The Lost Sound of a Mountain Dulcimer - The Original Georgia Traveler WSB-TV [The Vanishing South]

Edd Presnell knows the lost sound of a mountain dulcimer. He made his first one in 1936 and by the time we met him, he estimated that he'd made close to 1200. What makes his instruments different is that he planes down parts of the wood to "true" the sound. That's the sound that's been lost in most modern dulcimers. It gives his instruments a unique, haunting tone. Everyone around Banner Elk, NC knows him and his work. He received nation recognition in 1974 when he was presented the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award for his dulcimers.

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The day we visited, Edd worked and his wife Nettie played for us. It was a concert of dulcimer music classics:
Wildwood Flower
Whiskey Before Breakfast
I’ll Fly Away
Flop-Eared Mule
Old Joe Clark
Soldier’s Joy
Lonesome Road
The lost sound of a mountain dulcimer is part of the vanishing south I'll miss.

The Traveler series with Andy Johnston was an Emmy award winning program that showcased amazing people, unusual things, local legends, food finds, outdoor activities, folk art, and family fun. In 2022 the Walter J. Brown Media Archives at the University of Georgia founded The Original Georgia Traveler -- Andy Johnston Collection to preserve and maintain the stories.This story aired on WSB-TV Channel 2 Action News in 1978.

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