Beckerhead Camping and Woodcraft Reviews....

22-rimfire said:
Yep. When I was a teen and squirrel hunting a neighbor commented that he saw me moving through the woods (unbeknownst to me at the time) that I sounded like a freight train. My brother told me and I made a point of learning to walk very silently in the woods if I want to.

I really don't want to do the moccasin thing. There just isn't enough support. I protect these getting older bones and muscles these days. Not a kid any more and I pay attention.

Warrior: Surprised you are wading through the pdf version of the book. I just found it a real pain in the butt to read and the pictures help a lot in getting a feel for the way things were in the 1900 Southern Appalachians. One needs to remember that Kephart was a writer, a yankee so to speak and certainly a foreigner to the mountain folks. He highlights things in my opinion to sell books back in the day. But Camping & Woodcraft is a great book full of tidbits.
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The pdf version I'm reading is a photocopy of the 1906 version. There are photos. Still, I need to get a copy of the book.
 
22-rimfire said:
The book isn't real expensive if you get the paper back version. My pdf version was missing all the photographs and I just assumed that they were all the same.
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Funds are limited. It's Christmas time, and I just spent my money on a BK62, haha. I know there's cheaper versions out there, but I want to wait to buy it from Great Smoky Mountains Association, as the money goes towards the parks there.
 
I decided to do this with a different approach. Before I start reading again, I want to learn a little about Mr. Kephart, which always helps to understand what was going on in his life, why he got interested in what he did, etc. Always helps to bring a book to life. Here are a few links I came across. Some say basically the same thing, some are a little more detailed, especially the second link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Kephart

https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/kephart-horace-sowers

http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/behindtheparks/kephart-masa/

https://www.wcu.edu/library/digitalcollections/kephart/biography/biography.htm

https://digitalheritage.org/2010/08/horace-kephart/

http://wcudigitalcollection.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16232coll8

http://wcudigitalcollection.cdmhost.com/cdm/search/collection/p16232coll8

I don't mean this next link to be deal spotting, but to show how many books there are out there by Horace Kephart:

https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/horace-kephart/308962/
 
I really enjoy these threads. I grew up with a fairly solid knowledge of Kephart's exploits and spent a good deal of my life around his woods. I haven't read the book in forever but purchased my son an expanded version several years ago. I recall a partial quote that always stuck with me when I was about 8 years old. It essentially said that if you are prepared for any situation when you camp you are virtually independent. I will Google Fu it later.

I was told a variety of stories regarding his death. One was that he was impaled on glass when the car rolled over and the other was that he was thrown from the vehicle and then it landed on him. Sad way for a mountain man to go. Without him, most of that range would have been slashed and burned during the logging boom.

Nonetheless, excellent thread E!
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DYSPHORIC JOY said:
....Sad way for a mountain man to go. Without him, most of that range would have been slashed and burned during the logging boom.
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Some have said alcohol was involved which would not surprise me in the least. Those are curvy roads and you have to pay attention. I didn't grow up in the area, but I do remember driving before the parkway on the NC side was there. Slow slow slow travel, but I imagine it sure beats on foot or on a horse. Darn it.... I need to watch this video soon. I just keep setting it aside and have owned it since it came out last year. It is unopened....
 
A little harder to find info on the Colclesser Brothers. Here's a few links though:

https://books.google.com/books?id=P-hUnsTczFUC&pg=RA6-PA4&lpg=RA6-PA4&dq=colclesser+brothers&source=bl&ots=yi-c8ZV2qM&sig=YfGLrdM3RXC0oR6o60Bsva2DWfI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5qarD_M_eAhUl5YMKHasTDaUQ6AEwDXoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=colclesser brothers&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=X88wAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA598&lpg=PA598&dq=colclesser+brothers&source=bl&ots=sCoVUCSq18&sig=b98a4K4bY9QNLIh8JeStyelntSM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihl9zV_M_eAhUs1oMKHVmFAzg4ChDoATAHegQIBRAB#v=onepage&q=colclesser brothers&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=uxpbAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA32&lpg=RA1-PA32&dq=colclesser+brothers&source=bl&ots=Xg34FpSv9d&sig=Cb7OvCd_4IopBKBwPodMw2n0CM4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihl9zV_M_eAhUs1oMKHVmFAzg4ChDoATAJegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=colclesser brothers&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=C709AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA6-PA6&lpg=RA6-PA6&dq=colclesser+brothers&source=bl&ots=ZSehegDb5M&sig=8JfDPA7OjZ3M-6_sb1apUSqVYYg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihkLjp_M_eAhXKqYMKHbLoDi44FBDoATADegQIBBAB#v=onepage&q=colclesser brothers&f=false

