There are two major themes in this issue: the importance of charcoal in the area, and guns in the 19th century Catskills.
Jared Van Wagenen, Jr. tells us of the importance of charcoal to smiths in the 19th century, as well as the dangers to those making charcoal then or now. LaVerne Hubbard picks up from that and relates his experience with Timberlands, a Gilboa company making charcoal and charcoal grills in the 20th century and selling them nationally. Both are fascinating articles giving insights to our local past.
Cordy Rich is a dealer in antique firearms, and presents really interesting histories of some of the guns that had impact locally. He covers the nomenclature of these weapons, the firearms traditionally used on our farms, an ornate masterwork of a local gunsmith, and—get this—a repeating gun that was extremely accurate, absolutely quiet, and with Lewis and Clark about 90 years before John Wayne’s Winchester was made. Oh yeah, it also was made locally. And naturally, Cordy shared pictures of the major guns and technology of the Civil War.
Finally, Kristen Wyckoff will tell of the plans for the Gilboa Museum this summer, and Peter Fox talks of one of America’s Top Geo-Sites.
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