Rex & Kimmie Ward
Scott Mendenhall
Article from the Tooele Newspaper
| Tooele 4th of July Parade | |
| July 4th, 2002 | |
| Click on the Thumbnail to View the Full Size Image | |
|
|
| John McCann | Paula Hansen and Marsha Ward |
|
|
|
Rex & Kimmie Ward |
Scott Mendenhall |
|
Article from the Tooele Newspaper
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Longrifle hunters emulate early American lifestyle
by Jill
Homer
Community News Editor
“On the frontiers, and particularly amongst those who were much in the habit of hunting, and going on scouts and campaigns, the dress of the men was partly Indian and partly that of civilized nations.”
Written history, such as this excerpt taken from “Notes on Settlement and Indian Wars” by Joseph Doddridge, sparked the imaginations of a group of modern hunters who envisioned an era when leather-clad hunters and scouts roamed the American wilderness with rifles and rabbit snares. They didn’t want to leave history to “a bunch of boring dates and places stuffed into a set of dusty volumes to be read and soon forgotten.” They wanted to bring history to life.
In 1982 the American Longrifle Association formed as a national group of people with a common interest in the ‘longrifle hunter’ era of American history, from 1750 until 1815. The organization not only encourages members to research and understand the historical aspects of the era, but to experience the lives of common colonial people through historic reenactment.
In 20 years the organization has grown to nearly every state, including a Utah chapter. Members of the Utah ALRA, known as “Patriots,” participated in Tooele’s Fourth of July parade. Dressed in 18th century regalia, the group displayed early American flintlock rifles, crafts and marksmanship for parade-goers.
“It is the heart of the ALRA to emulate the lives of our forefathers,” reads the national web site. “To do this we clothe ourselves in their fashion, arm ourselves with their flintlock longrifles and some learn and practice the skills and crafts of old.”
The organization focuses on three main aspects of historic reenactment. First, it encourages historic accuracy by requiring clothing, rifle and gear to duplicate those items that used in the American Frontier. Second, it stresses safety and marksmanship with the flintlock rifle, which was the preferred weapon of the pioneers. Third, it promotes self sufficiency by requiring members to develop certain skills of the past and participate in outdoor treks or canoe journeys.
“Although we fit well into the category known as ‘Living Historians,’ we as an organization do more than only demonstrations at public events,” the web site reads. “Together we participate in adventurous treks that help us understand the difficulties of our country’s wilderness.”
Accuracy is everything in the ALRA. Before joining the organization, potential members must research a “character” of the time and emulate their clothing, craft, and lifestyle.
Members represent a diverse group of people and occupations of the colonial period. Some are hunting scouts of the Ohio river valley, settlers in the Carolina’s, militiamen in New England or even sailors from the east coast. Many members are so serious about their research that they have their items custom-made to copy pieces found in museums. Through continued research they create a “bibliography” of historical references that shape their reenacted story.
Once a person achieves membership, they can complete different levels of woodmanship. Just to achieve the first level, a member must build a fire by two methods, sharpen a knife and a tomahawk, cook three authentic meals with correct utensils for this period, demonstrate the proper loading, shooting, and cleaning of a flintlock, cast 25 usable balls over the campfire using historically correct tools, shape their own gun flint, camp overnight using only period equipment, demonstrate knowledge of trap or snare by catching a game animal for food or trade, make a set of moccasins proper to their character’s geographical area and hit a 10-inch round target five times at 50 yards within five minutes.
Terry Pendley, who participated in the Tooele parade, is a “Woodsman.” To achieve this title, the Salt Lake resident spent five days and four nights in a period encampment, made meat with a flintlock, and completed the “Simon’s Gauntlet,” an intensive flintlock rifle shooting event.
The group meets regularly at different parts of the state for target practice. Pendley, Greg Hansen, and Rex Ward recently participated in a “Tooele Valley Scout” in the Stansbury Mountains west of Grantsville. Their objective was “to check out the lay of the land and see if we couldn’t push out any small furry targets while we’re at it.”
The group hiked through the thick juniper wilderness and practiced their shooting on plywood targets.
As a member’s skills develop and their research increases, they can gain additional ranks of honor within the organization. The Utah group meets monthly. To join, potential members must be first be sponsored by existing members.
For more information, visit the organization’s web site at http://www.xmission.com/~davis918
e-mail: jillh@tooeletranscript.com