Bio-Lancaster Farming,
Heritage Days Is Fun Way To Learn About History
MIRIAM WERT
Juniata Co. Correspondent
EAST WATERFORD. Juniata
Co. Dads and granddads spent
a lot of time looking at the count
less old steam engines,
and old tools on display. Kids
spent time learning history, but
they didn’t realize it because what
they saw did not come from a his
tory book. They saw examples of
what used to be.
The sixth annual Tuscarora
(Tus-kah-roar-ah)Valley Heritage
Days were held in East Waterford
from July 21-24. The small town
of East Waterford is bordered on
the one side by the Tuscarora
Mountain and on the other by the
Tuscarora Creek, and the valley
has the same name. They are all
named after the Tuscarora Indian
tribe which was in the area in the
early 1700 s. This year’s theme
was, “Our Indian Heritage,” and
the emphasis was on Indians and
their culture.
One of the first things kids saw
in a tent seeming to be sitting
guard to protect the displays, were
a seated Indian man and woman.
In the other end of that tent was a
popular spot where there was a
long “sand box” type of play area,
but the kids were playing in shell
ed com instead of sand. Toy dump
trucks, tractors and all kinds of
equipment were fumiches for their
use. It was a neat way to play
without getting sand in your hair
and sticking to your body in the
heat. This sounds like a great way
for farmers to make play areas for
their kids, and moms would appre
ciate not having the messiness of
Sand.
Playing in com made sense be
cause the white people never
heard of com until Indians in
America showed them how to
grow it. Indians also showed them
how to fertilize it by placing a
dead fish in the ground with the
grains of com.
In another area of the grounds
were tepees and other tents built
exactly like the Indians had them
more than 300 years ago. A man
and his wife dressed like Indians
were busy showing kids all of the
Indian things on display in and
Mr. and . .. Ron . Jlure of the Conococheague Trade Co., Fayetteville, stand
with children visiting their authentic tepee and other displays at Heritage Days.
I, Saturday, August 13 1994
near the tepee. They took lots of
time to explain how the Indiansn
lived in the tepee and had animal
skins on the ground where they
could lie down or sit. The man
said he first became interested in
Indian history many years ago
when he was in the Boy Scouts
and started to make his collection
at that time.
Kids were invited to go inside
the tepee to see how it was made
and how the Indians lived in it. It
was obvious that Mr. and Mrs.
Ron McClure of Fayetteville en
joyed sharing their knowledge of
Indians to young and old.
Besides learning about Indians,
wouldnt it be fun to know about
what we call a frontiersman? He is
like Davy Crockett whom you
may have seen in a movie or read
about in history.
Max Sheaffer of Harrisburg
was at Heritage Days dressed as a
frontiersman and more than happy
to share about the historyof that
area. He and others who are part of
a special group in the U.S. go all
over to promote the Founding Fa
thers Program covering the time in
our history from 1740-1840. His
favorite subject in school was his
tory, and he loves to be able to
make it come alive. The group to
which he belongs presents semin
ars and displays all over the U.S.
Did you ever hear of the flint
lock rifle? That is the kind where
they had to pour gunpowder into
the gun and, as it exploded when
the trigger was pulled, a bullet was
shot These were used during the
time of the Davy Crockett Frank
Crawford, whose home is down
the valley from East Waterford,
has made six of these rifles in five
years and goes to shoots. His rifles
were on display at the same tent
where frontiersman Max Sheaffer
had his display.
Besides all of the Indian and
frontiersmen displays and all kids
of large tractors, the kids enjoyed
watching the very small gasoline
engines that woe displayed in ac
tion. Many of those went back to
the time of the kids’ grandparents
and great-greatparents.
All ages enjoyed the parade
around the grounds each day as
At Heritage Days the children sit on a deerskin rug Inside the authentic tepee as
Mrs. Ron McClure of F Seville e; Plains how the Indians lived on one like this.
In > on-grou jlly parade at Heritage Days, this horse-drawn John. e wa
gon holds happy children and frontiersman Max Sheaffer of near Harrisburg.
many types of old restored tractors
were driven by proud owners for
all to see. Kids were involved in
driving tractors also as they steer-* tractor pull for kids, with weights
ed while on the tractors with dads added to make it harder for them
or paps. Also there was a pedal to pull.
At Heritage Days, Frank Crawford of RR 1, Port Royal,
displays the six fllntrock rifles that he has made In the past
five years. With him is frontiersman Max Sheaffer of near
Harrisburg, and also Crawford’s nephew, Evan Saylor, of
RR 1, Port Royal.