Created by writer and historian Robin Van Auken of The Omnibus, Hands On Heritage also seeks to inspire, educate and entertain people of all ages, enabling youth to work with parents or other adults to discover their own family’s history, as well as the community’s.

A free eBook, “My History Is America’s History: 15 Things You Can Do to Save America’s Stories,” can be downloaded to help you start your journey. This guidebook published by the National Endowment for the Humanities helps families and individuals to explore family history and discover how our own family stories connect to the history of our nation.

Follow this link to download it now >> (NOTE: Large File)

When she heard how the women of Bolivia used drop spindles as they were fetching wood and water for their families, McCracken asked for a basket filled with wool and a drop spindle for Christmas in 1989. She took lessons, bought her first spinning wheel shortly thereafter and then moved on to weaving, and followed with her first loom purchase.

Owner of a farm, she raises various types of goats, sheep and other animals that provide the raw materials for her work, paying particular attention to animals that produce long, strong wool fibers. She uses her interest in historic textiles and love of children’s literature to demonstrate and instruct at Bradford County ’s home textile museum, at Muncy Historical Society’s educational events, at Lycoming County ’s Day Camp and at the Warrior Run-Fort Freeland Heritage Days Festival.

All are hand thrown and most are made of high-fire stoneware, which she fires in an electric kiln multiple times until she gets the effects that are unique to her wares. She has shown her work at many Pennsylvania and New York state gift shops and galleries. She has been juried for many major arts festivals in Pennsylvania and New York.

To learn more about Barbara’s pottery and to schedule lessons, contact her through her website: www.EmeraldFallsPottery.com.

To download Barbara’s Pottery Review, click here Emerald Falls Pottery Review

Primitive Pit-Fired Vessels

Earth, wind and fire create the wondrous look and feel of pit-fired vessels. Each vessel goes into the pit in the same manner. After the smoke and fire licks the sides of the vessel weaving its magic hues, it becomes a thrill with every completed pot.

The basic steps are simple, but are complicated by the forces of nature; the humidity, outside temperature and the sun or clouds can affect the overall appearance of each piece. It is desirable to fire one piece at a time, due to the chance of multiple explosions and cracking due to the stress the pot undergoes.

A pit is dug large enough to accommodate the wares and the materials used for the fire. The burnished bisque fired pottery made of stoneware or porcelain is placed on a bed of coals and then surrounded with combustible materials and set on fire. The fire burns inward and with careful attention and constant care the fire burns for four to six hours. The fire is smothered with sawdust. After overnight cooling, the charred vessel is washed and when it dries the pot is polished over and over again to a high satin sheen.

Images from Smoke

When Barbara is creating stoneware, she often will see images in the mottled, dark smudges left behind by smoke during the firing process. As she burnishes the pottery the images become more dominant, similar to shapes in clouds. You may not see the same thing Barbara does, but let’s give it a try. Below are several pots with images that Barbara sees. Can you see them too?

Care for a Pit-Fired Vessel

Gardner lives in Montoursville, PA, and offers seminars and classes, often to school children on field trips to visit his authentic teepee.Gardner specializes in making custom bows, arrows, quivers, antler and bone carvings, and jewelry of horn, wood, stone and silver.Utilizing prehistoric methods, he manufactures drums and musical instruments, makes birch bark baskets other containers, hunts and processes animal hides, knaps flint and manufactures stone tools and weapons.Gardner brings many items of interest to his presentation, which is educational as well as entertaining. To learn more about Gardner’s unique gifts, seminars and classes, contact the artisan by calling 570-368-2489.

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Flintknapping

Knapping is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls, and flushwork decoration. To learn more about Gardner’s unique gifts, seminars and classes, contact the artisan by calling 570-368-2489. According to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, flintknapping or knapping is done in a variety of ways depending on the purpose of the final product. For stone tools and flintlock strikers, chert is worked using a fabricator such as a hammerstone to remove lithic flakes from a nucleus or core of tool stone. Stone tools can then be further refined using wood, bone, and antler tools to perform pressure flaking. For building work a hammer or pick is used to split chert nodules supported on the lap. Often the chert nodule will be split in half to create two cherts with a flat circular face for use in walls constructed of lime. More sophisticated knapping is employed to produce almost perfect cubes which are used as bricks.

