Annotation:Hannah at the Springhouse

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HANNAH AT THE SPRINGHOUSE. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, West Virginia. A Dorian/Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The tune was in the repertoire of legendary fiddler Lewis Johnson "Uncle" Jack McElwain [1] (1856-1938) of White Oak, a tributary of Laurel Creek, near the village of Erbacon, Webster County, West Virginia. Local lore, remarks Gerry Milnes (Play of a Fiddle, 1999), gives that Erbacon was named by the habit of the cook at the local hotel, who invariably asked, "Do you want ham 'r bacon? Investigating further, Milnes found that the town was actually named for E.R. Bacon, an official with the B & O railroad. Braxton County, West Virginia, fiddler Melvin Wine (1909-1999) learned the tune from his father, Bob, who had it from his father Nels and Grandfather "Smithy."

Source for notated version: Melvin Wine [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 60.

Recorded sources: Augusta Heritage AHR 021 CD, Melvin Wine – "Hannah at the Springhouse" (Reissue of 1989 Marimac cassette AHS-2). [2]

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [3]
Listen to Melvin Wine: [4] [5]

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