Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
When settlers first came to Pocahontas County, life was hard. What they saw in front of them were steep mountains surrounding valleys with potential; valleys that they could turn into towns and communities.
One of those towns was a little trading post that became known as Huntersville, so named because one of the biggest trades at the time was hunting and trapping. Hunters would sell furs and keep their families fed with the animals they hunted and the fish they caught.
It was an imperative part of life in order to survive and, this year, Huntersville Traditions Days will feature demonstrators who carry on the trades of those men who found a way to thrive here in the 1800s.
Saturday, October 3, Huntersville will be abuzz with demonstrators stationed at the Huntersville School and cafeteria, at the town’s churches and along the roadways.
The new demonstrators will be outside the Huntersville Jail, ready to share their trades and knowledge.
Bartow native, Justin Madron, president and managing director of Farther Afield Design, will demonstrate wild bird hunting with his trusty bird dogs. Madron, now of Chesterfield, Virginia, provides wild bird hunting guide services in West Virginia, Virginia and Michigan with his highly trained dogs when he’s not leading geospatial and mapping projects.
Representing the West Virginia Trappers Association, Steve McCue, of Summersville, will share his wealth of knowledge about trapping animals and the variety of traps used in the trade.
The Trappers Association was formed in 1967 with the goals to unite trappers in the state, to develop leadership in the fur industry, inspire members to hold high ethics concerning trapping, to impart knowledge to young people concerning conservation, to advocate for a research program regarding conservation of native furbearing animals, to eliminate unnecessary cruelty to animals, to discourage unjust and fraudulent trade practices and to cooperate with law enforcement agencies concerning illegal trades.
Taking to the streams, Harrison Idol, of Maryland, will share his fly-fishing skills, as well as the history of the sport, from medieval times to today. Idol is a 10th generation American sportsman, fly fisherman and U.S. Army officer. He has written several articles online about his fly-fishing trips.
