Local pastor handcrafts America’s oldest folk instrument

There are some individuals who seem to be especially talented; they excel above and beyond the average person. Although most have one thing that they can do best, there are others who seem to have multiple blessings. One of these people is Reverend Jeffery Lambert.

“Pastor Jeff,” as his parishioners affectionately call him, is fairly new to Fleming County. He is pastor of the Flemingsburg First United Methodist Church. He is a jovial man with a “Never met a stranger,” personality.

Pastor Jeff was born in Zelda, Kentucky (Zelda is a small town not far from Louisa in Lawrence County). He has been married to his wife, Sheila, for 47 years. He has two sons, one grandchild and a Yorkie named Buddy.

He is a third-generation wood worker and became interested in the old mountain instrument called the dulcimer. His wife, Sheila, gave him one as a gift in 1999 and as they say, “The rest is history.” Pastor Jeff became so enraptured with the beautiful sound of the historic dulcimer that he knew that he just had to learn to play it. After this accomplishment he decided to put his wood working ability to use and learn to make his own instrument. It wasn’t long until he found a gentleman to mentor him in the art of making his own dulcimer. His mentor was a gentleman from Carter City, in Carter County - his name was John Carl Ramey. Over a period of two years, he learned his craft well. Since that time, he has shipped approximately 1,600 hand-made instruments all over the world.

In addition to making these beautiful works of art, he also gives lessons, teaching anyone who can, “count to seven and strum with a pick.” He is currently teaching the art of playing this beautiful historic instrument at the Fleming County Senior Citizens building every Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. The lessons are free of charge.

Not only does Pastor Jeff handcraft dulcimers, he is accomplished in the art of playing them. He also appears in concert where he plays gospel and folk songs. He will be in concert sometime during the month of April, although the specifics aren’t available at this time. You may follow him at www.dulcimersbyjeff.com.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the dulcimer, allow me to give you a brief history of this authentic American instrument.

The plucked dulcimer has been known by many names: Appalachian dulcimer, lap dulcimer, mountain dulcimer and Kentucky dulcimer. It is a fretted stringed instrument of the zither family, with four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States.

The mountain dulcimer is one of America’s oldest folk instruments. Its rich heritage comes from its development in different areas of the Appalachian Mountains. It is the official instrument of Kentucky.

The word dulcimer means, “Sweet Music.” To hear the tones of this sweet music coming from a cabin nestled between the hills of old Kentucky is more relaxing than anything that a doctor can prescribe. The sound takes you back to another place and another time - a time of simplicity that is all but just a memory, a time of serenity.