More Photos from Roasting Ears of Corn Festival

There were so many good photos from last week's event, I had to add another post...

The Museum served all participants a nice lunch of ham, fried chicken, salad, and, of course, corn...

New "For Sale" page added

I just added a "For Sale" page to the site, so that unit members can add items that might be of interest to our viewers.  I will update the page as items are added or sold, so check back often.

Roasted Ears of Corn

This past weekend, the Frontier Guard took part in the Roasting Ears of Corn Festival at the Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown, PA.  There was a large and enthusiastic crowd, and people seemed to enjoy our display.

 

Our junior members were also busy all day, with large numbers of the public enthralled by their display of colonial toys.

Whispering Pines 2015

This post is not connected directly to the Frontier Guard, but just as last year, my family and I travelled to the Endless Mountains to the Whispering Pines Rendezvous near Wellsboro.  We set up the huge Marquee tent I got two years ago when Eddie decided he no longer wanted to spend four hours setting up and taking down his camp (Enjoy North Carolina, Eddie!).  

It was hot - far warmer than in past years, and much hotter than it needed to be, but of course there's nothing anyone could do about that.  The young ones met and played with friends; I shot a bit, and shot the breeze more; we sold a few trade goods, including a voyageur cap, a wampum horn strap, and a powder horn I made.  

 

One of my favorite activities of the weekend is singing in the evening, and there was plenty of that.  My friends John and Rose were playing and singing great music, and Saturday night we had several guitars playing, as well as violin, mandolin, and harmonica.  I sang Irish songs, traditional tunes, and even a bit of opera, and people were kind enough to tolerate me. While I was probably a bit out of line to take a photo, I wanted to be able to preserve the memory and share it.

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Dixon's Gunmakers' Fair 2015

One of the main events each summer for fans of muzzleloading and of history is the Gunmakers' Fair at Dixon's Muzzleloading shop in Kempton, PA.  Held the last full weekend in July, the fair attracts makers of fine guns, clothing, knives and tomahawks, horns, bags, accessories, and supplies.
My friends Chuck and Lori Beasley, of American Heritage Clothing, were there with a great selection of uniforms and clothing, as well as some firearms to sell.

As usual, prominent gun builders like Allen Martin and Kenneth Gahagan were in attendance. Allen is always a treat to talk with. He offered to buy my rifle back at the price I paid for it ten years ago, saying he could sell it for twice the price today - I declined.  His sons were with him this year, the next generation of gun builders, I hope.  

Eric Von Aschweg had some interesting news: he's going to be working at Colonial Williamsburg in the summers in the Gunmakers' Shop.  He's a nice guy and a skilled maker; he should be a great addition there.

Several former members of the Frontier Guard- Ted, Al, and Bill - were in attendance.  They decided to focus more on civilian impressions, the seventeenth century in particular.  

They've formed a group called the Colonial Living History Alliance. Check them out.

As usual, the displays of arms and accoutrements were impressive.

A Small Knife

I picked up a small paring knife this spring at a garage sale - they were literally giving away knives, and this was among my two or three pickups.  I drilled out the rivets, used a small antler I had found a few years back in the grass, and re-handled the blade to give it a more eighteenth-century appearance.

To give an idea of size, the blade is just under four inches, and the background is a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper.

I like the patina on the blade, so I left it as it is.  Now the next step is a sheath.  Let me know what you think.

Here it is with the sheath - a traditional center-seam.

(Images coming as I reconstruct from Photobucket changing terms of service and hurting users)