Many more folks were there this year. The City Park camp ground was already half full when we got around to setting up camp. It’s a good thing the Guild arranged to reserve a portion of the site.

We had full day of Jew’s Harp celebration. The meals sure were good! At one point during the evening meal Larry Hanks tinked his glass and exclaimed "Three cheers for the chefs!" There wasn’t even a brief hesitance before we all joined him in rousing cheers of approval. The Bay City Arts folks really know how to cook. The family style dining was fun and I met all sorts of folks from the area .

Somehow I got talked into being the MC for the nite. I was nervous! I even had to choke back some tears as I told the crowd how great it was to be part of this wonderful group of people. After a interlude of the musical saw of Alan Delay, I introduced Larry, Bill, & Gordon before Ingrid took over with all the ladies and ran us into the Jam time.

It was another late night for me. But I slept with a smile and a
happy soul.

Larry Hanks	Bill Gohring	Gordon Frazier

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Festival Recap

Band Scramble

Wanted - Webmaster
and WebSpace

from Mark D. Poss

If you are interested please contact Janet Gohring or Mark Poss at the contact information below.

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POST YOUR NOTES

The PLUCK-N-POST needs more contributors! If you have ideas for articles, sketches, or pictures, etc. Please query the  JHG: PLUCK-N-POST The Jew's Harp Guild 69954 Hidden Valley Lane Cove, OR 97824 Or use the JHG Feedback form.

Blue Mooning by Gordon Frazier

"Blue moon" originally referred to something that was impossible, but over the years it has come to mean an especially rare and special moment. The modern definition also has a specific meaning: the occurrence of two full moons in one calendar month. In 2004 the Jew’s harp festival fell on the last weekend of July, and on that weekend there was just such a blue moon. Ingrid suggested we find a good place to view the moon, as she had an idea on how to celebrate the event.

So just after moonrise on Friday night Ingrid, Dan, and I headed for the water. We walked across the highway to the pier, past the parking lot, past the restaurant, and onto a footpath that runs up the center of the narrow jetty. Hardy shrubs loomed over the path on both sides until we reached the very tip of the jetty, where the bushes fell away to reveal a charming view.

To the right, five miles up the coast, were the twinkling lights of the small town of Garibaldi; to the left was the barely-not-yet-full moon rising in a star-strewn sky; in front of us were a scattering of dark pilings jutting out of the silver-black water, each one sporting a gull, cormorant, or other sea bird. All around us the waters of the bay swelled softly, barely seen, barely heard, but powerfully felt.

We soaked it all in. The image of the moon on the water was ever-changing. Because of shifting currents in the bay, there were two, three, or even four wavering silver moons scattered across the water. The birds on the pilings made random comments to each other, and from the marsh across the way frogs croaked out a contrapuntal response.

After listening appreciatively for awhile, we felt compelled to answer in our native language. Each of us had a Jew’s harp on hand, so we began an oddly magical exchange. Boing? Squawk!! Boi-oi-oinggg? Screeee! Twang-a-twanga boing boing? Rrrribbet! Wraack! Ack-Ack-Ackkkk!!!

As we continued to play, the birds became more and more animated. At intervals small groups wheeled over our heads, barely visible against the stars, calling down a chorus of questions…or were they answers? The sky, the water, the very air around us was thick with life. We thrummed rhythmically with each other, the birds, and the frogs, the sounds weaving an intricate tapestry. It swelled, it softened, it soared again, it tiptoed away. And as the final vibrations faded across the water we looked at each other and knew that we had just experienced an especially rare and special moment.

We listened and watched for a bit longer. Then, at Ingrid’s request, I played a languid version of Rogers and Hart’s "Blue Moon" on a baritone Jew’s harp. After that we realized that it was time to do what Ingrid had suggested earlier. "Let’s go moon the moon," she had said. So we did. Was it disrespectful? Not at all. It was the sincerest form of flattery. We did our best to imitate the birds and the frogs that night, and we did the same for the moon. I believe she appreciated the gesture.

Note: The term "blue moon" has its origins in The Treatyse of the Buryall of the Masse, written in 1528. Originally it was an absurd term meaning an impossibility, akin to "when pigs fly," but over the years it has come to mean a rare (but not impossible) event. The origin of the term had nothing to do with the moon’s appearance, but coincidentally there are times when the moon can have a bluish tinge, such as during certain volcanic eruptions. However, it was not till 1932 that "blue moon" was used to describe a real-world event. That year the Maine Farmer’s Almanac defined a blue moon as a season with four full moons instead of the usual three. The current usage began in 1946, when an amateur astronomer published a paper in which he misinterpreted the Alamanac’s definition to mean two full moons in a single calendar month. That error has stayed with us to the present day. (The preceding information comes from A Way With Words editor David Wilton’s excellent website, www.wordorigins.org.)

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Pictorial Archive
The Jew’s Harp Guild Pictorial Archive needs photos of your favorite ‘harps. Send (non-returnable) pics and info to:
The Jew’s Harp Guild Pictorial Archive:

Of the 33 Jew’s harps in my collection, 21 are stamped "MADE IN ENGLAND". The last one in Row 2 is stamped "AUSTRIA". A number of Jew’s harps are stamped with the maker’s name; 1 in Row 2 is "J.R. SMITH", 3 in Row 1 is "SMITH", the last one in Row 3 is "SMITH", the 2 in Row 2 is "RICH USA", and the 8 in Row 2 is "JONES". I’d like to learn more about Jew’s harps from Europe and the U.S. during the 19 and early 20 centuries, and their makers such as J.R. Smith, Smith brothers, Jones, Rich, Tom Bilyeu, Mr. Whitlow, and others. Do you have a membership roster of the Jew’s Harp Guild? I’m trying to locate Brian Mihura. I sold him my first Jew’s harp collection back in 1983. I’m wondering if he still collects Jew’s harps. Contact: B. William Hemy 88123 Windleaf Way Florence, OR 97439

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Summary: Highlights 1998 - 2000 The North American Jew’s Harp Festival is . . . musicians from Australia, Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, and the United States playing traditional, original, improvisational, and uncategorizable music on Jew’s harp, dumbek, bhodran, Clackamore, cigar box fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, random pieces of wood, and more. There’s nothing else like the North American Jew’s Harp Festival.

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