Audrey Hash Dulcimer

Around 1985, I bought my second dulcimer when I attended the Ferrum Folklife Festival in Ferrum, Virginia. I fell in love with a beautiful wormy chestnut dulcimer. The fact that it was made of chestnut made it even more special to me since I had grown up hearing many stories from my grandpa about the grand chestnut trees that were killed by the blight.

 

Audrey Hash--Ferrum Folklife Festival--circa 1985

The builder of the dulcimer that I purchased was Audrey Hash Ham. She was born in 1949 in Ashe County, North Carolina to Albert Lee Hash and Ethel Spencer Hash. Audrey learned to make instruments from her father, Albert Hash, a renown fiddle maker. She made her first dulcimer around 1966 and continued making them for years. She went on to make fiddles as well. Audrey died on August 2, 2013 at her home in Ashe County. 

 

The Hash dulcimer that I purchased does not have a number or year in it. The tag inside says: "Handmade by Audrey Hash Miller, Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363. I purchased it around 1985 and it was new.

 

You can view an interview with Audrey and hear her singing here and here.

Monroe Burrage Dulcimer

Back in the early 2000s, I purchased this dulcimer at a little gift shop, “The Wormy Chestnut” located just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Floyd, Virginia. At that time, I already owned two other dulcimer since the 1980s, but I did not play very often. This new instrument had a very sweet sound and it revived my love of dulcimer playing. I realized that it was a superior instrument when compared with the other two that I owned.

The craftsmanship is gorgeous and the sound is wonderful. It is one of my favorite dulcimers. 

The label inside the dulcimer shows that it was built by “Monroe Burrage, 2631 Harvard Ave., Durham, NC 27703 on May 18, 1999.” It is instrument #186.

Is anyone familiar with this builder? I would love to learn more about him and see other instruments that he built.

New Dulcimer and a Renewed Interest 

For Christmas in 2022, my husband surprised me with a dulcimer built by Jack Ferguson. This beauty is made of cherry. 

I have know Jack for many years and together we formed the Roanoke Valley Dulcimers group around 2014. Life and work got in the way of my dulcimer playing and I basically quit playing for years. That new dulcimer ignited my interest again. Since December 2022, I have been playing on a regular basis, both with the Roanoke Valley Dulcimers and the Blue Ridge Dulcimer Ensemble. Fairly recently, I was asked to join the Star City Dulcimer Quartet when one of their members moved to another state. 

My next post will hopefully answer the questions "How many dulcimers DO I actually own?" I truly do not know. So, I intend to have photos and descriptions of the dulcimers coming soon!