On the Road Again with Merle

[Jack Black]

Look who showed up back on US soil! Merle is looking good after a trip abroad. Thanks @meako for shipping him in nice, safe and comfy packaging. And thanks to btb01 for organizing this adventure.

I'm sad to say I have a business trip I need to go on (and Merle can't come), and will be away for 2-3 days. But as soon as I return I’ll do my best to give a thorough tour of my neck of the woods, and I’ll also try to make sure and post something every day while Merle is here visiting with me. We have a lot of adventures planned, so hope you are all ready.View attachment 1901971

Yay, Merle made it!

 

[btb01]

Look who showed up back on US soil! Merle is looking good after a trip abroad. Thanks @meako for shipping him in nice, safe and comfy packaging. And thanks to btb01 for organizing this adventure.

I'm sad to say I have a business trip I need to go on (and Merle can't come), and will be away for 2-3 days. But as soon as I return I’ll do my best to give a thorough tour of my neck of the woods, and I’ll also try to make sure and post something every day while Merle is here visiting with me. We have a lot of adventures planned, so hope you are all ready.View attachment 1901971

Welcome back, Merle! And thanks again to our international hosts! I wonder if Merle has come back with a Yorkshire-Scottish-Australian accent…?

Rookie82 No worries about your work trip. If there’s one thing we’ve learned in this thread, it’s patience. Looking forward to Merle’s adventures when you return.

Oh, and thanks for the photo with the open tin of pins/buttons/badges. I was wondering how many were left in there, and now I know.

 

[Rookie82]

I'm back from my work trip, and ready to get on with Merle's vacation!

 

[Rookie82]

For those that don’t know me, my name is Carl Bradshaw. I live in the rural farmland around Meadville, Pennsylvania in the northwestern corner of the state. My family has been here for 7 generations. The 1st Bradshaw that came to this area settled a plot of land, on what is now known as Bradshaw Road. My cousins still live in this house, and operate this farm, only about 1.5 miles away from my house. In this area, everyone knows everyone, and you are either friends or relatives (or both).

(images removed due to BF Attachment limits)

 

[Rookie82]

In this area, dairy and beef farming reigned superior until about 5 years ago. The cost to maintain these small family farms kept rising, and the price for beef and milk was so low that nearly everyone has given up. In the past 15 years in my family alone, I’ve had an uncle, 3 great-uncles, and 4 cousins all quit dairy farming. I have one uncle that still raises a small herd of Black Angus beef cows.

Most fields in the area are now leased out to the few remaining giant farms that grow crops. If you aren’t milking at least 500 or more head of cattle, there’s no place for you in today’s economy. For comparison, my great grandfather milked 30 cows in the early 1900’s, and raised a family of 5 kids, and was the sole income for the household.

My sister has a horse farm, with a few beef cows as well.


2 days ago their cow gave birth to a new calf, named Grace. This is my daughter on the left, and my niece on the right, sitting with the new calf. Merle got in on the photo as well.




Everyone’s favorite attraction, Noah the mini donkey. He’s always happy to see people. This was my dad’s donkey for a while, but he now lives at my sister’s farm. He wasn’t sure what to think of Merle though.



For dinner, my wife and I went to Lucantino’s Trattoria restaurant, a small local Italian food restaurant. This was the Italian Panini sandwich, with watermelon soda.


(images removed due to BF Attachment limits)

 

[Jack Black]

Fantastic start to Merle's adventures in Pennsylvania Carl, great prose and pictures Well done

 

[RLB0414]

Beautiful country. Thanks for sharing the photos

 

[JohnDF]

Such beauty and tradition, I'm sure Merle is having a great time.

 

[Rookie82]

As many of you likely know, my main collection of knives is Tuna Valley brand. But before that, before I was born, my maternal grandfather worked at Queen Cutlery in Titusville (only 20 miles away) in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. He was sales manager, and spent a lot of time on the road, going to knife shows around the country, and had a lot of friends in that circle of people. He left that position when I was very young, but he stayed in the knife hobby. When I was around 5 years old, he started taking me on trips to various NKCA knife shows around the Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee area.

