Friends of the Jackson Public Library Program: The History of Cigar Box Instruments

“The History of Cigar Box Instruments” is coming to the Jackson Public Library at 52 Main Street on Saturday June 3 at 4:00 p.m. Hosted by the Friends of the Jackson Public Library, “The History of Cigar Box Instruments” will be presented by William Janelle. It will cover how the cigar box came about and how it has been used over the past 180 years to make stringed instruments. Janelle will also cover how the cigar box guitar has been modernized and finding a niche in today's music. His talk will also demonstrate the building of a primitive diddley bow.

Janelle is a self-taught sculptor who works primarily in wood. He grew up in Saco, Maine and has been carving for over forty years. As a subtractive sculptor, he takes away from a single block with hand tools, often leaving tool marks behind as a sort of fingerprint. He prefers to work with apple, cherry, butternut, and walnut but often works in marble, soapstone, alabaster, pumpkin, ice, and snow.

The Friends of the Jackson Public Library is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit group of community members interested in helping the library. The Friends support the library by planning, funding, and hosting programs, by supplementing the book budget of the library, and helping to fund technology upgrades, equipment, and furnishings.