Craftsmen demonstrate coopering, once an important cottage craft industry for the farmers and maple producers of Somerset County |
Mountain Craft Days
Held
in Somerset, Pennsylvania, in a beautiful woodland setting the
first weekend after Labor Day, Mountain Craft Days was created to
help visitors relive southwestern Pennsylvania's history and
heritage. The success of this three-day festival has been earned
though the quality and variety of its offerings. Founded in 1970,
its mission is "to promote, preserve and demonstrate, and enhance
public appreciation and enjoyment of the historic crafts heritage
of Somerset County and surrounding areas by presenting a wide
variety of festival experiences for the general public." It seeks
to present the artistic folkways which brought color to the
otherwise lonely existence of early settlers and their descendants,
and allow modern day visitors to observe and participate in living
history.
Featuring more than 125 different period
craftspersons and a dozen outdoor performance sites, all connected
by wood-chip paths and within walking distance of each other,
Mountain Crafts Days offers visitors a medley of demonstrations,
music and food. It builds on the rich crafts tradition in the area
(many of the artisans learned their skills from a previous
generation) and demonstrates its evolution into the talents and
abilities of today's artisans.
Potters throw clay on a foot-powered wheel in the
glen; spinners, dyers and weavers transform wool into fanciful
fabrics; a papermaker mixes funny stories with his mash; and a
cooper displays his skill in combining stave and hoop. Children
demonstrate their contribution to family life with butter-churning
and pie-baking. Shaping stones for a wall, a stone mason works but
a few steps away from artisans hewing great logs into timbers for a
new cabin. There are a maple sugar camp, blacksmiths, and coopers.
Live music is played on period instruments in small,
amphitheater-like settings in the woods without amplification,
allowing visitors to hear the music as it would have sounded
several centuries ago, and participants are garbed in period
dress.
Five museum sites filled with artifacts and exhibits
welcome those who want to study history in more depth. Attention to
detail and historical accuracy also extends to the foods offered to
visitors during Mountain Crafts Days. Eschewing contemporary foods
such as hotdogs and hamburgers, workers serve up cornmeal mush,
buckwheat pancakes, homemade pies, corn on the cob boiled in a big
iron pot over a wood fire, chicken pot pie with noodles made while
visitors watch, and other homemade delicacies made from old family
recipes. Among the artistic crafts demonstrated are tole painting,
stained glass making, hex sign painting, fraktur and scherenshnitt.
Needle crafts include bobbin lace, tatting, smocking, quilting and
rug-hooking.
The 1999 event held a "frontier frolic" at the 1773
Farmstead, featuring flax spinning and weaving, log-hewing, and
open hearth cooking demonstrations. There was also a living history
interpretation of a Civil War era recruiting muster and field
hospital at the 1798 Farmstead. Agriculture was highlighted with
the addition of an extensive outdoor display of historic farm
equipment, and visitors could watch as a team of oxen plowed the
earth.
The festival has distinguished itself with its
discriminating nature: the historical accuracy of the crafts and
trades being interpreted has always been of paramount importance.
Prospective craft demonstrators are asked to submit samples of
their work prior to being asked to participate in the invitation
only event, ensuring the highest possible educational standards.
Only non-profit groups participate as food vendors, ensuring that
the educational nature and unique historic atmosphere of the event
are not overshadowed by commercial considerations. Over 1,000
individuals take part in the planning and implementation of the
three-day event. Sponsored by the Historical and Genealogical
Society of Somerset County and the Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission, Mountain Crafts Day celebrated its 30th
anniversary in 1999 and was attended by 13,800 people that
year.
Project documentation consists of a history/mission
statement of the Somerset Historical Center, an eight-page written
report, fourteen 8 x 10 color photographs with descriptions, a
selection of brochures and guidebooks from past festivals, a map of
1999 Mountain Crafts Days, and a membership application for the
Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County
Originally submitted by: John P. Murtha, Representative (12th District).
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The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.
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