ARTICLES FROM THE PRESS
Article as seen in the Kitsap Sun, August 7, 2011, Page 2A
Article was written by "Allen Hoye"
Simpler time brought to life
Mountain men re-enact days of old.
Tony
Woore, of Yelm, takes aim at an archery target
Jerry Bundy, of Chimacum, pours himself a fresh cup of coffee at his camp site during the Bremerton Brigade Rendezvous at the Poulsbo Sportsman Club
Blacksmith Rusty Young, of Lake Stevens, works on his forge. Between 70 and 100 "mountain men" gathered in Poulsbo this weekend to re-enact living in the primitive conditions of the pioneer world.
POULSBO - Before there were RV's, air conditioners and microwaves, there were mountain men.
Visitors to the Poulsbo Sportsman Club this weekend transported themselves to
a simpler time during an annual re-enactment of the pre-1840's pioneer world hosted by the Bremerton Brigade Mountain Men.
"This started out with a group of guys and some black powder rifles" said Wally Mckendry, this years Booshway, or event leader. " More and more people started coming out and it just grew from there."
This year's rendezvous, which wraps up today, was expected to draw 70 to 100 people. Participants stay in a primitive camp setting, or in RV's - what Doug Kitchens calls "Tin teepees."
Kitchens holds the title of this years Segundo, or second in command. Next year he will take over as the event's Booshway.
Participants dressed in the traditional mountain man attire competed in events involving tomahawks, black powder rifles, pistols and bows and arrows.
"It's a great time for men, women and children" Kitchens said. "The whole thing is to develop skills and have fun through competition.
Conner Basset, 12, has been participating since he was 5. His favorite events are the tomahawk and knife throw.
"One year I threw my hawk and knife and got them stuck together," he said "It was really neat."
Prizes for the kids competition include marshmallow guns, candy and books. Raffle tickets for the hand made replica black powder rifle, along with a tomahawk made from an Indian peace pipe were also up for grabs.
Some of the stations involve shooting mustard packets to win a sandwich or burger from the camp's cook shack. Specialty exhibitions called grub shoots involve shooting a string that drops a grub sack full of food.
Head cook Terry Gadbury prepared buffalo ribs for a potluck Saturday night. He's been involved in events like these for decades.
I love coming out and jawing with everyone" Gadbury said "You gain a lot of lifelong friends over the years."
Another activity included traders row, with blacksmiths, gun traders and blanket traders with an assortment of goods.
Kathy Brewer has been part of traders row for almost 10 years. She makes pioneer-inspired pouches and an assortment of bird-feather products.
"This is basically dressed-up camping with a big family" she said.
The camaraderie keeps the rendezvous - and others like it throughout Western Washington - going. Kitchens said getting children involved is key to the future.
"We have a lot of people with gray hair or no hair" he said. "We need to get the younger guys and gals in our community out here to keep this going."
Article as seen in the Whidbey Marketplace & News, September 8 – September 14, 2011
(Page 4, under Bits & Pieces), [Submitted by Rod R. Mourant, CWSA Public Relations]
Sent to us from Grey Wunderly
And a special thank you to Eric the editor of
“Whidbey Marketplace & News”
for allowing us to reproduce the article on our web site.
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