Yesterday we spent the day exploring the park and fishing in the creek behind our camper. The kids mostly caught pan fish although there were nice size trout there too; they just weren't biting!
The park was full of amazing history. We toured their iron works museum and saw the remains of their furnace. It reminded us of home and the Codorus Furnace. It was amazing to get perspective on the Civil War from somewhere in the South. Growing up so close to Gettysburg, I thought I had a decent understanding of what happened and why. It wasn't until we started learning about those same moments from the other side that we realized how much we really didn't know. I read, for the first time, the document announcing the secession of South Carolina from the Union. I never realized how powerful that was and what it truly meant for our country at the time. I love how much we are all learning from this entire experience.
Yesterday was not just an exciting day, we also had an amazing night. Dave had a wonderful mountain bike ride. He found some awesome single track and he managed to enjoy his own little adventure. When he got back, he took us over to the camper next door to listen to them play some music. It was guitar and fiddle and they sang and played old hymns. One of the gentleman there told us there was a real jam session going on across the campground. We decided to check it out. When we arrived their was a crowd of people playing instruments we had never seen. There was a bass and a few guitars, but the majority of the instruments were something else. We learned that what they were playing was a dulcimer.
It had a beautiful sound like nothing I've ever heard before. We found out that they were all in for a Dulcimer festival the coming weekend. Once gentleman who played guitar, was 93 years old. He brought the music to a close with "Amazing Grace" and "God Bless America". We were all taken by the entire experience. A lovely woman offered to teach the kids how to play if they stopped by in the morning.
So after a good nights sleep, and packing up for the road, I walked the kids over to see about the dulcimer lesson. Bobbie and Robert were amazing. They came out of their camper with an instrument for each of us to play; even me! The dulcimers the kids used Robert made and the one I used was one he restored. Bobbie taught us the basics about the instrument and within a short time we were playing our first song. The kids fell in love with it and as you can see below, we invested in one!
During our drive to Nashville, we did some research and found out from what could be pieced together about the dulcimer that it originated in the mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia around the seventeen or eighteen hundreds. It has been known as an instrument of the Appalachian Mountains.
This was an experience that none of us will forget any time soon. The love for music that my children have is unmeasurable, and to experience American "mountain" music in this way was priceless. I know the seed that Bobbie and Robert planted in them today will grow and flourish. They have created a spark in a new generation and in doing so they passed on a wonderful American tradition. Thank you for giving my kiddos such a precious gift.
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