And starting in 1990, he got me an NKCA Youth Knife each year, which began my collection. Once I turned 16, it was now my responsibility to keep it going.

Grandpa is still interested in knives at 84 years old. And he only lives 1 mile down the road from me! I let him check over Merle while I snapped a photo. And here is a photo of my NKCA Youth Knife collection.



So sometime in the early 90’s my grandfather came across an old small pearl knife with Tuna Valley on the stamp. With all his knowledge and all his contacts, nobody could shed much light on this knife. He held on to this knife for many years, and eventually an article in Knife World by knife historian David Anthony revealed the secrets.



So during the Case/Platts merger, a new factory was being built. Unable to make knives, Case ordered in a small quantity from Germany in order to maintain their inventory, and stamped them Tuna Valley. The name comes from the Bradford, PA area which has the Tunungwant River running through. Most locals call this the “Tuna” Creek, and therefore the whole area is the “Tuna Valley”. These small pearl knives were sold in 1906, and the name was never used again until the revival in 2009.

One day Grandpa asked me “If you could have any knife out of my collection, which one would you choose?” I picked the little Tuna Valley knife, and he gave it to me. That basically started my obsession with the Tuna Valley brand. I eventually met and became friends with Ryan Daniels, who makes the new knives for that brand, which further increased my obsession.

Here is a shot of Merle with a bunch of Tuna Valley brand barlow knives.



Merle with his twin. You can really see how much Merle has changed from being handled and used, compared to my BF barlow, which hasn’t been carried or used yet.

(images removed due to BF Attachment limits)

 

[bigfish64]

As many of you likely know, my main collection of knives is Tuna Valley brand. But before that, before I was born, my maternal grandfather worked at Queen Cutlery in Titusville (only 20 miles away) in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. He was sales manager, and spent a lot of time on the road, going to knife shows around the country, and had a lot of friends in that circle of people. He left that position when I was very young, but he stayed in the knife hobby. When I was around 5 years old, he started taking me on trips to various NKCA knife shows around the Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee area.

And starting in 1990, he got me an NKCA Youth Knife each year, which began my collection. Once I turned 16, it was now my responsibility to keep it going.

Grandpa is still interested in knives at 84 years old. And he only lives 1 mile down the road from me! I let him check over Merle while I snapped a photo. And here is a photo of my NKCA Youth Knife collection.

View attachment 1906967View attachment 1906968

So sometime in the early 90’s my grandfather came across an old small pearl knife with Tuna Valley on the stamp. With all his knowledge and all his contacts, nobody could shed much light on this knife. He held on to this knife for many years, and eventually an article in Knife World by knife historian David Anthony revealed the secrets.

View attachment 1906969

So during the Case/Platts merger, a new factory was being built. Unable to make knives, Case ordered in a small quantity from Germany in order to maintain their inventory, and stamped them Tuna Valley. The name comes from the Bradford, PA area which has the Tunungwant River running through. Most locals call this the “Tuna” Creek, and therefore the whole area is the “Tuna Valley”. These small pearl knives were sold in 1906, and the name was never used again until the revival in 2009.

One day Grandpa asked me “If you could have any knife out of my collection, which one would you choose?” I picked the little Tuna Valley knife, and he gave it to me. That basically started my obsession with the Tuna Valley brand. I eventually met and became friends with Ryan Daniels, who makes the new knives for that brand, which further increased my obsession.

Here is a shot of Merle with a bunch of Tuna Valley brand barlow knives.

View attachment 1906970

Merle with his twin. You can really see how much Merle has changed from being handled and used, compared to my BF barlow, which hasn’t been carried or used yet.

View attachment 1906971

What a great post Carl! I really enjoyed it, can’t wait to see what else you have in store for Merle.

 

[btb01]

View attachment 1906191View attachment 1906192

What a beautiful place, Carl! Thanks for showing Merle around the farm.

