r/smithsonian

The Appalachian Legacy of a Custom George Orthey "Carter Gold" Autoharp (Serial #784)
For anyone who appreciates deep-rooted Appalachian musical heritage, few instruments tell a story quite like this. This custom George Orthey "Carter Gold" Dulci-Harp autoharp (Serial #784) is a true museum-grade piece of mountain music history.
What makes this particular instrument stand out is its unmatched rarity, extraordinary craftsmanship, and direct connection to the legends who shaped traditional Appalachian and country music:
Extreme Rarity (One of Only Three): This instrument is extraordinarily rare. Master luthier George Orthey built only three of these specific mulberry instruments in this configuration, with sister instruments residing in prominent spaces like the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Because Orthey has passed away, an instrument of this finite lineage can never be made again.
Master Luthier Craftsmanship & Original Value: Built using historic mulberry wood personally harvested from the Carter Family orchard in Maces Springs, Virginia, by Joe Carter, Orthey originally valued and priced these unique creations in the $25,000 to $35,000 range due to the extreme scarcity of the materials and the heavy historical significance.
Patsy Stoneman’s Autograph: The instrument bears an autograph from the legendary Patsy Stoneman of the pioneering Stoneman Family. Hailing from the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Stonemans were foundational figures who helped bring traditional Appalachian sounds to the national stage.
The Joe Carter Daugherty Connection: It also features a historical family signature of Joe Carter Daugherty, binding the instrument directly into the roots of country music royalty.
Instruments like this aren't just tools for playing music—they are irreplaceable physical artifacts of Appalachian culture, craftsmanship, and legacy

How failure, curiosity and 800 pounds of butter brought an Iowa State Fair tradition to one of America's most prestigious museums.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/iowa-state-fair/2026/08/04/smithsonian-butter-cow-iowa-state-fair-sarah-pratt/90620127007/

The National Zoo is so amazing. We came to see Linh Mai. She was a spunky little thing! We had a great day drinking cocktails and seeing the coolest animals!

EO 14416 does exactly that. It defines acceptable history as that which is simply "inspiriting" and "unifying" rather than accurate. In the 128-page report that describes the reasons for these signs one of the reasons stated is, "Museum materials repeatedly suggest that Christianity functioned principally as an instrument of conquest, exclusion, or cultural erasure, while the constructive role of Christian belief and Christian institutions in shaping the Nation and its freedoms receives scant, if any, attention." If you want to be coddled about your religion, go to a church. History is saturated with examples of Christian conquests, exclusion, and cultural erasure from the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition to using the Bible for slavery to to the erasure of pagan traditions absorbed into Christmas itself.

If censorship came with a more obvious example, dictionaries would have found it by now. MAGA has been fed a steady diet of grievances thatChristianity is under attack. White people are being discriminated against. LGBTQ people are indoctrinating children. None of these things are real, but MAGA has been convinced; so to them, this is making America great again. People thought dystopia would arrive through technology, surveillance states, algorithmic control, and weaponized AI. No. This is dystopian. A government that claims to be fighting ideological capture has issued an executive order demanding a museum produce ideologically compliant history. The censors are accusing the museum of censorship.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/07/restoring-trust-in-the-smithsonian-institution-e061/