This  Dulcimer Made from Cades’ Cove Wormy Chestnut

Has been sold!

  This 130 year old board, used in crafting this one of a kind keepsake Cades Cove Dulcimer,http://www.myerscemeterytownsend.com/MCPAfundraiser.html was donated by the Golman Myers family(Golman was the son of Peter Myers) to be used as a fundraiser for the non profit Myers Cemetery Preservation Association. The dulcimer has its origins in the Smoky Mountains. The Latin word dulci meaning sweet and the Greek word mellos meaning song are apt descriptions for the sweet sound of music coming from this quality instrument.  Mike Clemmer, master craftsman and owner of WOOD-N-STRINGS Dulcimer Shop, fashioned not only a beautiful musical instrument but one that does indeed sustain a sweet song from which the dulcimer derives its name. Hearing Mike play the old familiar hymns such as The Unclouded Day and Amazing Grace not only inspires but takes us back to the time early settlers called these beautiful Coves home. They were a people of great faith and courage. Their music was filled with stories of their struggles and triumphs in carving out a place for their families in the mountains of East Tennessee.

Proceeds from the bidding will be used to maintain and preserve historic Myers Cemetery which is the final resting place of many of the early settlers in Tuckaleechee Cove and nearby Coves.  Bidding will end December 15, 2012. More details regarding the bidding process will be posted on the MCPA website at

www.myerscemeterytownsend.com

For more information on the Cades Cove dulcimer bidding– call (865)368-5900

The winner will be announced on the MCPA website. Please contact MCPA at (865)368-5900 if you need more information on the dulcimer.                            

Peter A. Myers

Circa 1910

More than one hundred and thirty years ago, long before they were destroyed by disease, a beautiful American chestnut tree grew tall and straight in the Cades Cove valley of Eastern Tennessee.  At that time the Smokey Mountains were filled with these beautiful and most useful trees.  They had many applications which included lumber for homes, farm buildings, rail fences as well as fire wood.  Also, the chestnuts that fell to the earth each fall were delicious to eat for humans, wild life, and domesticated animals.  One hundred and thirty years ago this special tree was cut down and sawed into lumber to be used in farm buildings and homes in Cades Cove by Peter Myers and his family.

Later, two of his grandsons, Ted and Wayne Myers, were hauling corn to market from their farm in Cades Cove.  The market was in Maryville, Tennessee and was more than 30 miles away.  Their old truck’s bed was in a bad state of repair and boards were needed to keep the corn from falling to the roadway during the long haul to Maryville.  They selected some wide chestnut boards from the corn crib to help with the repairs.  When the hauling was finished Ted Myers took the beautiful, wide chestnut boards and stored them in one of their barns at the Townsend farm.  Those boards remained in storage there until 2012 when Glenn Myers, Ted’s son, gave one of them to local master craftsman Mike Clemmer to be used in the construction of a very special dulcimer.  The result was a one of a kind dulcimer fashioned from a piece of this one hundred thirty year old chestnut lumber.

Sorry about the add, Video at end!

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