Samuel Colclesser Grave. Links lower on the page to other family members: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23977789/samuel-colclesser



Samuel Colclesser
BIRTH 15 Apr 1850
DEATH Jul 1919 (aged 69)
Pennsylvania, USA
BURIAL
Fairview Cemetery
Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania, USA
PLOT Sec. D, Lot 136
MEMORIAL ID 23977789 · View Source

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Samuel was born April 15, 1850, in Logan Township to Daniel and Susannah (Kissell) Colclesser. They were one of the prominent early families in Blair County as early as 1810. Samuel's grandfather Henry came from Washington County, Maryland and later in 1824 relocated to Ohio. He was a skilled blacksmith and made edged tools.

On Thursday June 19, 1890, Samuel married Miss Ella/Ellen Oves, the eldest daughter of Mr. John K. Oves and Sarah J. Oves. The wedding took place in her father's home at 1327 Eight Ave, Altoona, with Rev. N. C. Naylor officiating. They made their home in the Eldorado section of Altoona. Ellen was a school teacher in the Altoona area for many years.

Samuel's father, Daniel, started the axe and pick factory in 1832 and in 1878 he passed it his sons John and Samuel. Son Adie would eventually buy John's share. It was called Colclesser Brothers. They manufactured edged tools such as picks for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and marking tools for the US Forestry Dept. Colclesser's also made hunter's tools, knives, and solid steel chisels for the car builders.

He was active in the First Baptist Church of Altoona.

Samuel Colclesser Obituary: https://newspaperarchive.com/obituary-clipping-jul-23-1919-208604/

Looks like the name was from Germany, originally KALCKGLESER, or perhaps KALCKGLOSER, later changed to Colglazier, Colclazier, to Colclesser. Not sure if it's the same family: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/colclazier/12/
 
Good stuff The Warrior on Samuel Colclesser. That is where I essentially grew up. Kephart was from PA also originally and that is where his family was. Altoona PA was a significant railroad town with lots of German, Italian, and Polish immigrants. In those days, the railroad ruled.The president of the PA RR was from Duncansville located just south of Altoona. These were the days of the industrial revolution with folks like Carnegie.
 
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Just read chapter 8, The Camp-Fire. Never did take the time to learn the different trees. I know the "basic" ones, oak, maple, etc.

"Split logs are more likely to snap from the outside than from the inside, and should be laid with the heart-side out." Didn't know that. He's talking about the wood popping, and shooting hot embers out.

"Even a watch crystal, removed, and three-fourths filled with water, forms a lens that, if held very steadily, will ignite punk or tinder." Don't wear a watch, but still good to know.
 
Just completed chapter 9, about markmanship in the woods. Not really up my alley, but a good read none the less. Mr. Kephart sure did have a good vocabulary. I have to keep looking up words. Not a bad thing, for sure.
 
The Warrior said:
Just completed chapter 9, about markmanship in the woods. Not really up my alley, but a good read none the less. Mr. Kephart sure did have a good vocabulary. I have to keep looking up words. Not a bad thing, for sure.
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Woods marksmanship is the real deal. Guestimating yardages, shade, sun, brush, trees, and moving game that has a survival instinct. Ain't punching holes in paper out in the woods
 
The Warrior said:
Just completed chapter 9, about markmanship in the woods. Not really up my alley, but a good read none the less. Mr. Kephart sure did have a good vocabulary. I have to keep looking up words. Not a bad thing, for sure.
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Kephart was a smart guy and I suspect a bit "unusual" in terms of his personality. He wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life (St Louis) with it's complexities and I suspect married life. He accomplished that and accomplished something much more important by writing about the area and helping to bring about the creation and formation of Smoky Mountain National Park. It is thru his writings that gives me a glimpse of what it was really like to live in the Southern Appalachians. Folks in places like Bryson City NC were about 50 years behind most of the rest of the Eastern US. They are still probably having disco's there. :D
 
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