As many of you likely know, my main collection of knives is Tuna Valley brand. But before that, before I was born, my maternal grandfather worked at Queen Cutlery in Titusville (only 20 miles away) in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. He was sales manager, and spent a lot of time on the road, going to knife shows around the country, and had a lot of friends in that circle of people. He left that position when I was very young, but he stayed in the knife hobby. When I was around 5 years old, he started taking me on trips to various NKCA knife shows around the Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee area.

And starting in 1990, he got me an NKCA Youth Knife each year, which began my collection. Once I turned 16, it was now my responsibility to keep it going.

Grandpa is still interested in knives at 84 years old. And he only lives 1 mile down the road from me! I let him check over Merle while I snapped a photo. And here is a photo of my NKCA Youth Knife collection.

View attachment 1906967View attachment 1906968

So sometime in the early 90’s my grandfather came across an old small pearl knife with Tuna Valley on the stamp. With all his knowledge and all his contacts, nobody could shed much light on this knife. He held on to this knife for many years, and eventually an article in Knife World by knife historian David Anthony revealed the secrets.

View attachment 1906969

So during the Case/Platts merger, a new factory was being built. Unable to make knives, Case ordered in a small quantity from Germany in order to maintain their inventory, and stamped them Tuna Valley. The name comes from the Bradford, PA area which has the Tunungwant River running through. Most locals call this the “Tuna” Creek, and therefore the whole area is the “Tuna Valley”. These small pearl knives were sold in 1906, and the name was never used again until the revival in 2009.

One day Grandpa asked me “If you could have any knife out of my collection, which one would you choose?” I picked the little Tuna Valley knife, and he gave it to me. That basically started my obsession with the Tuna Valley brand. I eventually met and became friends with Ryan Daniels, who makes the new knives for that brand, which further increased my obsession.

Here is a shot of Merle with a bunch of Tuna Valley brand barlow knives.

View attachment 1906970

Merle with his twin. You can really see how much Merle has changed from being handled and used, compared to my BF barlow, which hasn’t been carried or used yet.

View attachment 1906971

Really interesting stuff. The photo with your grandpa is great! It’s awesome that y’all share an interest in knife collecting. I always had knives growing up, but never really got into collecting (accumulating might be a more accurate term) until 7 or 8 years ago. I often think that if my dad were still alive, he probably would have taken an interest in GEC and the other kind of stuff I like, and I wish it was something I could share with him.

 

[Rookie82]

What a great post Carl! I really enjoyed it, can’t wait to see what else you have in store for Merle.

Thanks. We have lots of activities planned. I think it should be entertaining for everyone.

What a beautiful place, Carl! Thanks for showing Merle around the farm.



Really interesting stuff. The photo with your grandpa is great! It’s awesome that y’all share an interest in knife collecting. I always had knives growing up, but never really got into collecting (accumulating might be a more accurate term) until 7 or 8 years ago. I often think that if my dad were still alive, he probably would have taken an interest in GEC and the other kind of stuff I like, and I wish it was something I could share with him.

It's funny how that works. All of my grandpa's kids (my aunts and uncles, and mother) have no interest at all in knives, yet are envious that I have a close relationship with him because we share a common hobby. It's nice that when everyone runs out of things to talk about at family picnics, I can always go talk knives with Grandpa.

 

[JM2]

As many of you likely know, my main collection of knives is Tuna Valley brand. But before that, before I was born, my maternal grandfather worked at Queen Cutlery in Titusville (only 20 miles away) in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. He was sales manager, and spent a lot of time on the road, going to knife shows around the country, and had a lot of friends in that circle of people. He left that position when I was very young, but he stayed in the knife hobby. When I was around 5 years old, he started taking me on trips to various NKCA knife shows around the Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee area.

And starting in 1990, he got me an NKCA Youth Knife each year, which began my collection. Once I turned 16, it was now my responsibility to keep it going.

Grandpa is still interested in knives at 84 years old. And he only lives 1 mile down the road from me! I let him check over Merle while I snapped a photo. And here is a photo of my NKCA Youth Knife collection.

View attachment 1906967View attachment 1906968

So sometime in the early 90’s my grandfather came across an old small pearl knife with Tuna Valley on the stamp. With all his knowledge and all his contacts, nobody could shed much light on this knife. He held on to this knife for many years, and eventually an article in Knife World by knife historian David Anthony revealed the secrets.

