Mt. Pulaski Courthouse hosts Mike Anderson – the Dulcimer Guy at Lincoln Birthday celebration

 

[February 12, 2024] 

On Sunday afternoon Abraham Lincoln’s 215th birthday was celebrated at the Mt. Pulaski Courthouse with a program presented by Mike Anderson and refreshments served afterward including the renown almond flour cake that was a favorite dessert of Abraham Lincoln made by his wife Mary.

This was the second day in a row that Anderson had been a special guest at a Lincoln celebration in Logan County. On Saturday he had visited Postville Courthouse and entertained guests at an open house throughout the afternoon.

On Sunday he visited the second historic courthouse where Lincoln is known to have practiced law before he ran for and was elected as the 16th president of the United States. Though Abraham Lincoln has a history with three courthouses in Logan County, the building in Mt. Pulaski is the only one that is the original building where Lincoln practiced. Courthouse volunteers in Mt. Pulaski enjoy sharing with all visitors that the second-floor courtroom still has its original floor, the floor where Lincoln stood as he represented defendants in a number of cases.

The courthouse also recently dedicated the newest statue of Lincoln in the county. Outside the courthouse is a small parklet where the new statue is located. It depicts attorney Lincoln scratching his head and pondering what to do about a case that is ongoing inside the building. The bronze statue is life size, and situated so that guests may take photos with the famous president.

On Sunday, Anderson was set up in the second-floor courtroom and spent an hour talking about the dulcimer and other early American instruments that where popular during the civil war era.

He began by sharing that the dulcimer is dated back to 1690 in America and was popularized in the upper Appalachian region that was commonly know as the Appalachian Dutch region. He said the dulcimer is the earliest American instrument, though there is evidence that the same instrument perhaps originated in Germany.

He said the dulcimer was a quiet instrument with a nice melodic sound ideal for accompanying singing. He said the people of Appalachia lived in small homes, so they wanted quiet music that would serve as an accompaniment for the many songs they sang as a way of passing their evenings.

Anderson said Lincoln did not play the dulcimer, though he did sing. And often sang to his sons the long and winding song “Go tell Aunt Rhody.” Anderson said the song was very lengthy and was a folklore type song that told the story of aunt Rhody’s goose dying, how it died, who it left behind, and finally that dear aunt Rhody made a mattress from the feathers.

During the civil war, soldiers did not have use for the dulcimer because it was too large, but they did have instruments, the most popular of which was the harmonica, the mouth hard also known as a Jews Harp, and bones.

Anderson said contrary to popular belief the usage of the word “Jews” with the mouth was not meant to be an ethnical slur. The fact is that in larger cities such as New York, the Jewish population was known for their retail skills and savvy in buying and re-selling popular items. The mouth harp was one such item that the New York retailers recognized as a very sellable item. Along the way through history, the mouth harp earned the nickname of Jews harp because the Jewish retailers had done so well selling it.

The bones to which Anderson referred were a popular form of percussion instrument similar to the maraca. Made from real bone, he said most common were the bones of cattle. The bones and Jews Harp could be carried in the pocket and then during times of rest for soldiers they were pulled out and played to boost spirits and distract soldiers for the thoughts of death that could come with the fighting resumed.

Anderson said that Lincoln did play the Jews Harp, and often did so to irritate his friends. During Lincoln’s circuit days there was a group known as the long nine, who were all tall men. They traveled the circuit together, as far east as Danville. For the most part, Lincoln did not ride in a carriage or on a horse, but rather chose to walk. On those long walks, his friends, in their carriages or on their horses, would travel with Lincoln. When the day became dull, the long nine would take to making fun of Lincoln. He was extra tall, had very large feet, and was not graceful in his movements. As his friends would poke fun at his gangly limbs, big feet and awkward movements, Lincoln would pull out his harp and play just to get back at them.

Returning to the topic of the dulcimer, Anderson said that the instrument lost its popularity during the industrial revolution because the world became noisier, and the dulcimer was too quiet to be heard. Louder instruments like the banjo came into popularity because they were louder and could be heard in larger rooms with larger crowds where the dulcimer could not.

He said the instrument remained popular in the Appalachian region because there it was still quite suitable for the family gathered together in their small homes.

He said that the dulcimer made a bit of a comeback with Woody Guthry and Jean Richy. In the 1960s the “hippies and beatniks” took to the instrument and added to its popularity. Anderson said that one well known singer, Cindy Lauper played the dulcimer, and it was included in the mix of her popular song “Girls just wanna have fun.”

Another very well-known song of that era was penned by Joanie Mitchell. The song “Both Sides Now” (I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now.) was written and played with the dulcimer.

Other interesting information Anderson shared, more about himself than the instruments was that he has done special effects for some popular children’s stories including Toy Story and Whinny the Pooh. He said that using his Jews Harp, he was the bounce sound for Tigger in Pooh and had done the slinky sound in Toy Story also with the harp, and the trotting sound of Woody’s horse also in Toy Story.

An elementary school teacher by profession, he taught himself to play the dulcimer before he learned to read music. He has also taught dulcimer to children, and today he teaches workshops to older adults. He shared that he had spent the month of January in Florida where he visited several retirement communities that had dulcimer clubs and led workshops for the club members.

From Jacksonville, Anderson has been active with the state historic sites for the last several years. He has performed at New Salem State Park, comes annually to Logan County for the Railsplitter Festival, this past Christmas was a special guest at the Lincoln Public Library where he portrayed Kris Kringle’s younger brother Hugo, and has been at both Postville and Mt. Pulaski courthouses on various occasions.

Anderson does have a number of Cd’s he has made and they are offered for sale at his appearances as well as on his website: Mike Anderson - Dulcimer Guy.

At the end of the hour, site director Steve Martin thanked everyone for coming, encouraged guests to stay upstairs as long as they wished visiting with Anderson, but to be sure and stop downstairs for Mary Lincoln Cake and other treats before leaving the courthouse.

[Nila Smith]