my dulcimer friends here. at FOTMD and TTAD. Enjoy the day everyone.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Well said John and Richard.
Grateful for the good things in my life. Hugs to all my FOTMD friends. 
Happy Thanksgiving all. May we all be sure to reflect on all of our many blessings and truly be thankful from a grateful heart.
Have a very happy and meaningful Thanksgiving Day everyone! Time to count our blessings.
A beautiful fall day. Sunshine. Crisp wind. It was a joy to spend a few hours raking leaves.
Here is some more dulcimer good news: https://stonecountyleader.com/stories/dulcimer-reclaimed-after-50plus-years,4160
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I put new strings on the Guild 6-string last night, all in preparation for today's Pick - N - Jam, an annual party in which people pick wild berries (mostly blackberries this time of year) and then gather at an old farmhouse to make jam. While the jam is cooking, we take out our instruments and pick and jam some more. I'll be bringing my dulcimer and my guitar. This event was canceled last summer, but this year anyone vaccinated was invited to come. So grab your dulcimer and your copy of Rise Up Singing and come on down!
Well you how they say if you give someone a hammer everything looks like a nail. Dulcimer players want to tickle strings with their fingers. Drummers want to hit stuff with sticks.
I recently bought matching stands for my dulcimer and guitar. The instructions for how to attach the base to the arm read:
"Do not overtighten. You can crack the wood. Maybe not a job for a drummer."
And similarly, the instructions for attaching the hanger to the arm read:
"Do not overtighten. You can strip out the insert. Keep the drummer away from this."
For the record, the assembly went very well. Clearly dulcimer players are more gentle creatures than are percussionists.
At least they had an appropriate (musician) sense of humor. (Although, a drummer may disagree.)
That's funny!
Positive? Maybe not. Mildly funny? Perhaps.
I recently bought matching stands for my dulcimer and guitar. The instructions for how to attach the base to the arm read:
"Do not overtighten. You can crack the wood. Maybe not a job for a drummer."
And similarly, the instructions for attaching the hanger to the arm read:
"Do not overtighten. You can strip out the insert. Keep the drummer away from this."
For the record, the assembly went very well. Clearly dulcimer players are more gentle creatures than are percussionists.
Cue Ray Charles and the singers....
"I can't stop loving you...!"
@dusty-turtle I have a feeling she never stopped (loving you). 
I put new strings on my dulcimer today, and she loves me again.
Here is some more dulcimer good news: https://stonecountyleader.com/stories/dulcimer-reclaimed-after-50plus-years,4160
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
That is a neat story, Ken! Thanks for posting the link!
Great story Kenl. Thanks for sharing it.
What a sweet story, @ken-longfield. It shows how strong the student/teacher bond can be and also how dulcimers bring people together in so many ways.
Nice story, Ken. Nina
This is a delightful story: https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/lifestyle/2021/07/18/student-teacher-reunite-over-dulcimer-built-woodworking-class/7970945002/ I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Cool, Dusty!
I put new strings on the Guild 6-string last night, all in preparation for today's Pick - N - Jam, an annual party in which people pick wild berries (mostly blackberries this time of year) and then gather at an old farmhouse to make jam. While the jam is cooking, we take out our instruments and pick and jam some more. I'll be bringing my dulcimer and my guitar. This event was canceled last summer, but this year anyone vaccinated was invited to come. So grab your dulcimer and your copy of Rise Up Singing and come on down!
I just watched the video (with this article) featuring a young musician out of N. Ireland and enjoyed seeing her very much.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-57510337
@susie I'm glad Nightbirde touched your heart-- she touched my heart, too.
Wow, that touched my heart. ❤️
I saw this America's Got Talent video this morning and found it very moving. The young woman in it is originally from the county just north of where I live. Also, I saw a young real-life friend of mine post that he & she have been lifelong friends.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta on how music is good for your brain.
Did you hear about the poor guy from Avenue J? He has to go 6 blocks to P. 
That Nora Brown video was so neat to watch!
Did you hear about the poor guy from Avenue J? He has to go 6 blocks to P.
