I was a junior in high school. My friend Jimmy lived around the corner from me, and I spent a lot of time at his house. We were both interested in science, especially radio. It is a miracle I am here today. One of the things we did was get permission from the nice older lady next door who lived in a Victorian home. She allowed us to climb up to her third floor attic, then out a dormer window. Just under the steep eve of the old house, we set big insulated anchors solidly in the heavy old beam holding up the roof. Heavy aluminum clothesline from the hardware store was attached using standard Western Electric twist to anchor the wire to an egg type insulator.
We added the biggest fisherman’s spring type scale we could find, in order to let the wire expand and contract with temperature change. When selecting a scale, it must be at least as strong, or stronger, than the breaking strength of the wire.
We hooked the other end to the pointed roof gable of his house. There was a center wire attached, and we had a 128 meter center fed dipole. One heck of an antenna. At least 40 feet above ground. We did the whole thing without ladders. Just clambering around on some very steep roofs. You can do anything when you are young and indestructible. Jim went on to College at MIT. While an undergrad at MIT, he and his roommate, Larry Roberts were trying to send digital data to a phone in another dorm room. This was 1957-58. The easy way would have been to use Morse, since we had all learned Morse code in our quest for ham radio licenses. That was not good enough for Jim and Larry. One day, Larry had a flash that the only way to send the data was if they bundled it into packages rather than as a constant stream. After a brief discussion, they decided to call their brainchild “packets.”
As they say, the rest is history. You may never have heard of Larry Roberts. This is him.
Jim went on to Northwestern. He became one of the leading dense matter physicists in the world. He developed innovative experiments with high energy accelerators among other things. He has not gotten the publicity his former roommate has. One of the prices to pay when most of one’s body of work is classified.
Jim’s father worked for the Army Corps of Engineers. He worked on all kinds of civil engineering projects. The COE has been instrumental in stabilizing the banks of the Mississippi River, which has saved untold lives and entire towns from flooding.
One night I was over at their house. Jim’s father got out an instrument I had never seen before. It was an autoharp. When he strummed it, making chords and then picking out popular tunes, I was smitten. I wanted one, but it was completely out of my price range for a high school student with very little money.
Since that fateful evening, I have continued to be amazed at the magic of the autoharp. One of the most memorable players was Johnny Cash’s mother-in-law, and a force of nature herself. A member of the original Carter Family who created what we now know as country music. She was part of the “Big Bang of Country Music;” the Bristol Sessions of 1927.
Mother Maybelle Carter made several appearances on a variety show hosted by Johnny and June Carter Cash in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This is one of her best. She invented one of the most copied picking styles in music.
The autoharp is capable of great gentleness and depth of emotion. Harvey Reid plays a gentle hymn he found in a collection of obscure music. When he played it, he was smitten. It is called Sea of Galilee.
I have been working up to this. Bryan Bowers talks about his start with the autoharp. He reminisces with humor and charm. He explains a bit about how one gets more and more music out of this simple and ancient instrument without an amplifier. Just keep adding fingers.
Closing with “The Greatest Autoharp Solo of All Time.” This video is best appreciated if you watch Bryan Bowers explanations and tune, just above.
The group Zammuto teams up with Bryan Bowers to play Battle Hymn of the Republic, arguably, the greatest autoharp solo ever recorded.
They have not been as active recently because band leader Nick Zammuto’s young nephew, Asa, is battling cancer. I hate cancer. It is bad enough in adults, but innocent children don’t deserve this horror. May Asa be cured and his family find peace. Wishing Asa a long and healthy life.
Pull up a chair and sit a spell. The floor is open for tall tales, gossip, latest news from your neck of the woods and any other topics you find interesting. This is an open thread.