Hands On History at Quaker Knoll Camp May 11-13 and 16-18, 2011

We are now accepting reservations for May 11-13 and 16-18, 2011.

Muzzleloader Magazine Articles

We are very proud that Gerry Barker has been published recently in Muzzleloader Magazine:

- July/August 2008, page 68, "Build Your Own Adventure"
- September/October 2008, page 60, "At the Speed of an Ox"
- March/April 2009, page 63, "Indentured Servitude"

Hands On History dates May 12-14 , 17-19, 2010

We are now accepting reservations for May 12-14 and 17-19, 2010.

Home School Day 2009

Home School Day will be Monday, May 18, 2009 at Quaker Knoll. If you or your home school group is interested in joining us, we are ready to take additional reservations.

Spring 2009 Program - May 13-15, 18-20

Our 2009 program runs May 13-15, 18-20, 2009. We are not planning a fall program but will consider doing one if there is enough interest.

The program takes about 4 hours, running from 9:00 or 9:30 AM until about 2:00 PM, or as your busing schedule permits. Admission is $5.00, with two adults free per 25 students. Home school families and groups are most welcome.

Frontier Resources in the News

On Tuesday we had a visit from Wilmington News Journal reporter Brandon Smith who wrote this article. Unfortunately the photo in his article is mis-labeled. It actually shows Maria Hummel with the oxen.

Spring 2008 at Quaker Knoll - Hands On History

We are looking forward to seeing some of our favorite schools and home school groups again this spring. We still have some room for home school groups on Monday, May 19. We do have another day open should you want to bring your school or home school group on Thursday, May 15.

Spring 2008 Home School Day for Hands On History at Quaker Knoll Campground

We are now scheduling home schoolers for Monday, May 19. If your home schooled family or group is interested in attending our program this spring, we suggest this day. If another day would work better for you, please contact me for availability.

Meet Frontier Resources - Gerry Barker

The Wagoner, Gerry Barker has retired from the Army, taught history and managed museums. He holds a MA in Labor History. He has specialized in Living History, taking part in numerous projects such a building forts and homesteads, wagon trains, military campaigns and reenactments of important events in American history. Gerry has written books and articles on frontier history, military history, living history techniques, mountaineering and survival. His current research is into the lives and work of wagoners in Colonial America.

Meet Frontier Resources - Butch Hauri

Dr. Hauri, the Schoolmaster, was born on a dairy farm in a Swiss/German community in Wisconsin. He started his apprenticeship in commercial beekeeping while still in eighth grade. He was drafted in 1965 and after ten years in the Army returned to beekeeping, becoming a Bee Master in 1975. Dr. Hauri ran a commercial beekeeping company with 1500 hives, on 38 farms in four counties in Wisconsin and Illinois. When health problems forced his retirement from full time beekeeping, he devoted his time to living history and became a “Minister at Large" to the community of historical reactors. He received a Doctor of Divinity in 2002, along with the appointment to Bishop at Large.

Currently he is working on second Doctoral degree focusing on the part that the Protestant reformation had on settling of America from a sociological and economic point of view. And, of course, he is still trying to get people to think.

Meet Frontier Resources - Maria Hummel

Maria was new to the field of living history when she joined us. She brought skill with animals, attention to detail, and a strong determination to “do it right” if she was to do it at all. She has a broad knowledge of textiles and textile equipment, and the work necessary to accomplish a frontier homestead. Capable of writing cogent and engaging school programs, her current offering is Children’s Work on the Frontier.

Itty Bit

Itty Bit, or 'Bit', was named that by the children of one of our Frontier Resources families. She was so small when she was born that when they first saw her she was standing completely under her mother staying out of the rain. She is the most intelligent horse we have ever had and is trained to ride, drive, either single or in a team, or work as a pack horse.

It is almost impossible to stop her. She has amazed us with the loads she can pull. Bit was bred to resemble the Colonial horses, she is short and muscular, with a large head. We say she looks like a whiskey barrel with four legs.

Salt & Pepper - Matched Grays

Salt and Pepper are Arab/Quarterhorse crosses, the pair are nearly perfectly matched and full brothers. They are practically inseparable. Both of the boys will ride or drive. They are good natured animals, not bothered by crowds or traffic.

Notice in this picture that we have a safety person walking in front of the wagon. Need for a safety depends on the venue. That's me driving.

