Music to the ears

PLAINS – With a steady hand and a mind full of inspiration, Plains resident John Meckler busies himself with the job of bringing music to his family.

Throughout much of his life, Meckler has transformed a regular piece of wood into a beautifully unique craft – whether it be a plate, a cross or a face.

The intricate details are apparent in his crafts, as Meckler devotes much of his time to the task at hand.

More recently, Meckler has expanded into the world of music, creating dulcimers for his children and grandchildren.

A dulcimer is a folk instrument that originated in the Appalachian mountains. The most common type is a lap harp.

The idea spawned after one of his granddaughters said she played the instrument. After that, it was all over.

Meckler found a book with a diagram of an original dulcimer, pulled out his magnifying glass and got to work.

After being a librarian for 32 years, his inner-librarian is always looking for more books on the topics he works on.

“They’re just fun. I love doing research on stuff that I do. You know, find out the history of it, where it came from and why,” Meckler said.

He dissected the plan and created his first instrument – a process he would fall in love with. He continued to build dulcimers for each of his granddaughters and now every member of the family owns one. Meckler has even taken the time to make a few for friends, however, he only makes them as gifts.

“I’ve never sold any. I’m not interested in that because then it becomes a job,” Meckler said.

Keeping with the spirit of hobbies, the Meckler family comes together to play their instruments. The opportunity provides the grandparents a chance to spend quality time with their grandkids.

“All summer we had dulcimer camp,” Meckler said. “We’d all get together, have dinner with all of the grandkids and we’d play for an hour or so.”

The dulcimer has brought a whole new world to Meckler, one that he enjoys exploring. He continued on to build a hammer dulcimer for another resident of Plains and also built a mandolin.

More recently, Meckler traveled to British Columbia in September to build a teardrop violin. The workshop was an early Christmas/Father’s Day gift from his family.

He learned from a master of the craft and said at this point, there are only nine of the violins in existence.

Since the workshop was only a week long, the extensive plans involved in making a violin were simplified. Meckler explained one violin could easily take a year or two of work in some cases.

“Violin making is quite a science and quite an art,” Meckler explained. “It was a real experience.”

The finished violin is something Meckler is proud of.

“I’m really pleased with the tone of it. I’ve had people in town play it and say it just amazes them,” Meckler said.

He is currently in the works of making another violin, following the same plan from the workshop he attended. For his second work of art, Meckler is diving into a more elaborate design.

As he explained the process of building the violin, Meckler’s eyes lit up. He went into great detail and it was apparent this project meant a lot for him.

The unfinished violin had already been claimed by one of his granddaughters.

Meckler is now acting on a love for music that he has harnessed for his entire life.

“I’ve always been interested in music. I just never had the time to do much with it other than dabble in it,” Meckler said.

His plans continue to expand and Meckler wants to build a ukulele next.

He’s unsure of what other projects he will take on in the future but that is part of the excitement of his hobby.

“It never gets old. You can do so many different things,” Meckler said. “There’s always a challenge.”

That challenge is what keeps Meckler going. It pushes him to create more, bringing musical joy to those around him.