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Tools

There are many different methods of shaping stone into useful tools. Early knappers could have used simple hammers made of wood or antler to shape stone tools.

Hard hammer techniques are used to remove large flakes of stone. Early knappers and hobbyists replicating their methods often use cobbles of very hard stone, such as quartzite. This technique can be used by flintknappers to remove broad flakes that can be made into smaller tools. This method of manufacture is believed to have been used to make some of the earliest stone tools ever found, some of which date from over 2 million years ago.

Soft hammer techniques are more precise than hard hammer methods of shaping stone. Soft hammer techniques allow a knapper to shape a stone into many different kinds of cutting, scraping, and projectile tools.

Pressure flaking involves removing narrow flakes along the edge of a stone tool. This technique is often used to do detailed thinning and shaping of a stone tool. Pressure flaking involves putting a large amount of force across a region on the edge of the tool and (hopefully) causing a narrow flake to come off of the stone. Modern hobbyists often use pressure flaking tools with a copper or brass tip, but early knappers could have used antler tines or a pointed wooden punch; traditionalist knappers still use antler tines and copper-tipped tools. The major advantage of using soft metals rather than wood or bone is that the metal punches wear down less and are less likely to break under pressure.

Uses

In cultures that have not adopted metalworking technologies, the production of stone tools by knappers is common, but in modern cultures the making of such tools is the domain of experimental archaeologists and hobbyists. Archaeologists usually undertake the task so that they can better understand how prehistoric stone tools were made.

Knapping is often learned by outdoorsmen for survival tactics. Knapping for the supply of strikers for flintlock firearms was a major industry in flint bearing locations, such as Brandon in Suffolk, England, where knappers made strikers for export to the Congo as late as 1947.

Knapping for building purposes is still a skill that is practised in the flint-bearing regions of southern England, such as Sussex, Suffolk and Norfolk, and in northern France, especially Brittany and Normandy, where there is a resurgence of the craft due to government funding.

(SOURCE: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintknapping)

Van Wagner

Since he was a child, Van Wagner has been singing, strumming, rambling, and picking his way through the hills of Pennsylvania. With more than 100 original songs under his belt, and co-production of nine albums, Van has developed a unique style of musical expression. He has performed several times in Europe as well as all over the United States.

His style is a hybrid of influences from bluegrass to blues. His songs tell the story of growing up in rural America. Coal mining, iron milling, lumbering, religion, and farming all work their way into Wagner’s songs. His hometown of Danville Pennsylvania is often the focus of his songs. Danville’s people, places, and rich history continue to inspire Wagner to write about small town life.

Educational Programs by Van Wagner

Tall Timber
Hard Coal
Iron In Their Veins
What Once Was

Videos by Van Wagner

Music Videos
Pennsylvania History Videos

Songs by Van Wagner

Listen to Songs

Lyrics

A-M | N-Z

Essays and Short Stories

The Worst Water In The World
Not One More Teaspoon
Big Water Big Land (Montour County Fracking)
Hard Coal Navy. Coal Dredging on the Susquehanna
“Fire In The Hole” Black Powder Making in Danville
Expansion (Urban Sprawl Essay for Montour County)
Liberty Iron Furnace
What Once Was
My Time at R&R Coal
We Vote With Our Dollar
Getting Kids Hooked on History
Interview with Cy Kelly
The Jerseytown Coal Mine
The Story of The Montour Log Raft
My Time in the Idaho Timber
The Ore of Montour
Danville Charcoal Making
Buffalo in Pennsylvania by Watershed
Danville Brick-making

Merchandise

Albums and book

Projects (past and Present)

The Hard Coal Boysl
Sour Mash
Monogram Music
Van Wagner Trio
History Alive Boys
Chigliac Feedhorn

News clippings

Links

Photo Album

The Lumber Heritage Region holds a key to the rich heritage of Pennsylvania’s forests–from the struggles of the pioneers to the cut-and-run practices of the early lumber industry to the conservation efforts that led to the managed forests of today.

