31 August 2014

30 Years Ago

I belonged to a club of "historical reenactors" which began as the
Terre d'Osage Courier des Bois ("Land of the Osage Woods-Runners"),but quickly morphed into
a group of early 1800s mountain men/trappers. It seemed no one wanted to mess with the French trappers' clothing & gear.
This hobby, by the way, is what got me started in black powder firearms.
My first was a CVA Mountain Rifle in .45 ... but one is NEVER enough!
Evening entertainment consisted of acoustic instruments
such as the hammer dulcimer and guitars.
We'd gather around a central campfire & sing songs until late into the night.
Many eked out a meager income by selling supplies which otherwise had to be
home-made or mail-order, such as beeswax candles, staghorn buttons, flints,
candle lanterns, and sometimes shirts and moccasins.
I made custom knee-high moccasin boots for a time, and did pretty well at it.
Most of us stayed in tipis, wickiups, or lean-tos.
About half of the club members appear in this photo; I'm the one in the red shirt.
Happily, Star Trek rules didn't apply.
Another shot of my remarkably hairy face, at that same winter camp.

10 comments:

Matt said...

I'm also happy that Star Trek rules didn't apply. ;)

JMD said...

Many years ago I worked with a man that was into the same thing. He would talk your leg off about it and it did sound interesting.

Bet you could still make good money making those moccasins today. Selling them on Ebay or Craigslist. Betcha.

Old NFO said...

Neat bit of personal history, and nice beard!!! :-)

Rev. Paul said...

You & me both, Matt.

JMD, I don't have the patterns any longer, but one never knows.

Thanks, NFO.

Anonymous said...

VERY Cool!

Did most of the trappers speak pidgeon Francois?

Also glad about the Star Trek thing!

gfa

Rev. Paul said...

gfa, a few of them used a bit of patois, but most didn't bother. :)

Cathy said...

That's just so great.
Moccasin Boots! Wow.
And that comment about the 'red' shirt is hilarious :)

Rev. Paul said...

Thanks, Cathy, and glad you liked it. :)

Jenny said...

Oh that looks like fun!!!

Y'all ever take a vacation to the 48, we have a pasture that would make a perfect encampment. :)

Rev. Paul said...

Jenny, I'm sad to report that I got rid of all my gear before we moved up here. I miss it.

And that's a great invitation. :)