This year’s meeting is promising to be one the best ever.  The Journeymen will be joining with the Masters at the Masters Benches to share their knowledge and experience in the art of hornwork.  Don’t miss out on this opportunity and don’t forget your pen and notepad.

The annual meeting of the membership will take place mid- morning on Friday.  The banquet will be Saturday night.

My temporary stewardship of the Guild will come to an end at the banquet with the passing of the horn ceremony.  It was a rewarding and humbling experience that I will cherish for years to come.  In my last message for our web site, I would like to thank all our viewers and those of you who used the contact us section. I hope we answered all your questions satisfactorily.  I am looking forward to the camaraderie at our annual meeting, see you there.

Sincerely,

Ed Long
HCH Guildmaster

A Pile of Possibilities!

The drawing will be held at Dixon’s Gumakers Fair, which is held in Kempton, Pennsylvania every July. (See their website by clicking here.)

The horn made by Billy Griner, is a copy of an original Rowan County, NC piece. It features three bands with a turned, applied antler tip, and a pecan wood base. Overall length is 11 inches around the curve. (See Billy Griner’s website by clicking here.)

The pouch was made by Jeff Bibb and is a copy of an original pouch from Iredell County, NC. Constructed from cowhide, the pouch is 6.5 inches wide by 7 inches deep. The flap is bound and backed with hemp. There is a hanging ball or patch pocket inside. (See Jeff Bibb’s website by clicking here.)

This awesome Southern pouch and horn are complimented by other handmade items. The measure was turned from horn by Mark Ewing, and pick and brush set were made by Jeff Bottiger.

The Honourable Company of Horners is again saddened to learn of the passing of another great horn worker and supplier of horn, John Plybon. John was truly a pioneer in horn work and was the first recipient of the Guild’s prestigious “Lanthorn Award”. We offer our condolences to the Plybon family who are in our thoughts and prayers. God bless you John and thank you for your contribution, may you rest in peace.

Another year has rapidly passed and all members should be gearing up for our big event, the 2012 Annual Meeting. The meeting will be held March 2nd and 3rd, at the USAHEC in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

This year, due to our nation’s economic times, members planning to attend will not be charged a registration fee for our annual meeting; the Guild will absorb the registration fee. However your dues for 2012 must be current to gain entrance. Display tables will be $10.00 each, we are limited to 36. The cost for the banquet will be $30.00 per person.

The main theme will be centered around education, with hands on work stations manned by Master Horners assisted by Journeymen. All phases of work will be covered from the selection of raw horn for your particular project, to the finished item.
Listed are some of the events that will take place:

• Freeman Cheryl Davidson will open ceremonies on Friday morning singing our National Anthem.
• The Guild’s ceremonial blowing horn will be unveiled.
• The blowing horn/drinking vessel contest will be judged.
• The member’s annual horn contest will be held and judged on entries in Contemporary Engraved Horn, Traditional Engraved Horn, Carved Horn, plus Horn and Bag and Horn Objects.
• The Guild’s horn and bag for raffle, donated by GM Elect Jeff Bibb and Publications Chair Billy Griner, will be on display.
• All members registering will have their name placed in a drawing for a special door prize, a beautiful adjustable powder measure turned from horn, donated by Freeman Dave Rase.
• There will be a display table of original blowing horns.
• Our Spring Pole Lathe will be on display and demonstrated.
• Members will have their hornware and related items on display.

The annual business meeting will be held Friday morning. The banquet will be Saturday evening and in addition to the meal there will be an Awards Ceremony with a special guest speaker. The event will conclude with the Passing of the Horn followed by Freeman Davidson singing God Bless America.

All members attending are encouraged to dress in 18th, early 19th Century attire throughout the event including the banquet. Members acquiring display tables are requested to refrain from the sales of imported items; however, they may be part of an educational display and identified as such. Examples include, a bowl made in India or spoon made in China, etc. Display area will be open to visitors at no charge.

In the upcoming week there will be a separate mailing to all members to include a registration form for return to our Treasurer.

In parting, I would like to congratulate Freeman Carl Dumke and Jim Leach on their recent advancement to Journeyman.

Best Regards,
Ed Long
HCH Guildmaster

Carl Dumke Journeyman, Roland Cadle Master Horner and Jim Leach Journeyman

We have a block of rooms at the Days Inn, Carlisle. You must call them at (717) 258-4147 to get the Special Rate of $62.95 per night. Please mention “horn guild” to get the special rate.
NOTE: You must call for the special rate. Trying to book the room through the website will not work. In addition, the website might show the Days Inn as full when in fact there might be rooms left for the Horn Guild.

Days Inn, Carlisle, PA
101 Alexander Spring Rd, Carlisle, PA
(717) 258-4147
Interstate 81, Exit 45

Club Resources (both monetary and manpower) – Each year the HCH Annual meeting has grown to attract over 150 members and guests.  This requires monetary support from the HCH as well as several volunteers to step-up, plan, organize and successfully run the event.

Service to the largest group of our members – The executive committee looked at the demographic data on our approximate 400 members.  We found that almost 75 percent of our membership lives east of Illinois and north of South Carolina.  This makes central Pennsylvania within a 6-7 hour drive of the majority of our registered members.  To move the Annual Event even further south, or further west would significantly dilute this proximity to the majority of our members, thus potentially reducing the majorities’ ability to attend.  A decline in attendance supported this data when annual events were held further east in Massachusetts, and an even greater decline in attendance when held in Indiana and North Carolina.

