= Page 16 - SUSQUEHANNA TIMES Who’s who here? Joel Sater is! Joel Sater, Marietta publisher of the Antiques News, has been selected for inclusion in the newest edition of Who’s Who in America. Sater’s comment to the Susquehanna Times on his selection as one of the most eminent people in the U.S. was: ‘‘l1 don’t know why they picked me...Do you?” He is listed on the new Who’s Who as a free lance writer, journalist, and author. He has written ‘‘Anti- quing with Joel Sater,”’ a column syndicated in 110 newspapers throughout the country. He is the author of innumerable guides to antiques. Sater founded the Anti- ques and Auction News 12 years ago. It has now grown to a circulation of 70,000 issued every other week, and is the major popular antiques publica- tion on the eastern coast. A graduate of the Uni- versity of Iowa, Sater is now completing work on a master’s degree in Ameri- can Studies at Penn State, where he is studying under the direction of Dr. Irwin Richman, who resides in Bainbridge. Sater states he has learned from Richman how to discover coherent relationships between apparently isolated facts, ‘“‘pulling together loose strings.”’ Sater’s master’s thesis is on the subject of the archi- tecture of antique shops, which are always housed in old buildings, originally erected for another pur- pose. For Sater ‘‘antiquing’’ is not just a satisfying form of sentimental nostalgia. He considers the antique busi- ness as making ‘‘a major contemporary ecological contribution.”’ The present use of antique houses and furnishings by an increas- ing number of people constitutes the major re- cycling going on in our economy. ‘‘The antiques industry is the only in- dustry that relies exclusive- ly on existing products,” says Sater. He points out that ‘‘the antiques business is primarily a young people’s business. Seventy-five per cent of the buying and selling of used goods is by people under 40. He also pointed out that the bulk of antique pro- ducts being traded are not very old objects, but date from 1900 into the 1940’s. Art nouveau (from 1890 to 1915) and art deco, also called ‘‘Rockefeller Gothic’’ (from the 1930’s) are popular, and growing. Sater’s own tastes run to these more recent antiques, of which he is an omnivous collector. It is the kind of people who are interested in anti- ques that make his work satisfying. Regardless of nationality, ‘‘antiquers’’ have much in common all over the world. Recently while shopping in an antique mart on the Left Bank in Paris, Sater asked the price of a small item. The woman tending the stand immediately replied, “‘Dix francs. (Ten frances)” She hestitated, and then added, mais, pour, vous - huit. (but for you-eight.)”’ Gatling gun cuts carbine company to pieces Last Saturday and Sun- day the Lancaster Fencibles hosted a skirmish at the Columbia Fish and Game Sport Farm. About 800 people from five states attended. The Fencibles are to the Civil War what the Donegal Rangers are to the Revolu- tion. Their uniforms and weapons are those of the 79th PA Volunteer Infantry, which fought in many battles of the War Between the States. Activities include carbine target competition, an old- fashioned ball, dress parade, and a duel between a carbine company and a gatling gun. Both the company and the gun had to shoot a piece of wood in half at SO yards. The first to do so won. From the first, the car- bine company didn’t stand a chance, even though they were firing at a 1’’ by 8’ board, while the machine gunners had to demolish an 8’’ square oak barn timber. Owner Will Ellis, firing 1500 .4S cal. bullets per minute, sawed through the post in about 30 seconds, then swung his carriage and quickly cut through the board, at which the carbines were still popping futilely. The crowd applauded this im- pressive display of fire- power. Mr. Ellis afterwards ex- plained the mechanism of his Gatling gun to the Susquehanna Times re- porter. It is a replica of an 1865 model, used at the very end of the Civil War. He built it himself in 181 hours, using old pipes for scrap metal. The gun, which Mr.Ellis describes as ‘‘the kind Custer left at home,’ was once entered in a similar contest with an M-60, the latest U.S. Army heavy machine gun. The Gatling won. “This gun has a hit- ting force of 16 tons per second’, Mr. Ellis inform- ed us. Will Ellis and assistants firing Gatling gun Other weapons from the period were in abundance, including knives, bayonets, muskets, and revolvers. The Fencibles are very careful to maintain histori- cal authenticity in their uniforms as well as their fighting implements. Some even use special cloth, similar to that of 100 years ago, to make the pants and shirts. The uniforms are modeled on those of a soldier of the orginal Fenc- ibles, photographed in 1356 in Penn Square. Ten years ago the Fenc- ibles participated in the re- enactment of the battle of Gettysburg. Three thou- sand other shooters partici- Joel Sater August 4, 1976 as Fencibles skirmish pated in Pickett’s charge along with them. About 35,000 spectators were on hand as well. At that time they con- structed a barn which they burned during the ‘‘battle’’ because a barn had burned during the real Pickett’s charge. Today they are considering building a wooden bridge partway across the Susquehanna River for the purpose of burning during a possible skirmish. The origin of the name “Fencibles’’ is uncertain (perhaps their moniker de- rives from the fact that they practiced offense and defense) but goes back to Revolutionary times. The Fencibles who fought in the Civil War were organized around 1820. Later they served as President Bucha- nan’s honor guard. They were the first unit to leave Lancaster in 1860 to fight. Despite their head start, the Fencibles did little fighting for the first nine months of the war. They guarded bridges in Mary- land. After they were dis- banded, however, many ex- fencibles enlisted with the 79th Infantry and saw com- bat all over the East. There were a number of stands selling weapons and [continued on Page 5]
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers