Kalamazoo Living History Show 2020 CANCELLED

From the Kalamazoo Living History Show Website

IMPORTANT SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT

All, On the evening of March 11 the State of Michigan issued community mitigation strategies recommended for the control of the spread of coronavirus. Among those recommendations was that all events, conventions, and meetings over 100 people should be cancelled due to the coronavirus. Here is the official statement about events from the state's website https://www.michigan.gov/Coronavirus

"Cancel or postpone large gatherings, conferences and sporting events (e.g. events with over 100 people)."

In order to comply with these recommendations by the State of Michigan, we are cancelling the show this year. While we wish this wasn’t necessary, the show must comply in order to meet state expectations and to insure our vendors and visitors are safe. We will be in touch with our vendors shortly. We want to thank everyone for their support of the show during the fluidity of this situation

The NMLRA will be working with Kalamazoo Living History Show Staff to promote their exhibitors, vendors, and craftspeople to our online audience. We ask that you consider shopping from these vendors online to help support them during this rough time.

Thank you.

How to stop grave robbers in the 18th century

Happy #flintlockfriday! Here’s a look at a flintlock I’ve never seen before. This is an English “Cemetary gun”, used to keep grave robbers away from your newly deceased relatives during the height of medical “study” in Victorian England.

Mounted on a swivel, this beast of a muzzleloader would be tied to trip wires that, when tripped, swung the muzzle in the direction of the thief and sent a lovely lead gift their way.

An original Augusta County Virginia | Original Flintlock from 1750’s

Longrifle made in Augusta County, Virginia Circa 1750s. This is a quintessential Virginia frontier workhorse rifle, which likely saw more than a century of service. At .62 caliber, it has an extremely large bore for a rifle. It is a rare example of a French and Indian War era rifle, in a conflict and time mostly comprised of smoothbore guns.

This is a very early relief carved longrifle attributed to Augusta County, Virginia School of longrifle gunsmiths. Possibly made by John Hannah, Augusta County Gunsmith or from the Augusta County Gun Factory in Staunton, VA. It is very possible that it was made by John Hannah. John was among the earliest gunsmiths known to have worked in Augusta County, Virginia. Prior to 1739, the Hannah family settled in Augusta County on land southwest of Staunton, Virginia on Colliers Creek (Colliers Creek lies southwest of Lexington, VA in present day Rockbridge County).

They settled on land acquired from Benjamin Borden who had been the recipient of the Borden Land Grant in 1738. In 1754, John Hannah agreed to teach his indentured servant, John Mitchell, the art of a blacksmith and gunsmith. In 1768, John built a mill on Colliers Creek.Based on his inventory of tools recorded after his death in 1782, he was a blacksmith, white-smith, silversmith, and gunsmith. Early southern wooden patchbox longrifles attributed to a Virginia maker are rare.

This longrifle was owned for many years by George Shumway. There is wonderful early carving on the check piece and the longrifle retains a period patchbox lid which may be the original patch box cover. The check side of this longrifle was subjected to heat from a fire in George Shumway’s home. The damage to the wood was minimal and the wood was sucessfully stabilized after the fire.

The lock was converted to flint by Alan Guthchess (Curator at Fort Pitt). Alan commented that this was his favorite “frontier longrifle”. This longrifle was on display at Fort Pitt in their renowned French and Indian War display, “Captured by Indians” in 2015 – 2016, along with the original spike tomahawk I posted yesterday.

Thank you John H Bryan for sharing this rifle

Shadows in the Forest - Prickett's Ft & Mark Baker

School of the Longhunter concludes with Mark A. Baker and some of his discussion

School of the Longhunter concludes with Mark A. Baker and some of his discussion Music by D.Baird copyright 2014 Used by permission of the artist

Announcing the NMLRA Reenactor Directory

We are working to build an up to date directory for Reenactors and Living Historians in the United States. This includes Military Groups, Historic figures, and Demonstrating Craftspeople.

If you'd like to be included in our directory, please fill out the form on our website and we will get you added and promoted!

There is no fee to submit or be promoted, we only want to help events find reenactors and reenactors find events.

Go to the link below to submit the 4 question form and be included in our directory and promtional queue.

https://www.nmlra.org/reenactordirectorysubmit

Traditional Leather Hunting Gear - from "The Leatherman" Traditional Craftsman Spotlight

For our first NMLRA Craftsman spotlight, I’d like to feature “The Leatherman” from the NMLRA Commercial Row vendor space. Gary, of The Leatherman Traditional Leather Products Inc, has been a staple of Commercial row for many years now. If you’ve been to a traditional muzzleloading shoot or living history event, odds are you’ve seen his work quite a bit.

 “Our line of muzzle loading leather Possibles Bags and muzzle loading accessories is our main business and continues to grow with the continued interest in the arts and crafts of the Pennsylvania Long rifle and associated accoutrements of the 17th, 18th and 19th century’s. We have supplied countless hunters, re-enactors and collectors since 1997 with authentic representations of this American and European art form. “

The Leatherman Traditional Leather Products Inc. has been making leather muzzleloading products for the muzzleloading shooting sports since 1997 and in 2007 started developing a line of shotgun leather shooting products.

Source

What happened to the sport of Muzzleloading during WWII? An interview with Joe Barnes and Mark Barnhill

We're back with NMLRA member Joseph Barnes as he shares his memories from the 1940s and how it impacted Muzzleloading. Joe’s first NMLRA event was in 1937 when the shoots were held in Dillsboro, Indiana. Joe returned the following year, 1938, to help organize and then win the first-ever NMLRA junior match with a score of 44 out of 50.

He is the only surviving member from our historic panoramic photograph from the range in 1938. You can hear Joe tell more stories of the early muzzleloading days here.

It was wonderful to get Joe into the Rand House Museum at NMLRA headquarters during the “Pole Cat Porter” Exhibit at the 2019 National Championships. While Joe didn’t know Pole Cat personally, he was able to share some stories he heard at the time and share some first-hand accounts of early muzzleloading in the 1900s.

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This video is the second of two shot in the Pole Cat Porter Exhibit at the 2019 NMLRA National Championships. Catch the first one

The unsung heroes of the Fur Trade | Feast of the Hunter's Moon 2019

We made the trip this past fall to the TCHA "Feast of the Hunter's Moon" living history event at the Fort Ouiatenon site in West Lafayette Indiana.

The Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is a re-creation of the annual fall gathering of the French and Native Americans which took place Fort Ouiatenon, a fur-trading outpost in the mid – 1700s. It is held annually in early autumn on the banks of the Wabash River, four miles southwest of West Lafayette, Indiana.

Thousands of participants re-enact this event creating a feast for your senses. Smell the wood smoke, hear the report of the rifles, savor authentic food and more.

Continuous, free programming is held on five stages. French and Native American music and dance, fife and drum corps performances, military drills and demonstrations, fashion shows, games and contests can be enjoyed at the 50th celebration of this event. Special hands-on activities include the children’s trade blanket, costume try-on, candle-dipping, story telling, bead bracelet making, cross-cut sawing, and tomahawk throwing

We'd like to thank the Tippecanoe County Historical Association for allowing us to film during their event.

Find out more about the TCHA and the work they are doing to preserve history here

How to Load a Muzzleloader

We wanted to bring this illustration out from the Muzzle Blasts Magazine archives. Commissioned in 2015, we’d like to thank Larry Small for illustrating this great diagram.

How to load a Muzzleloader

1. Make sure the bore is dry by using a ramrod with a cleaning jig and a clean, dry patch.

2. With the hammer down for safety, clean the frozen, pan, and flint (watch out for the sharp edges of the flint). Be sure the flash hole is clear of obstruction by inserting a vent pick, paper clip, or pipe cleaner. Load a flintlock with the frizzen and hammer all the way forward.

   1. For a percussion firearm, inspec the nipple for obstruction by using a nipple pick or paper clip. With an unloaded firearm, snap a cap or two. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.

3. Pour the powder from a powder horn or flash into a measure. For safety, never pour powder directly into the bore from a horn or flask.

4. Pour the measured powder charge down the bore. Avoid placing your hands or face directly over the muzzle.

5. Center a lubricated or moistened patch over the bore and place the lead ball onto the patch.

6. With the short end of a short starter, set the patched ball into the bore. Use the Pam of your hand to press the ball into the muzzle.

7. Push the ball deeper with the long end of the short starter by using the palm of your hand.

8. Firmly seat the load against the powder charge by using short strokes with your ramrod. NEVER fire a muzzleloader if the ball is not firmly seated on the powder charge.

9. Use a pencil to make a reference mark on your ramrod when the lead ball is correctly loaded.

10. Remove the ramrod and store it under the barrel.

11. For a flintlock, fill the pan 1/4 to 1/3 full of priming powder, place the hammer into the half- cock position, and close the frizzen. When ready to shoot, bring the hammer into full cock position.

    1. For a percussion muzzleloader, bring the hammer into the half-cock position and place a cap firmly onto the nipple. When ready to shoot, place the hammer at full cock.

12. Be certain of your target and what lies beyond. Aim and fire.

13. Run a damp cleaning patch down the bore and begin the process again, no need to repeat step #9