View attachment 1906969

So during the Case/Platts merger, a new factory was being built. Unable to make knives, Case ordered in a small quantity from Germany in order to maintain their inventory, and stamped them Tuna Valley. The name comes from the Bradford, PA area which has the Tunungwant River running through. Most locals call this the “Tuna” Creek, and therefore the whole area is the “Tuna Valley”. These small pearl knives were sold in 1906, and the name was never used again until the revival in 2009.

One day Grandpa asked me “If you could have any knife out of my collection, which one would you choose?” I picked the little Tuna Valley knife, and he gave it to me. That basically started my obsession with the Tuna Valley brand. I eventually met and became friends with Ryan Daniels, who makes the new knives for that brand, which further increased my obsession.

Here is a shot of Merle with a bunch of Tuna Valley brand barlow knives.

View attachment 1906970

Merle with his twin. You can really see how much Merle has changed from being handled and used, compared to my BF barlow, which hasn’t been carried or used yet.

View attachment 1906971

Awesome! Thanks for sharing those memories, facts, and sentiments.

So what did grandpa think of it?

 

[Rookie82]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing those memories, facts, and sentiments.

So what did grandpa think of it?

He liked it. His time working at Queen actually overlapped briefly with Bill Howard, so they know each other. He knows that Bill makes a solid knife, but Grandpa's real joy lies in old 1900-1950 era Case, Cattaragus, Schrade, and Camillus knives.
He does get excited to see what new Tuna Valley knives I come up with.

 

[JohnDF]

As many of you likely know, my main collection of knives is Tuna Valley brand...

That was cool, thanks for the history.

 

[dogboye]

In this area, dairy and beef farming reigned superior until about 5 years ago. The cost to maintain these small family farms kept rising, and the price for beef and milk was so low that nearly everyone has given up. In the past 15 years in my family alone, I’ve had an uncle, 3 great-uncles, and 4 cousins all quit dairy farming. I have one uncle that still raises a small herd of Black Angus beef cows.

Most fields in the area are now leased out to the few remaining giant farms that grow crops. If you aren’t milking at least 500 or more head of cattle, there’s no place for you in today’s economy. For comparison, my great grandfather milked 30 cows in the early 1900’s, and raised a family of 5 kids, and was the sole income for the household.

My sister has a horse farm, with a few beef cows as well.View attachment 1906195View attachment 1906196View attachment 1906197


2 days ago their cow gave birth to a new calf, named Grace. This is my daughter on the left, and my niece on the right, sitting with the new calf. Merle got in on the photo as well.


View attachment 1906198View attachment 1906199

Everyone’s favorite attraction, Noah the mini donkey. He’s always happy to see people. This was my dad’s donkey for a while, but he now lives at my sister’s farm. He wasn’t sure what to think of Merle though.

View attachment 1906200

For dinner, my wife and I went to Lucantino’s Trattoria restaurant, a small local Italian food restaurant. This was the Italian Panini sandwich, with watermelon soda.

View attachment 1906201

Awesome posting, and history of the area. Beautiful farm country.
It's a shame what a hit raising cattle has taken. Although I have a feeling the time is coming when that profession may rise again.
I remember growing up, in NC, my family would go to a local farmer and buy whole milk fresh from the cows. Fantastic memories prompted by your posts.

 

[Peregrin]

As many of you likely know, my main collection of knives is Tuna Valley brand. But before that, before I was born, my maternal grandfather worked at Queen Cutlery in Titusville (only 20 miles away) in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. He was sales manager, and spent a lot of time on the road, going to knife shows around the country, and had a lot of friends in that circle of people. He left that position when I was very young, but he stayed in the knife hobby. When I was around 5 years old, he started taking me on trips to various NKCA knife shows around the Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee area.

And starting in 1990, he got me an NKCA Youth Knife each year, which began my collection. Once I turned 16, it was now my responsibility to keep it going.

Grandpa is still interested in knives at 84 years old. And he only lives 1 mile down the road from me! I let him check over Merle while I snapped a photo. And here is a photo of my NKCA Youth Knife collection.

