|
|
I met Walter Martin in the fall of 1968 when I got a temporary job teaching
high school math at Claysburgh-Kimmel High School in Claysburgh, PA. Walt was
teaching shop at the time. We shared a prep period in the teacher's room and
came to enjoy each other's conversation. Walt admitted that he wasn't very
musical but asked me if I could play "Danny Boy" on the guitar. I worked it out
and he seemed pleased with it. When I started visiting at his home and got to
know his family (wife Helen, daughter Liz and her children) we shared some music
and records. One night I brought my Jean Ritchie dulcimer to show him. Walt
thought that a dulcimer would make an interesting woodworking project. We
laid out brown paper and traced and measured the dulcimer. Walt then produced
what would become the first of 1000 dulcimers. (You may read other versions of
the origins of Walt's Sunhearth brand of dulcimers but this is the real story.)
The first few years were devoted to research and development and Walt and I
spent many hours discussing acoustics and design parameters of the dulcimers.
I started bringing my Penn State Folklore Society friends to Walt's to make music. One night when we had held forth for hours on end, he asked us how long we could sing and play without repeating a song. In our alcohol-impaired state we replied "at least 12 hours" not knowing if we really could or not. We made a bet for a keg of beer and set a date. Walt bought the keg, Helen made a wonderful dinner and the music began. Walt's niece wrote down the titles (to prevent cheating) and we did, indeed, play and sing for 12 hours. I think we went through at least 200 tunes and songs. The next year we dropped the bet and the time parameter and kept going until we had exceeded our previous total. Those gatherings continued for several years and after Walt began the Sunhearth business they evolved into July 4th folk festivals with dozens of dulcimer players, fiddlers, banjo and guitar players and even a bagpiper. Walt continued to make dulcimers until 1991 when he reached age 80 and dulcimer #1000. My last business transaction with Walt was to buy #900 which he made with all the premium features that he had developed ("in case I don't make it to 1000"). He sold the business to Dwain Wilder of Bear Meadow Folk Instruments. I continued to visit Walt and Helen whenever I was in Altoona until 1999, the year that he died. |
Return to the Introduction or Preface page.