Dulcimer maker Jim Good of Roane County received the 2017 Vandalia Award

Roane County's Jim Good, a dulcimer maker with an international reputation, was chosen as the 2017 winner of the state's Vandalia Award. The Vandalia Award is West Virginia's highest folk life award.

CHARLESTON — Jim Good, of Roane County, received the 2017 Vandalia Award during the annual Vandalia Gathering at the State Capitol this year. The Vandalia Award is the highest folk life award that is presented by the state of West Virginia. It celebrates the heritage, spirit and wonder of West Virginians who are dedicated to the preservation, promotion and presentation of folk life traditions.

For over 44 years, Good has been playing and making dulcimers in the hills of the Mountain State. A native of West Virginia, Good's dulcimers have gained an international reputation. His work is a tribute to his creativity, ingenuity and talent.

Handcrafted with his own touch with native West Virginia hardwoods and exotic woods, these instruments produce one of the most unique sounds in the world. And, while exceptional musicians treasure the dulcimers made by Good, there are many young musicians whose first, only and favorite dulcimer have come from Mastertone Dulcimers. He handcrafts each dulcimer with a beautiful arched top and bottom, producing one of the finest and most unique sounds of any dulcimer in the world.

Jim and his wife, Brenda, have been inducted into the Mountain State Art & Craft Fair Hall of Fame for their four decades of work with that event. Their dulcimers have won numerous awards and are cherished by some of the greatest dulcimer players in West Virginia and around the world. They have shared their dulcimers with the public at nearly every Vandalia Gathering since the first one in 1977.

The mountain dulcimer is one of the only musical instruments that emerged from the mountains of Appalachia and one of the few instruments that originated in the United States.

For more information about the Vandalia Gathering and the Vandalia Award, contact Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner for the division, at 304-558-0220.

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