That's cool, Lisa! I'm from Avenue J.
Hey Steven- I was born on Flatbush x Sterling Place ! 
Thanks, Dusty! She's a Crown Heights girl, and I was a Flatbush boy.....and that's where any resemblance to each other, in regard to musical talent, ends! She's fantastic!
Thanks for sharing the video of Nora Brown, Dusty. Very encouraging.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I know just how you feel Dulcinina. I visited a dear old friend too recently and our vaccines made it possible. It was such good medicine, in more ways than one!
Thanks for posting this, Dusty. Restores my faith as well. A great way to start off my day. I sent it to a couple other friends.
Today I am meeting up with a dulcimer friend whom I've not seen in over a year. She lives about 50 miles from me and we used to play together once a month at her home. So we're both vaccinated and eager to play together again. Yay. Nina (aka) Dulcinina
I just watched this video of Nora Brown on the banjo . She is only 15. Born in Brooklyn. I think there is hope for the world after all.
My husband was out mowing the lawn with a push mower (gas engine) while it was snowing. Definitely a sign of spring. He said the grass was growing so fast he could barely keep up between snows (we got about an inch of accumulation, so it wasn't just "snow-globe snow").
Do you have a machine that tunes your dulcimers, too?
Not yet, but someday someone will invent one. I've been tempted to try one of the automatic guitar tuners, but it would just be something else to clutter the accessory pocket in my guitar case.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Wow. Electric, robot mowers? You all make me feel like dinosaur. I still push around a gas mower. I am self-propelled, but the mower is not.
Do you have a machine that tunes your dulcimers, too?
My self-propelled mower lasts a little over an hour on a fully charged battery. Mine is a Kobalt from Lowe's. My robotic mover also lasts around an hour on a full charge. It docks itself when it needs to be recharged. It is a Husqvarna. I saw these in action when I attended the A.S.I.A. Symposium in East Stroudsburg, PA in 2018. I was impressed by how they worked. My wife wanted me to get someone to cut the lawn. The robot was a compromise. It cuts the largest part of the year and I use the walk behind, self-propelled mower to do parts of the yard that the robot is not programmed to do. These are areas out near the street and outside of fenced in year and along the fence as the robot does not cut all the way to fence.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Ken, we have a 1acre lawn. Will the battery powered self propelled mower last that long?
What is the company name?
Thank you!
Don
@ken-longfield Our new mower is battery-powered-- neither gas nor oil needed for an engine. We have a string trimmer coming today from the same company from which we got the mower. Our new mower is a self-propelled walk-behind mower-- we don't own a riding mower-- and we don't have a string trimmer yet. :)
Robin, I am guessing that you are talking about a plug-in mower with an extension cord. My sister and her former husband used one for many years. My sister still does.
Last year I switched over to battery powered lawn mower, string trimmer, and hedge trimmer. Most of my lawn is done by a robot, but I need the mower for places the robot doesn't reach. No more messing with gas and oil.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
We just got an electric mower. Mark had a chance to try it out before the cold snap hit and I look forward to getting to use it. Very lightweight and very quiet-- big pluses!
My husband was mowing the lawn when the snow started falling, but he wanted to finish, so he just kept going. We got about an inch here in Lexington, KY.
Really cold here in NY too. It was snowing pretty heavily for like 45 minutes, and freezing wind. But the ground was warm, so the snow melted immediately. Weird. Not sure how to dress anymore. !
oops I guess that's not really 'positive'. 
Robin, it has been getting colder all day. Tomorrow is not going to be a day to be outside doing yard work. Maybe I'll be able to get some of dulcimer projects worked on. You stay warm as well.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Good news, Venni. Welcome back.
@ken-longfield Anything for you, my friend! :) On a more serious note, very cold temperatures are coming tonight and lots of fruit trees are in bloom now. Time will tell how it goes. Keep warm there in PA!
Venni, so glad you have recovered. COVID is wicked.
Venni, glad to hear the you made it through. Best wishes for continued improvement in your health.
Robin, you can keep the snow in Ohio, thank you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
