[Wayne [Hardin] County Dulcimer #1]
Title
Description
The current owner purchased this instrument from one Ocie Burns in Waynesboro in 1988. Her grandmother, Sara Josephine Ford Pulley, had had it, and it was probably made by her father, John Ford, who was living in Hardin County at the time. It was probably made between 1880 and 1900.
Some of the Ford family went to Missouri and may have taken this instrument with them before returning to Wayne County years later.
Ocie Burns remembers her grandmother playing the instrument, as well as playing it herself in the 1930s, old hymns such as "Red Wing" and "Golden Slippers." She reports positioning it on her lap, and using cane as a noter.
The intriguing carvings on the instrument may reflect a folk tradition. At least one symbol has been associated with fertility.