(Submitted by Seven Eagles)
Frontier Ohio will come life June 23-28 at Seven Eagles Historical Education Center, Grand Rapids, when re-enactors from Ohio and neighboring states converge to take part in the Friends of the Old Northwest Primitive Rendezvous.
The entire camp will be open to visitors 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, June 23-25. Visitors can see a primitive encampment of people living as early pioneers, hear period music, learn about history, tour the site’s historic buildings and shop at stores to buy historical items.
“This is a great place to bring your family,” said event leader Jaret Nye of Bowling Green. “Adults and kids can learn about history and see how people lived when this part of Ohio was the frontier.”
Happening throughout the days will be demonstrations of frontier skills.
“There will be people cooking over campfires, dipping candles, operating a blacksmith forge, shooting muzzleloaders, and probably throwing tomahawks and doing other things like sewing and spinning yarn,” Nye said.
Periodic tours of the historic buildings at Seven Eagles will be available including a 200-year-old pioneer cabin and homestead; the Catfish Inn, a reproduction Scottish inn; a French trapper’s cabin; and a Native American longhouse.
On the stage, the schedule for Saturday, June 23, begins at 11 a.m. with a presentation on the Battle of Fallen Timbers by Pat Stephens with the 1st Sub Legion of the United States, a partner of the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Commission, Maumee. He plans to talk about uniforms of the battle, the importance of the battle and ravine area of the battlefield.
Also Saturday, visitors can hear period music on the stage all afternoon. Period musicians expected to take part during the week are “Buffalo Woman” Jane Cassidy of Virginia, Hand Hewn of Delta, Amie and Bruce Brodie of Oregon (Ohio), Steve Keefer of Sidney, and others.
Sunday, June 24, begins at 10 a.m. with an old-time church service conducted by Mike Kaufman of Defiance, who portrays a frontier preacher.
A muzzleloader shooting demonstration is set for 11 a.m. Sunday as well as period music on the stage.
At 1 p.m. Sunday, visitors may watch rendezvous participants take part in Highland Games, a rendition of Scottish contests in which men wearing kilts and also ladies compete in various contests of skill and strength such as the caber toss, the sheaf pitch and the haggis toss.
Featured presenter for Monday, June 25, is Carol Jarboe, of Woodburn, Kentucky, who will tell her first-person story at 11 a.m. She portrays Maggie Delaney, an Irish indentured servant in the 1700s.
Visitors later in the week may visit a portion of the encampment 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, June 26-28. Tours will be available on request, and shopping is available at period stores.
Food and beverages are to be available all week.
Admission is $3 per person ages 13 and older, and free for children ages 12 and younger.
Seven Eagles is at 16486 Wapakoneta Road, Grand Rapids, one mile north of U.S. 6 and one mile south of the town of Grand Rapids.
For more information, search Friends of the Old Northwest Public Days on Facebook. Text Nye at (419) 966-5382 or email jaret.nye@gmail.com, or text Vicki Johnson at (419) 601-2495 or email vicki.dte@gmail.com.