Our Growth – As the HCH has grown, we have found that the type of venue necessary to hold the annual event has changed.  Attendance of 150 plus people requires larger exhibit locations with close proximity to lodging and food.  Event locations should also be close to some attraction that has a historic interest to the 18^th century time period our members are most interested in and most 18^th century locations are in the eastern part of our country.

However, we did recognize that the meeting should not have a “permanent” home, and that venues should potentially alternate between a Pennsylvania location, and locations to the west and south.  But meetings should remain in the eastern half of the country to reach the greatest number of attendees from the membership.  An event is being planned at the Museum of Appalachia in Tennessee within the next couple of years.

Consistency – We felt that the best way to have high quality HCH events is to focus our “official” efforts on the two events we currently conduct.  The annual meeting in early March and the summer meeting in conjunction with Dixon’s Gunmakers Fair, as long as volunteers step up to operate these events.  Our Awards committee currently provides judges trained to “jury” member’s work for advancement at both of these events.  We felt that before we expand to additional events, we must assure we have sufficient trained members who can apply the same judging standards to future “jurying” procedures.

None of this precludes individual HCH members from planning and holding their own regional event.  A group from the south held a successful event in January with another scheduled for 2012.  A second member held an event, which attracted good attendance as well as new members on the west coast and is planning another event next year.  In fact, we agreed that the HCH would provide access to mailing lists and would promote the dates of any such events in the Horn Book for members who wish to do this.

In closing, it is our responsibility as an organization to maintain our mission statement, “Dedicated to the Research, Preservation and Education of Horn Work” but not at the expense of conducting shows all over the country, it is just not feasible.  One member summed it up with the following statement, “In my years as an HCH member, every project of “value” that the Guild has accomplished has happened because one or more members voluntarily got together and made it happen.  This is how each year’s annual meeting is conducted still.  We don’t exist with paid employees responsible for doing all the work, allowing members to simply sit back and wait for the benefits to fall in their lap just because they “want” something to happen without their effort.”  That is a powerful statement…..as Guildmaster, I concur.

Sincerely,
Ed Long
HCH Guildmaster

Ed Long, Guildmaster, shaves down a horn.

A particular concern of the membership was the interest of HCH Sanctioned Regional Meetings. Roland Cadle, Consultant to the Executive Committee and Educational Committee chair, presented a motion that the HCH sanction regional meetings. The motion was seconded by Meetings Chair, Dick Toone. After a thorough debate, it was put up for vote, which resulted in a unanimous decision against the motion for regional meetings.

Don’t forget to set your plans in motion for our Annual Meeting, March 2nd and 3rd, 2012 at the AHEC Carlisle, Pennsylvania, this promises to be our best ever. My January message will have more details. Keep working on your horn strap/drinking vessel contest entries. The time has been extended right up to the meeting date.

The Christmas season is upon us, to all I wish a,  “Merry Christmas!”

Sincerely,
Ed Long
HCH Guildmaster

Executive Committee at Carlisle, PA.

About Our 2012 Annual Meeting

The Honourable Company of Horners 2012 Annual Meeting will be held at the Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  The dates for the meeting are, Friday March 2^nd and Saturday March 3^rd, 2012 with an early set-up on Thursday March 1^st.
A block of rooms will be set aside at the Days Inn, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  When making your reservation, mention “horn guild” and you will receive a special discounted rate.  There are other motels in the area which will be listed in future announcements.

>>Here is the link for the Days Inn in Carlisle.<<

Horn Strap/Drinking Vessel Contest Update

Only the winning strap and the winning drinking vessel will be permanently retained by the Guild, all other entries will not become property of the Guild and may be retained by the entrant.  The deadline for submission of items has been extended to the end of February 2012.  If you are coming to the meeting bring the item with you, if you cannot attend mail the item to me and I will bring it for you.

If you intend to participate, and haven’t already done so, please let me know by using our >>Contact Us form.<< Thank You.

Best regards to all,

Ed Long

HCH Guildmaster

Here is an excerpt from the Horn Book article on Joe:
“When you first meet Joe Becker, your initial impression is that he is a rather quiet, reserved individual, but the more you talk with him the more you come to the realization that he is anything but that. And once you get to know him and see his work, you realize that this quiet, reserved individual is quite an accomplished artisan who specializes in horn work and is very knowledgeable and talented in all facets.” [To read the complete article, click here...]

Jim Dresslar, The Engraved Powder Horn

The Honourable Company of Horners is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a true icon for horn workers, collectors and enthusiasts alike; Jim Dresslar.

We offer our condolences to the Dresslar family who are in our thoughts and prayers.  Jim certainly paved the way for all horners with his book; “The Engraved Powder Horn.” I myself have worn one out for the use of research.

God Bless and thank you Jim, may you rest in peace.

Our 2012 Annual meeting will be held March 2nd and 3rd, 2012 at the Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  The details will be reported in this column and in the Guild’s Horn Book as they unfold.  This promises to be the best annual event ever.

It is still not too late to enter our Horn Strap/Drinking Vessel contest.  All items for entry should be submitted to me by January 31^st, 2012.  We need more members getting involved in this contest.  Don’t forget, there are some great prizes and a chance for you to be a permanent part of Guild’s history.

In two weeks, the Executive Committee and Chairs will be holding its first ever exclusive fall meeting.  Some very important HCH issues will be up for discussion, including the Guild’s by-laws.

On a final note, I would like to wish all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Regards,
Ed Long
HCH Guildmaster

PS:
Feel free to leave a comment below about Jim Dresslar. He will certainly be missed.
-E.L.