It was an intense experience with lots of mouth breathing and some really bold outfit combinations, but we had a good time. Our three favorite things were all talented olde dudes. We didn't get a picture of the bebearded gentleman demonstrating the use of such tools as a fro, a draw knife, spoke shavers, spoke pointers, and a shaving horse to make spokes and axe handles. From him, in addition to learning the relevant skill of making wooden spokes for our covered wagon, we also learned that people used to say things like toward (pronounced two-ward) and froward, hence the fro, and to and fro. Additionally, he told us of the origins of "sleep tight" when he demonstrated the use of a bed key for tightening the ropes on a traditional rope bed... sleeping loose meant your butt was on the floor, hence, "sleep tight". He was predictably eccentric, and was rocking a hat to match both his beard and his personality. Imagine a stove pipe hat make of woven reed and you won't be far off.
Speaking of hats, the second guy we loved but didn't photograph told us EVERYTHING about how he made is striking wooden cowboy hat. The wood was shaved down to maybe 1/6th or 1/8th of an inch! You could see light shining through it when it was held in the air. Truly incredible. His veracity was unarguable when he admitted to spending too much time alone in his basement shop. He'd obviously come to the fair to get his gab on!
Lastly, and our favorite, we found a venerable man hunched over an improbable looking machine, making brooms from branches and broom corn. Pictures of his machine are below... I don't like to point my camera at strangers... feels odd and voyeurish. In this case I apologize, all the men deserved to be remembered and seen.
While we watched Walt Thomas turned the gears on the machine pictured here, spun the broom on it's branchy axis and wove the ends of the broom corn to fasten it on in the traditional style. Sarah commented on the machine and he just shrugged and nodded to the right. "There's an old one over there." His daughter in-law told us that he'd made his machine by hand after seeing another one in action.
We couldn't leave without buying one of these great brooms... besides a stomachache (see below), this was our only souvenir. Walt's wife, Clara Rose, was selling hand woven mats and wall hangings. We're planning on going to their fall sale in November... mostly just to see them again.
Happy mouth, angry stomach. Thanks dinosaur BBQ pulled pork and Chicken Spiedie sandwich!
Our new broom!
Carrots from our garden! Happy homesteader! We're currently making a batch of spaghetti sauce to can for the fall as well! I'm so happy. Also slacking a bit, too, so I'm gonna go get back to work. Sorry about the shoddy picture quality. It's from my phone.
Speaking of hats, the second guy we loved but didn't photograph told us EVERYTHING about how he made is striking wooden cowboy hat. The wood was shaved down to maybe 1/6th or 1/8th of an inch! You could see light shining through it when it was held in the air. Truly incredible. His veracity was unarguable when he admitted to spending too much time alone in his basement shop. He'd obviously come to the fair to get his gab on!
Lastly, and our favorite, we found a venerable man hunched over an improbable looking machine, making brooms from branches and broom corn. Pictures of his machine are below... I don't like to point my camera at strangers... feels odd and voyeurish. In this case I apologize, all the men deserved to be remembered and seen.
