KWL Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 It is with great sadness that I share the news of the death of my friend, Dr. George Orthey. During his lifetime he built over 1,500 dulcimers and 1,500 autoharps. An article about George appeared in Dulcimer Players News, Vol. 13, No. 1, Winter, 1987. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 He made two diatonic autoharps for me since 2004 and they are real treasures and in 2018 I won the competition at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering he started in 1990...quite a character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byll Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Ken: A lifetime, and 3 double-hammer dulcimer bands ago - maybe in the 1990s, my band at that time, performed a concert at a church, pretty far away from our Lancaster County, PA. I remember it was a relatively long trip to get there... I also remember that the concert coordinator mentioned that Dr. George Orthey, of mountain dulcimer, auto-harp, etc. fame, lived in the house we could see from the front of the church. I seem to remember much land surrounding the home, but I could be wrong. It was hoped that George would possibly attend our concert, as he was known to do, but part of me remembers meeting him, and another part says it was an unfulfilled 'wish.' Ah, memories... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWL Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 Byll, that concert was probably at the Presbyterian church George attended. He usually attended the concerts, so you may have met him. He started a series of concerts by folks how owned his autoharps as a way to get people from the Newport area to meet each other. Ken "The dulcimer sings a sweet song." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byll Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Hi, Ken. Yep. I remember now, that is was a Presbyterian church in which we were performing. That was a whole lot of years ago. I do not remember, that we had an autoharp in the group at that time, so the remuneration probably either came from the church itself, or one of its parishioners. Different subject, Ken: What can be done to get more interest shown in this web site? I check it every day, but honestly, I have not personally seen any change for weeks and weeks. I note that often there are posts answered, but then the original poster kind of disappears. Be well, Ken. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoterMan Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 THAT is the million dollar question, Byll! I believe some folks are avoiding it because some anonymous someone bought the original, well-loved and respected name and recycled it. Others are completely happy with FOTMD. The major factor, IMHO, is the uber-popularity of Farcebook and its Group Pages with their "sound byte" mentality rather than in-depth discussions like we used to have. Also FB is in many ways easier to use, or at least a more familiar way communicate for people who struggle with email! Now every dulcimer group (and some with less than a dozen members) can have their own page and aty least a dozen do. Plus there are pages for Chord-Melody folks, Noter & Drone players, Hammered Dulcimers etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byll Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 I retired from Middle School, High School, and University teaching, before FaceBook and its cohorts invaded the on-line universe. I am thankful for that timing... I think your analysis of the situation is cogent, and I also think that other issues are probably involved. I know nothing concerning the politics of 'some anonymous someone' purchasing, and then recycling the original EverythingDulcimer ideas/material. I am simply interested in being able to communicate with like-minded and interested individuals, concerning these marvelous folk instruments. Something is wrong or missing, here, and I cannot figure what it is. I have seen too many instances of an interested person asking an intelligent question, having someone continue the conversation by answering, and never again hearing from the original questioner. They simply exit the scene. I do not find this forum particularly easy to use. And the lack of interested individuals providing new subjects and discussion points has not made me feel interested enough to attempt to learn the ins and outs of the software. Mea Culpa. Anyway, NoterMan, you and I perform on related, but very different instruments. I wish subjects would show up, that brought the two together, rather than having them exist in their own world. I wish the forum success. If you, or others figure out a plan to help move this endeavor forward, please count me interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWL Posted March 19, 2022 Author Share Posted March 19, 2022 Byll, I think as you said that Noterman's "analysis of the situation is cogent." There are other forums for the mountain dulcimer which are quite active. Do you know of any other forums for hammered dulcimer? I know that I am guilty of not checking this site regularly. On another note, pardon the pun, I took in a hammered dulcimer that George built that was purchased at his estate sale. The person who bought it wanted it "looked over" and tuned. It is a 14/13. One of the tuning pins would not hold the tension of the string when brought up to pitch, so I had to fix that. The HD is a design I had never seen. It has no back. There is a piece of wood that folds down from the narrow end that makes a prop for that end of the dulcimer so that if you put it on a table the dulcimer sits at an angle. I also had to adjust one of the bridge supports as the top bowed when brought up to pitch. It is an interesting instrument. Greg Schreiber didn't want to work on it or the 3 mountain dulcimers this person bought so he sent them to me. All four instruments have been quite the project to repair and put back in to playing condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byll Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 Hi, Ken. I personally know of no hammer dulcimer forums that are not connected to social media, such as Facebook. I do not intend to go down that slippery slope. I did note that on this forum, there seem to be more individuals interested in the mountain dulcimer, than in the hammer dulcimer. I have heard of a HD with no back, and may have seen one at a festival or two, back in storied times, but I have never looked one over carefully, and have never heard one played. As the resonant box is a very definite part of an HD's sound signature, I find it hard to imagine an HD that has no back. I also wonder about the volume of the instrument. A 14/13 is a relatively small hammer dulcimer, which makes me wonder even more about the no back issue. How did you fix the tuning pin issue, so that the note in questions would hold pitch? Drill...insert glued dowel...Drill again? I envy you your woodworking abilities, Ken. My interests and capabilities never went in that direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.