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 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 and 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.
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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 Michell. 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]
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