2025 Kempton Raffle and Auction

Update: The raffle and auction were very successful. Rex and Ginger Reddick won the raffle, while Bill and Jo Lene Carter were the high bidders for the auction items.

Our Guildmaster Talks about The Gunmakers Fair at Kempton (July 25, 26, & 27, 2025) & The HCH Summer Reception

Dear HCH Members,
With schools officially out, it is time to start making summer plans. I hope The Gunmaker’s Fair at Kempton and our HCH Annual Summer Reception are among yours. Whether you are a long time HCH member or you’ve just joined, both events promise to be full of fun and fellowship that I’m sure you will not want to miss.
The Gunmaker’s Fair, held at the Kempton Fairgrounds in Kempton, Pennsylvania is now in its fourth year. The Fair features historical demonstrators, seminars, gun-making, horn work, historical artisans, and of course vendors. There will be lots of cow horns there! Lots! One highlight for many who attend the Fair, is the gun-making and accouterments judging. If you are new to either activity, this is a great opportunity to have your worked evaluated by seasoned craftsmen and to receive a thoughtfully written critique aimed at helping you improve your skills. The Gunmakers Fair is still growing, and as the HCH is one of the three sponsoring organizations, I would love to see a large turnout from our membership at the event.

Volunteers are needed, so if you can spare some time over the three days, please let Nancy Hoover, Antonia Davis, or myself know ASAP!
Nancy Hoover- nhoover14@gmail.com
Antonia Davis- kemptongmf@comcast.net
Clinton Byers- hornandfiber@gmail.com

Our Annual Summer Reception, also held at the Kempton Fair Grounds, is on Friday evening July 25 at 6:00pm. Please reserve your spots as soon as possible as it helps us with planning. We need all reservations by July 17th. Last year we had a great time and the food was delicious! Our group only formally meets twice a year, and I always find it enjoyable to see so many at the reception. A little slower paced than the Annual Horn Fair, this makes for a great place to chat and catch up. As always, there’s a chance to win some cool prizes. Tickets for the raffle will be available for purchase at the HCH tent and online.

Have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely,
Clinton E. Byers
HCH Guildmaster

From your Guildmaster. End of 2024, Time to Renew. Altoona Annual Meeting/Horn Fair on the Horizon.

As the air turns crisp and the fall color disappears here in the southern Appalachians, I’m reminded that the holiday season is just around the corner. For many of us, this is a busy time of year. A time full of shopping, social and family events, and stress. My wish for each of you is that you are able to slow down, enjoy it, and spend this time with those you love. The greatest gift we have to give is our time. Spend yours with those you truly care about and cherish those that choose to spend theirs with you. Once your time is gone, you can never get it back.

Speaking of time, just a little reminder, that as the year expires, so does your HCH membership. All HCH memberships run January 1 to December 31. Memberships can be renewed here on the HCH website. In fact, an HCH Membership would be an excellent gift for someone you know this holiday season. You can help grow our organization and foster someone’s passion for horn work all at the same time. While renewing your membership, you can also become a Horn Book sponsor, register for a table and the banquet at the 2025 Annual Meeting/Horn Fair in Altoona, PA, as well as, purchase tickets for this year’s Horn Fair Raffle Items donated by Master Collector Glenn Bealle. March will be here before you know it.

I hope many of you are working on your Guildmaster’s Challenge project. Details can be found on page 19 of the most recent Horn Book (Fall 2024 issue), but just to recap, the challenge is to create a “simple powder horn that has a voice.” By simple, I mean an everyday, any man’s (or woman’s), farm house, hand-carved, no turned or applied elements, no scrimshaw or engraving (other than a discrete maker’s mark), no stepped throat, no engrailing simple powder horn. Just a horn, a hand-shaped base plug, and a hand-carved spout. Members of all levels Freeman, Journeyman, and Master are welcome to participate. Kerry is weaving a special strap that will be given as the prize for the horn that “speaks the clearest.”

Master Horners are also being asked to bring an item they have completed in the past 12 months for a special display. This is not a competition, but a chance to showcase some recent work by Master Horners of the HCH. Remember, we require all advancing members to attend at least one Annual Meeting before going for advancement, and this is one of the reasons they come. So Master Horners, if you haven’t made anything new in a while, dust off your workbench and get busy.

With that I’ll say goodbye and wish you the best. Be safe and happy this holiday season. I look forward to seeing you soon my friends.

Sincerely,

Clinton E. Byers

 

2025 Annual Meeting/Horn Fair Raffle

Left to right. Scott Morrison (JH), Paul Brennan auction winner and Eric Borneman (JH).

Henry Bowman, Master Horner

Please click here for the entire article as presented in The Horn Book.

Barry Alan Maxfield, Master Collector / Historian

Please click here for the entire article as presented in The Horn Book.

 

Rex Reddick, Master Horner

Tim Sanner, Master Horner