Archie Powers

Archie grew up in the Lansing community of Ashe County, and he learned to make fiddles at a young age from legendary luthier and fiddler, Albert Hash. The two first met when Albert visited Archie’s grandfather to fix an old clock. Archie was fascinated with the way Albert worked, and he watched every movement, imagery that is still clear in Archie’s memory.

Soon Archie was making regular walking trips to Albert’s home to work on making a fiddle. Albert would leave Archie a tool in his mailbox, which Archie picked up and used all day until Albert came home from work. Albert inspected his day’s work, gave him some pointers, and the process repeated until Archie finished his first fiddle. Archie was discouraged with the quality of his first fiddle, but Albert took him to see his second fiddle. Archie saw how well he had done for a first attempt, an event that helped inspire him to continue making fiddles. And he has been making them for over 50 years.

Archie has also made a number of guitars and mandolins, but fiddles are his favorite. He says he makes them for the challenge. “You don’t try to beat anyone else,” Archie says, “you keep trying to beat yourself.” Archie has worked with Audrey Hash Ham, Albert’s daughter, for a number of years, often combining efforts on a single instrument. As Albert did, Archie and Audrey often include extra ornamentation on their instruments, such as birds or people’s faces carved in the peghead instead of a typical scroll, or intricate engravings on the back of the instrument. Today, Archie prefers to make standard scrolls, focusing more on the tone of the instrument.

Archie has helped keep the fiddle making tradition alive with Audrey by helping teach his son, Carl, how to make fiddles. Carl has made about a half dozen fiddles now. Archie has long lost count of how many fiddles he’s made.

Archie Powers
P.O. Box 8
Lansing, NC 28643
336-384-9112