View attachment 1906967View attachment 1906968

So sometime in the early 90’s my grandfather came across an old small pearl knife with Tuna Valley on the stamp. With all his knowledge and all his contacts, nobody could shed much light on this knife. He held on to this knife for many years, and eventually an article in Knife World by knife historian David Anthony revealed the secrets.

View attachment 1906969

So during the Case/Platts merger, a new factory was being built. Unable to make knives, Case ordered in a small quantity from Germany in order to maintain their inventory, and stamped them Tuna Valley. The name comes from the Bradford, PA area which has the Tunungwant River running through. Most locals call this the “Tuna” Creek, and therefore the whole area is the “Tuna Valley”. These small pearl knives were sold in 1906, and the name was never used again until the revival in 2009.

One day Grandpa asked me “If you could have any knife out of my collection, which one would you choose?” I picked the little Tuna Valley knife, and he gave it to me. That basically started my obsession with the Tuna Valley brand. I eventually met and became friends with Ryan Daniels, who makes the new knives for that brand, which further increased my obsession.

Here is a shot of Merle with a bunch of Tuna Valley brand barlow knives.

View attachment 1906970

Merle with his twin. You can really see how much Merle has changed from being handled and used, compared to my BF barlow, which hasn’t been carried or used yet.

View attachment 1906971

Great post! It's wonderful that you have that connection with your grandfather. I never heard the history of the Tuna Valley brand name. Very interesting. It looks like Merle is having a great time!

 

[Rookie82]

I'm a bit late getting today's post in, but I made it before midnight!

Here are some shots of Merle exploring the property. This is the far back yard.



We have honeybees here, and I built a bear-proof tower to keep the hives safe. Big bears will tear down even an electrified fence to get at all that honey! I haven’t ventured into beekeeping myself yet, but have a friend who does it. So I provide the location and equipment, and he takes care of the hives for me. He harvests honey twice per year, and shares some with me. He also maintains hives at my dad’s property for him as well.

I enjoy the bees for all the pollination, and the honey is just a perk.

Here is a photo of the tower, and if you look close you can see the bees flying around behind Merle.

(images removed due to BF Attachment limits)

 

[Rookie82]

We also have a blueberry orchard, and apple tree orchard. It was a very dry summer for us here, and so even though it was a good year for blossoms, I don’t think we’ll be harvesting too much. Typically we get around 50 quarts of blueberries each summer, this year I got 10 (although birds ate a lot of them too.)

We have a lot of apples, but they are small, and already dropping off. I’ll be lucky to get 4 bushel of apples total from my trees. But I can go pick some from the apple orchards in the area who have irrigation systems, and plenty of apples.



Every year in mid-late September we make fresh apple cider. It usually turns into a giant family picnic, and an all day event. I think last year we quit at 50 gallons and threw the rest of the apples in the woods for the deer to eat.

We usually make some apple butter and applesauce in mid-summer from our early ripening apples as well.

Funny story with our cider press. My paternal grandfather always made cider every year, and I remember helping when I was young. After he passed away in 2003, the hobby fell away. Then about 10 years ago I asked my Dad where the old press was, and I wanted to make some cider. We found pieces and parts to it all over, and it was basically just broken garbage. I took on the project of rebuilding it, and by the time I was finished the only original part left was the screw!



It’s a homemade design with a grinder, and separate press. It’s loud and messy, but it operates well and can grind about ½ bushel per minute. Using grandpa’s secret formula blend of 6 different apple types, it’s the best cider you’ve ever tasted.

(images removed due to BF Attachment limits)

 

[Rookie82]

We’ve also got a nice group of chestnut trees. It’s fun collecting them in the fall when they are ready. They are really good to just eat raw, but of course roasted over an open fire is even better!



We’ve got a bunch of laying hen’s here. When the hawks and fox aren’t trying to have them for dinner, we collect eggs every day, and give them away to friends and family. We got a new batch of chicks this past spring, so they are growing fast but not laying eggs quite yet.

(images removed due to BF Attachment limits)