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Dulcimer making provides sweet therapy for Carl WardBy Rose Hooper |
Carl Ward of Fairview community began making dulcimers to "take his mind off things." Using mainly whiskey cherry and North American black walnut, Ward has built a dulcimer for each of his children as "a way of passing down our mountain heritage."- Herald photo by Rose Hooper |
A tree is alive, but just being alive isn't enough, says Carl Ward.
He should know. After he nearly died in June, doctors suggested he slow down and
stick pretty close to his home on Fairview Road.
That confinement, due to his failing lungs and inoperable prostrate cancer, changed Ward's lifestyle to "just an existence." Deciding that was no way to live, Ward soon discovered a way "to take his mind off things." And it all goes back to the tree of his analogy. For it's part of a tree that's adding life where his is failing. |
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Ward takes wood, specifically whiskey cherry and North American black walnut, and makes dulcimers. "Keeping my hands busy working with the wood adds quality to my life," said Ward, former commander of Jackson County's Civil Air Patrol.
"I grew up on a farm in Wilmot where people worked and remained active until they died. I plan to keep busy making dulcimers for my family so I can leave something behind other than the seat where I sat," said this retired engineer/educator. Back when he was a young lad of 12, his dad bought him a $14 guitar for Christmas. "The biggest Christmas present I ever had," is how Ward remembers it. He also remembers "driving everybody in Wilmot crazy by playing ŚWildwood Flower' over and over." "I'm not a musician," Ward stressed, "I don't know one note. But now if I hear it, I can copy it." He may not admit to being a musician, but he does admit to being a luthier - a maker of stringed musical instruments. A country boy at heart, Ward prefers things simple and a dulcimer is a simple musical instrument, he said. "The appeal a dulcimer holds for me is the same appeal it held for early settlers in these Appalachian mountains. The simpler the instrument, the more it appealed to these people who lived close to the earth. The early mountaineers cared about the earth and appreciated the softness of nature. Dulcimer music reflects that softness - it's a music that's felt more than sung." Dulcimer is believed to be derived from the Greek "dulce" meaning "sweet," and the Latin word "melos" that means "song." Not a big fan of today's music, which he describes as "wailing and caterwauling," Ward prefers mountain ballads, especially "Little Mohee." Each dulcimer has a different sound, kind of like people have different voices, he explained. "The challenge is to make one either bass or soprano," he said of the shallow open trapezoidal sound box. Shape doesn't affect the sound print so much as the size, he said. Larger dulcimers, especially those with deep sides, tend to be louder and more powerful in the bass register. Smaller dulcimers, generally shallower in the side dimension, offer less bass response, but often have a stronger, clearer response in the high-end. By the same token, the placement and shape of the sound holes are not so critical, but the size is, he said. "Carl can't work out in the yard anymore and these dulcimers are good therapy for him," said his wife Jean who's helped him sand "a little." During the stress of World War II this radio operator/navigator kept his hands - and mind - busy by playing the harmonica at night. Now he plays the dulcimer, lulling Jean to sleep. "Years from now, after Carl and I are gone, the grandkids can pick up one of these dulcimers and say, ŚGranddaddy made this,'" his wife said about the dulcimers he's made for the family. "It's my way of passing along our mountain heritage," Ward said, picking up one to play. "Plus, it perks me up because a dulcimer is an instrument of happiness." Remembering school in Wilmot by: Storyteller Carl Ward |
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