James

James is Charlie’s yoke mate. He is steady and never any trouble. As the farthest animal from the driver, he is perfect for the job; he never seems to make a mistake. When the load gets heavy it is James and George that will take more than their share. James is gentle but more shy than the others.

Charles

The left hand ox nearest the wagon, Charlie is intelligent and hard working, but the class clown. A fence is just a challenge to him. We jokingly say Charles is the Dennis the Menace of the four. He is friendly and loves attention but will agitate when he gets the chance. Charlie likes to play with dogs. He is the largest of our four oxen weighing about 1900 pounds.

William

The off side leader, William is paired with George. He is sweet and gentle but a little air headed. He loves to be petted and is the smallest of the four weighing only 1400 pounds.

George - The Lead Ox

The lead ox, he is the animal at the left front of the team. George is the dominant animal and the most intelligent of the four. The other three oxen look to George to make the decisions. He is gentle and extremely hard working but can be a disciplinarian with the other oxen if they do not behave.

Hands On History - Children's Work

A child's life on the Midwestern frontier was vastly different from that of the students that take part in our programs today. In presenting this difference we try to make each visiting student feel as if they were a part of a frontier family. They are introduced to the loneliness, isolation and quiet of a world immersed in a sea of trees, separated from friends and family, not only by miles but by months.

Using the actual tools of frontier living the students are given a small taste of the work of children at a frontier homestead. The real issue is why settlers were willing to undertake these risks and hardships. The students are introduced to the entity of the frontier family, its unity in the face of difficulty and its role in survival.

Hands On History - One Room School

At our One Room School station you get to experience life in the Ohio schools of the 1800's through the early 1900's. You will sit segregated by gender, learn about harsh discipline, short time to learn and thet it is a privilege, not a right, to go to school. Everyone in the room participates, there is no one excepted. You will also also learn about what was and wasn't taught.

Freight Wagon Project

The living history experiments are the cornerstones of Frontier Resources. We use our living history techniques to learn as well as to teach. Past experiments have included such projects as building homesteads and stations, taking packhorses through the mountains, road building and recreating military campaigns. We have found that the more complete and accurate the experiment, the greater the findings.

From the 4th through the 13th of August 2006, four people and four oxen took part in a living history experiment in Daniel Boone National Forest near Morehead, Kentucky. While there are a number of descriptions of wagons on the roads of eighteenth century America, practically nothing is known of their operation. We do not know the distances traveled, speeds, possible loads, nor the problems and solutions encountered. The purpose of the project was to examine these questions.

The project was strenuous. Some of the trails were no wider than the width of the wagon. Often the wagon had to be unhooked from the oxen and manhandled around a tree or switchback on a trail. Depending on the difficulties encountered, the wagon traveled from four to twelve miles a day. The load was varied from one thousand pounds to a ton to test the capabilities of the wagon and team.

The participants established wagoners' camps next to the trails in locations that would provide water and grazing for the animals. The people slept in the open or under tarps when necessary. The wagoner slept on his load in the wagon twice but found it very cramped and uncomfortable. Sleeping under the wagon never was possible because of the vegetation and terrain.

The foods were limited to those available to travelers in the eighteenth century along the Great Wagon Road. Most meals were based on dried meats, rice and sweet potatoes. Cornmeal was used daily in the form of hoe cakes or Johnny cakes. Beverages were most commonly cider or water, but some experimentation was done with "Liberty Teas" such as coffee, sassafras tea, pine needle tea and sumac tea.

Some of the initial findings of the project were:

• We used every tool taken and did not need any tool we did not have on hand. What wagoners carried was well thought out and well designed for the tasks they were apt to encounter.
  
  
• We found the unwaterproofed linen canvas bonnet shed water better than the waterproofed cotton canvas one. Linen canvas is a superior material for wagon covers.
  
  
• The wagon was well designed for the task.. Some of the conditions were extremely rough, requiring negotiating ditches, steep creek banks, narrow trails, rocks and fallen trees. The wagon held up to all of these without any damage.
  
  
• Four oxen can pull a fully loaded eighteenth century freight wagon without injury efficiently. When turning radius became an issue detaching one yoke (two oxen) and pulling the wagon with a single pair made the wagon more maneuverable and did not exceed the capabilities of the animals. After nine days of steady work, the animals did not lose weight and did not seem appreciably tired.