Pennsylvania’s forests reflect a history of choices — from peaceful coexistence between humans and the forests to the massive harvesting of the forests in the late 1800s.

Pennsylvania’s borders encompass 17 million acres of forestland, almost 4 million acres of which are publicly owned. However, more than 12 million acres are under private ownership.

Which of today’s choices will affect Pennsylvania’s forests tomorrow?

Funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and The Pennsylvania Lumber Heritage Region, Copyright 2007 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania’s forests reflect a history of choices — from peaceful coexistence between humans and the forests to the massive harvesting of the forests in the late 1800s. Pennsylvania’s borders encompass 17 million acres of forestland, almost 4 million acres of which are publicly owned. However, more than 12 million acres are under private ownership. Which of today’s choices will affect Pennsylvania’s forests tomorrow?

THE LUMBER MUSEUM
Pennsylvania’s Lumber Museum preserves the rich legacy of Penn’s Woods and tells the story of these beautiful woodlands.

THE HERITAGE REGION
The Lumber Heritage Region holds a key to the rich heritage of Pennsylvania’s forests–from the struggles of the pioneers to the cut-and-run practices of the early lumber industry to the conservation efforts that led to the managed forests of today.

Funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and The Pennsylvania Lumber Heritage Region, Copyright 2007 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Visit Black Bear Crossing’s website at: http://www.blackbearcrossing.com

Muncy Historical Society

Muncy Historical Society and Museum of History, a not-for-profit, all volunteer organization founded in 1936, focuses on preservation and conservation of the rich history and heritage of Muncy and surrounding communities – its people, businesses, education, arts, traditions and folklore – by sponsoring educational programs and activities, through research and publication of our history, and interpretation of the museum’s collection for the community, including schools, colleges, community groups and professional historians.

The museum and research library are located at 40 N. Main Street, Muncy, Pennsylvania. In 1936 Mrs. Forrest Clapp donated her husband’s family homestead, the Thomas Clapp House, to the town of Muncy for the purpose of housing the Muncy Historical Society & Museum of History. The oldest 2 ½ story section was built in 1812 and features the original fireplace and squirrel-tail beehive oven. The back staircase leads to the second floor bedroom which features pieces of locally-made furniture and the Society’s fraktur collection.

The museum collection includes a WPA-commissioned replica of Fort Muncy and military gallery, Native American artifacts, diverse and impressive artwork, a working barn loom and William Lowmiller’s jacquard attachment and a sampling of his woven coverlets.

The Muncy Heritage Park and Nature Trail is 11 acres of historical and environmentally significant property that is a park and trail to be utilized by all Lycoming County, Pennsylvania residents, as well as tourists and visitors to the Susquehanna River Valley.

The 8-Square School Marm

The Society operates the “Eight Square,” a fully restored one room schoolhouse, built in 1872, on the site of Lycoming County’s first public school. This frame structure replaced the original 8-sided log structure built in 1796. Volunteers conduct one-room living history programs by appointment. The annual Strawberry Festival and Old Fashioned School Social is held at this site in Moreland Township, approximately 3 miles east of Clarkstown, left onto Church Road from Route 442.

Muncy Historical Society’s Pennsylvania Canal Packet Boat is the reconstruction of an authentic 1860s packet/passenger cabin that has become the Society’s traveling educational exhibit. The project received 2004 Honorable Mention Award from PA Federation of Museums & Historical Organizations and 2004 Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History.

Contact Muncy Historical Society, 40 North Main Street, P.O. Box 11, Muncy, PA 17756, (570) 546-5917. On the web at http://www.MuncyHistoricalSociety.org, or e-mail MuncyHistorical@aol.com

Children learn about Public Archaeology

As a historical archaeologist, Robin Van Auken specializes in promoting history, archaeology and preservation. She works with museums and non-profit organizations, colleges and universities, public and private schools, and avocational archaeology groups.  Services she offers include:

• Field trips
• Field schools
• Historical research, oral histories
• Ethnographic research and interviews
• Interpretive exhibit, video development
• National Register assessments, nominations
• Testing, data recovery programs

Robin also is an instructor at Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA, teaching archaeology methods and theory, which includes a field school. Contact Robin through her website at: http://www.RobinVanAuken.com.