Mabee Farm provides engaging educational event
While some people might go to the movies, play video games, post pictures on Facebook or go on a road trip during a normal weekend, this wasn’t always the case. In the past, a Saturday afternoon might be spent making a canoe or flint napping, and recently some adults and children participated in the same sort of activities to learn and experience early technology.
Mabee Farm Historic Site held Early Technologies Day, co-sponsored by the Native American Institute of the Hudson River Valley, on Saturday, Aug. 7, and provided activities and demonstrations to help people learn about the past with a hands-on approach.
When first walking onto the farm, participants could see Richele Ford in the distance holding one of her birds for the Birds of Prey demonstration. Ford, from Ford’s Falconry, often rescues these birds to help them heal or just continue to survive.
One owl, named Whodini, was hit by a car and lost a wing. He acquired his name after escaping from his leg harness on the first night in Ford’s house. The owl went over to the water bowl of Ford’s dog, took a few sips, and then flew back to his perch.
`[Whodini] is a grumpy old man, and he doesn’t like to be handled much,` said Ford. `He is hissing at me ` that’s a sign of displeasure ` it doesn’t mean I love you. He’ll also take his beak and click it, and that is an early warning sign and birds will do that toward other birds to stay away.`
Unlike owls, which hunt mostly using sound, people had to make tools and weapons. One common early weapon was the crossbow, which has seen some high-tech upgrades in recent years, although the core elements are still present.
Tom Ranney of Hartford said he started to make bows in 1985 and it took him seven years from his first attempt until he actually killed a deer with one. The process involved doing some research and a lot of trial and error. Not only does Ranney make his bows, but he also makes his own arrows.
`I used to do a lot of hunting with traditional archery equipment, but I was in the tree service business and I was handling lots of wood that would be perfect to try and make a bow out of it,` said Ranney. `Over the course of seven years I learned a lot about many aspects of it.`
Ranney said it takes six to eight hours to make the bow, around five hours to make an arrow and he uses synthetic string since it would take 11 hours to make one from natural materials.
Capturing a true hunting experience with a decent amount of difficulty is what Ranney really enjoys, but sometimes he’ll still use one of his rifles. He also recently started long range rifle shooting since he has mastered one end of the spectrum and wants to master the other end.
`I prefer to hunt in a challenging way,` said Ranney. `I have the option, I have land in a remote area, I could literally take all the deer I wanted from my bedroom window with a rifle, and I have the rifles to do it. It’s too easy to take a deer with modern weapons, but I still do it from time to time just to make sure we have enough venison because my wife loves venison too.`
One method used in hunting is the atl-atl, which is a rigid wooden stick with a peg or socket to fit the end of a spear.
Barry Keegan , from Cobleskill, led the atl-atl throwing activity on the farm. He said the tool was used at least over 12,000 years ago and was used in the early 20th century to harpoon whales off a kayak.
People would come up, around three at a time, and Keegan would explain the technique of holding an atl-atl and then the participants would attempt a throw it at a target.
`Because you are throwing it from the back, it’s the tension in the spear shaft and the wobble that help it fly,` said Keegan. `Believe it or not the wobble gives it accuracy. If there is too much or too little, it affects how you can throw.`
Native American boys mixed work with play while canoe making, and Dave Ogsbury, member of the Mabee Farm and a descendent of the Mabee family, hosted a demonstration of the process.
`It wasn’t adults doing this, it was the pre-pubescent boys,` said Ogsbury. `You ever seen a 12-year-old boy that didn’t like playing with fire?`
First, you would need a large enough log, but Ogsbury had a smaller one for the demonstration. Then, a fire would be spread along most of the canoe’s length. After allowing the canoe to burn for a little while, the fire would be pushed aside in an area to allow for a semi-sharp rock to scrape the char away. Once fresh wood is revealed the fire is moved back over the spot. Further along in the process, to keep the edges of the canoe burning sometimes wet clay would be placed on the sides.
Some other activities and demonstrations during the event involved a blacksmithing, bowl making, and straw hat making. A hands-on flint knapping workshop showed how flints were made and historic boat tours were available for $15.“
