Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The sun was beaming as visitors were transported into the past Saturday at Huntersville Traditions Days last Saturday.
Visitors had the options of riding in a horse-drawn wagon, a tractor-drawn wagon or walking around the historic town to take in all the activities.
Many familiar faces were seen at Terry and Connie Carr’s home where Terry demonstrated blacksmithing and was joined by fellow crafters who shared their skills in chair caning, weaving and apple cider making.
On the lane to the schoolhouse, old-time music was performed by the Hefner family and Mud Hole Control, as vendors shared their apple wares, such as apple cider vinegar, apple cider and apple butter.
At the schoolhouse, the yard was filled with demonstrators and vendors, sharing their traditional crafts, local history and good food.
The Appalachia Cloggers, with caller Lou Maiuri, led visitors in square dancing as Juanita Fireball and the Continental Drifters provided music. The Viney Mountain Bluegrass Boys also performed at the event.
Among the vendors were several first-timers, who joined in the celebration of historic Appalachian life.
Eric Ewing, of Red Oak, New York, first visited Huntersville in 2012 when he was learning more about his family history and found a connection to the area.
“My ninth great-grandfather was the first European settler here,” he said. “His name was James Ewing. He settled right over there in what’s called the Knapps Valley. That was his land in 1751. Knapps Creek used to be called Ewing’s Creek. It was named after him.”
When Ewing was contacted to participate in the Traditions Days, he was more than ready to return to the home of his ancestors.
“It was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up,” he said.
Ewing says he’s been an artist his whole life and, with his special creation of functional and historically accurate art, he is able to combine his three loves – art, history and the outdoors.
“I do hunting bags, pouches, accoutrements for muzzleloading,” he said. “And I make bags for anybody out of a mix of materials that I source. Some of it is leather I tan myself or friends have tanned. Small batches, no commercial tanning; no commercial products.”
Ewing also repurposes antiques like coverlet linen, harness hardware, horse buckles, buttons and more.
Traveling almost as far as Ewing to take part in the event was Robert Maletsky, who is from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Maletsky is an artist and re-enactor who has studied the history of Pennsylvania Deitsche Hex Signs and Barn Stars, carrying on the ancient tradition of traditional barn paintings.
“In the area where I come from, it was all Pennsylvania German and Swiss immigrants that started building the barns in the area and started decorating them with these hex signs,” he said. “We don’t know why they did it. There are rumors that it was to ward off witches, but that’s all it is. We don’t have any actual evidence that’s why [they painted them].”
Maletsky began his own authentic hex signs and barn stars 10 years ago and has been selling them for two years. He paints them directly onto barns or as panels that can be installed on barns or other buildings.
The signs and stars are similar to the barn quilt squares seen in Appalachia, including here in the county, except they are circular in nature. The signs are intricate and symmetrical. The word hex usually carries a negative connotation, but in the case of the signs, they were seen as protection of the home.
“During the Civil War, you really started seeing them because they could go out and buy a can of paint, and everybody started decorating the barns,” Maletsky said. “We don’t know who did it first, we just know they’re around. We have one that was documented as early as 1818.”
Along with the paintings, Malestky is also a Civil War re-enactor and demonstrates open fire cooking.
At Huntersville, Malestky skewered a rabbit and cooked it over a fire to be used in a Pennsylvania Dutch pot pie he planned to cook on-site.
“Every year we go down with Gettysburg National Park Service and do a weekend there where we do demonstrations,” he said. “Every year I [cook] because it’s something the soldiers would have been able to forage out of the woods and make fresh meat for themselves.
“I did it one year and the National Park Service loved it,” he added. “They’ve asked me to come back three years in a row to do this.”
Also new to Huntersville Traditions, but not the area, was Kevin Pruitt, another re-enactor who was at the Fort Warwick Anniversary celebration in June and was asked to return to the county for this celebration.
Pruitt is from Summer County and specializes in Revolutionary War-era items that soldiers would have had with them while they were in the area.
Among the items in his display were weaponry, clothing, flatware and dishes, and personal items such as a pipe, playing cards and mirror.
Dressed as a Revolutionary soldier, Pruitt said most kids mistake him for a pirate.
“They equate me with Jack Sparrow, but it’s more like George Washington,” he said.
When he describes the items in his display, Pruitt said the kids are always amazed at the source material of some of the items, including what looks like a simple plastic cup.
“This is something that gets them all,” he said. “It’s cow horn. Cow horn was the plastic of its day. You could boil it in oil, mold it and make it into all kinds of things. It’s keratin just like a fingernail. They would even peel it and use it as lenses for lanterns on ships because glass breaks and fire is the worst enemy on a ship.”
Most of the items in his possession are reproduction of the original items, except for a couple things, including his gourd canteen.
“I grew the gourd,” he said.
Also taking place on Saturday was the salt rising bread and cornbread competition which saw a large number of bakers bring out their best loaves for the judges to sample.
First place winners received $100 each which was provided by Pendleton Community Bank. Second place was sponsored by Legacy Insurance, with each winner receiving $75 and third place was sponsored by The Hub and Total Tech, with winners receiving $50 a piece.
The salt rising bread competition is in memory of Joyce Varner and winners were: first place, Angela Hill; second place, Teresa Dunbrack; and third place, Dee Hill.
The cornbread competition is in memory of Hazel Sherbs and attracted 17 entries. Winners were: first place, Tina Barkley; second place, Charlotte Hammons; and third place, Tom Simkins.
History continues to grow as each day passes, but the traditions remain the same and will always be celebrated by the Huntersville Historic Traditions committee that works tirelessly to put together events that connect us to the past.
