Bonita Gets New Toy
By
Bonita Wilborn
If
you think only kids play with toys, think again. Adults also have toys that they play with;
adult toys are just more expensive.
Recently, I’ve been playing with my new toy and loving it.
You might recall an article in the North Jackson Press in May, just after the South Pittsburg National Cornbread Festival, about a harp maker who was a vendor at the festival. Harp makers, Jim and Jeanne Ruthem, owners of Pathways Studio Harps in Etowah, Tennessee, had a booth where they had some of their handmade harps on display for viewing. They also had demonstrations and even a quick lesson for festival attendees who had a few moments to spend with them and a desire to try out one of their beautiful harps.
Representatives
from North Jackson Press were at the Cornbread Festival and brought back a
pamphlet and a phone number so I could contact them for an interview. So, to refresh your memory a bit, Jim Ruthem
spent a large portion of his life as an electronics engineer. His father-in-law was a luthier (a maker of
stringed instruments) who built violins.
Someone came to him with a set of plans for a 31-string Gothic model
harp and asked him to build them one. So
he built them a harp from this set of plans but had no clue how to tune
it. Since Jim plays multiple
instruments, he told his father-in-law that he felt sure he could figure out
how to tune the harp, which he did by trial and error.
Jim’s
father-in-law gave Jim the harp plans, and with that set of plans and a newly
found desire to begin constructing instruments in addition to playing them, Jim
created Pathways Studio Harps.
When
I called Mr. Ruthem for the interview, I found him to be a very kind spoken man,
and during the interview, I determined that I wanted a harp! I knew I’d need some time to put away enough
money to be able to bring one home with me, so I told Mr. Ruthem that I’d see
him sometime this summer, and I started putting back a little money every
chance I got. It was my “harp fund”.
In
all fairness, I must admit that before talking with Jim Ruthem, I’d never
thought specifically about wanting a harp.
I have been known to say, “I’d like to be able to play every musical
instrument known to man.” on various occasions, but that’s a musicians pipe
dream (an unattainable or fanciful hope or plan),
I suppose.
While
building my “harp fund” to the degree that I could purchase one of the
instruments, I did some research to see how many harpists there are in the
northeast Alabama area because I’ve never heard of any. I was not surprised to find that of those
listed on the internet; there is only one in Gadsden and one in
Huntsville. There might be others in
those areas that play the harp, but no others are listed as someone who would
be available to play at weddings or other events.
Finally,
on Saturday, August 3, I planned a day-trip, with my great-niece, Reagan, to Etowah,
Tennessee, where Jim and Jeanne Ruthem quite literally welcomed us with open
arms. Our visit began with a tour of the
workshop where Reagan and I got to see where the harp making process happens. We saw the 4×8 sheets of specially designed
wood that they cut the pieces of the harps from, the machinery they use to
formulate the various parts of the harps, and the stringing and tuning process. Ruthem showed us a variety of beautiful
instruments that were produced right there in their small backyard workshop.
Reagan
and I were invited into the Ruthem home to sit and play the harp, as well as
play with several cats that were eager for attention. I received basic instructions on how to play
the instrument and allowed to play to my heart’s content. Being new to the instrument, I was admittedly
a little apprehensive about playing in front of someone who is obviously a
professional, so my heart’s desire was really to bring an instrument home with
me so that I could begin perfecting my harp playing craft in the privacy of my
own music room. And that’s exactly what
I did.
I’ve
been playing with my new toy for five days now, and I can actually play I’ll
Fly Away and Amazing Grace and make them recognizable to those who might be
listening.
For more information, or to purchase your own harp, call Pathways Studio at 423-263-9780.
Bonita Gets New Toy
